Imran Talib Khan comments outrage Afghanistan's government

Imran Khan says Taliban's 'holy war' in Afghanistan is justified by Islamic law Pakistani politician's comments at hospital that treated shooting victim Malala Yousafzai outrage Afghanistan's government

Hamid Karzai's government has lashed out at Imran Khan after the former Pakistani cricket star, now a politician, said the Taliban were fighting a "holy war" in Afghanistan, that was justified by Islamic law. Speaking after visiting a hospital in Peshawar where Malala Yousafzai – the 14-year-old activist shot in the head by the Taliban for supporting girls' education – was treated last week, Khan told reporters insurgents in Afghanistan were fighting a "jihad". Citing a verse from the Qur'an he said: "It is very clear that whoever is fighting for their freedom is fighting a jihad … The people who are fighting in Afghanistan against the foreign occupation are fighting a jihad," he said, according to a video of remarks to journalists. Politicians in Afghanistan have reacted with disbelief, with one parliamentarian even suggesting Khan should be arrested. The Ulema Council, a grouping of senior clerics, declared Khan's comments "unIslamic". A Kabul foreign ministry spokesman said Khan was "either profoundly and dangerously ignorant about the reality in Afghanistan or he has ill will against the Afghan people". "Our children are killed on daily basis, civilians killed and our schools hospitals and infrastructure attacked on a daily basis," he said. "To call any of that jihad is profoundly wrong and misguided." Karzai has written to all of Pakistan's political leaders, including Khan, saying "we must ask why we have been unable to counter the terrorism that is attacking our religious, our people, and the promise of a better future for our children". Khan has also courted criticism by saying he will not publicly name the Taliban while criticising the men who attempted to kill Yousafzai because he feared it would put his party supporters at risk. The row with Kabul highlights the awkward political situation Khan has found himself in recent days. He has long blamed the rise of the Taliban in the country on the US, saying their military operations in Afghanistan and the CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt is responsible for the upsurge in militancy. But his populist position has been challenged by the almost unprecedented public anger against the Pakistani Taliban triggered by the attempt to kill Yousafzai as she sat in a van with her classmates in Swat, last Tuesday. While many observers fear the mood of national outrage will ultimately change little, the country's media continues to cover the saga intensively while the country's powerful military chief called on the nation to unite and stand up to fight against extremism. The foreign minister has even suggested the attack might be a turning point for a country that has long struggled to muster support for a decisive push against militants. On Sunday, thousands of people attended a rally in Karachi organised by the Muttahida Qaumi movement, the dominant political party in the southern city. Yousafzai is unconscious and in intensive care in a military hospital in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. A military spokesman said her condition was improving and that no decision had been made as to whether she should be sent overseas, despite an offer from the United Arab Emirates to supply an air ambulance. The local media continued to focus on her condition despite government warnings that the Pakistani Taliban, apparently angered by criticism of the attack on Yousafzai, has ordered attacks on journalists.