The Shahi Imam of Indian Punjab, Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Saani Ludhianvi, has threatened to issue a fatwa (diktat) excommunicating Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Mr Nawaz Sharif from Islam.
This is possibly the first instance where an Indian cleric has threatened to pronounce religious decree against a top Pakistani political leader.
The Imam, who is the national president of the Majlis Ahrar Islam Hind, said Mr Sharif’s recent statements (in the wake of the Lahore mosque bombings) referring to members of the Ahmadiyya Sect as brothers and sisters was completely “unacceptable and must be withdrawn immediately.”
Echoing sentiments widely professed amidst the Muslim community, Imam Habib-ur-Rehman insisted all Ahmadiyyas were “heretics” and that “they can never be brothers or sisters to anybody who professes faith in Islam.”
He said the former Pakistani Premier “must immediately seek Allah’s pardon,” failing which “a fatwa would be issued excommunicating him.”
Notably, Mr Sharif’s comments have also been perceived as “pro-Ahmadiyya” in Pakistan.