ISLAMABAD — More than 1,800 Pakistani Muslim clerics have issued an Islamic directive, or fatwa, forbidding suicide bombings, a book that was unveiled by the government on Tuesday said.

The South Asian nation has for years been plagued by violence by militants who often use suicide bombers and preach that their struggle is a holy war to impose Islamic rule.

Suicide attacks are frequently condemned as fanatical and immoral, especially when civilians are killed, but insurgents view the tactic as their most effective weapon.

Seeking to curb "terrorism" that has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties since the early 2000s, the clerics declared suicide bombings to be forbidden, or "haraam".

"This fatwa provides a strong base for the stability of a moderate Islamic society," Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain wrote in the book.

"We can seek guidance from this fatwa for building a national narrative in order to curb extremism in keeping with the golden principles of Islam."

Foreign and domestic critics of Pakistan's government and military accuse them of cozying up to radical groups for political and military purposes and say the state has for too long turned a blind eye to hate preachers in mosques.

Pakistani officials deny frequent US allegations about collaborating with militant proxies in Afghanistan and India, and say vast gains have been made over the past decade against militant outfits such as the Pakistani Taliban.

But privately they also warn any moves against some popular hard line groups based in Pakistan would take a long time and need to be undertaken carefully.

Similar fatwas appear to have yielded scant results in the Middle East where the practice is used by Daesh (the so-called IS) and other militant groups.

The Pakistani scholars, who declared that "no individual or group has the authority to declare and wage jihad (holy war)", said suicide bombings violate key Islamic teachings and were as such forbidden.

The book was prepared by the state-run International Islamic University.

Ailing anti-US cleric leaves Peshawar jail

Pakistani prison authorities and a lawyer say a radical, anti-US cleric imprisoned since 2009 has left the jail in Peshawar after a court ordered him released this month on health grounds.

The 93-year-old Sufi Mohammad went to Afghanistan with thousands of other armed volunteers to help the Taliban fight against Americans following the 2001 US-led invasion.

His lawyer, Fida Gul, says the ailing cleric was released on Monday night after which his family took him to hospital.

Mohammad is the former chief of the banned pro-Taliban group the Tehrik Nifaz-e-Sharia Mohammed, or TNSM, and the father-in-law of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Mohammad's release comes amid rising US-Pakistani tensions following President Donald Trump's accusations that Pakistan shelters militants. — Agencies