Dehradun, Apr 24 (PTI) The Uttarakhand Madrassa Board on Thursday described the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack as enemies of humanity and demanded the strictest action against them which would serve as a strong deterrent for other terrorists.

Board Chairman Mufti Shamoon Qasmi said it is time to fight a decisive battle against terrorism.

Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were gunned down by terrorists in Baisaran valley of south Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Qasmi said, “Those who perpetrate such violence on innocent people are enemies of humanity. Strictest action should be taken against them so that no one ever dares do such a thing in future.” The brutal killings have shaken the whole country and it is time to fight a decisive battle against terrorism, he said.

Security agencies on Wednesday released the sketches of three men suspected to be involved in the terror attack and announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for anyone providing information leading to the neutralisation of the terrorists.

It is extremely shameful that such heinous crimes are being committed in the name of Islam, Qasmi said.

“Islam considers the killing of innocents as the murder of the entire human society. Those who shed the blood of innocents are guilty not only in the eyes of Islam but also of humanity,” he said.

Some fundamentalist elements are misrepresenting the teachings of Islam to serve their own ends. It is tarnishing the image of Muslims all over the world, he said. PTI ALM DIV DIV