Taliban Confirms Pakistani Request for Fatwa Amid Ongoing Negotiations

A member of the Taliban negotiating team and the group’s Deputy Minister of Interior revealed that during talks in Istanbul, the Pakistani side requested a fatwa from the Taliban delegation stating that fighting against the Pakistani government is unlawful. Rahmatullah Najib confirmed this, adding that mediators were also advocating for the issuance of this fatwa but were unaware of the sensitivities between the two countries…

Mediators Unaware of Sensitivities

Rahmatullah Najib, the Deputy Minister of Interior for the Taliban and a member of the group’s negotiation team with Pakistan, shared intriguing details during a meeting in Kabul on Wednesday (November 21). He stated that during the discussions, the Pakistani representatives requested the Taliban to issue a decree declaring that the conflict against the Pakistani government is both unlawful and illegitimate.

Najib further explained that even the mediators involved in the negotiations expressed a desire for the Taliban government to issue the desired fatwa; however, he noted that these mediators do not fully understand the sensitivities and complexities between the Taliban and Pakistan.

To date, Islamabad has not responded to this situation. The third round of negotiations between the Taliban and Pakistan took place last Thursday and Friday in Istanbul, Turkey, but ultimately ended without any results, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress in the talks.

Pakistan’s Concerns Over Security Incidents

In this context, Amir Khan Muttaki, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, stated in Kabul on Sunday that Pakistan expects Afghanistan to guarantee that no further security incidents will occur on its territory.

Furthermore, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously announced that the primary concern for the country is terrorism, which, according to them, originates from Afghan soil, making its prevention a priority for Islamabad.

Islamabad claims that the leadership and fighters of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are hiding within Taliban-controlled territories in Afghanistan and orchestrating attacks from there. However, the Taliban government has rejected these claims, emphasizing that the TTP is an internal issue for Pakistan and that they hold no responsibility for it.