ISLAMABAD: Terming anti-Islamic the killing of innocent people by the militant outfit Islamic State (IS), a cleric group in Pakistan today appealed to the people in Muslim countries to stop cooperating with the extremists.
"Islam and Muslims cannot support the killing of innocent people and destruction of their properties by the IS. We appeal to people and youth in Islamic countries to stop cooperation with the violent group," Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) said in a statement.
It said that IS violates the teachings of Islam in Iraq and Syria where its controls large swathe of territory.
The condemnation came as local media reported incidents of wall chalking in support of the IS group in the southern port city of Karachi. Earlier, its pamphlets were distributed in northwestern city of Peshawar.
A few days ago, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) six top commanders pledged allegiance to the IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has declared a "caliphate" in areas the group controls in Iraq and Syria.
The moderate Sunni group is the first major religious entity in Pakistan to criticise the dreaded IS group.
On October 14, Taliban's spokesman Shahidullah Shahid along with five senior rebel leaders announced allegiance to the IS group.