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A declaration signed by scores of Islamic scholars who joined under the banner of the Ittehad-e-Ulema Afghanistan, an alliance of orthodox clerics in Afghanistan, has rejected the Loya Jirga (the assembly of elders) called by the Karzai government to discuss, among other issues, the Afghan-U.S. Strategic Partnership Agreement.
The declaration was titled "Rejecting the Upcoming American Loya Jirga in Afghanistan." The Loya Jirga, which is to be held on November 16, 2011, will seek to approve the Afghan-U.S. Strategic Partnership Agreement, allowing U.S. troops to stay at military bases in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
The declaration was signed at a meeting of the clerics held under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah Zakiri, an influential Islamic cleric who hails from the Zakir area of southern Kandahar province. Abdullah Zakiri was a prominent leader of the Mujahideen during the 1980s jihad against the Soviet Union, but did not join the Taliban government due to some differences. Local journalists believe that he is living Baluchistan, a bordering province of Pakistan.
