Taliban Negotiation Team Reveals Pakistan’s Call for Fatwa Amid Ongoing Talks

A member of the Taliban negotiation team and the deputy of the group’s Ministry of Interior announced that the Pakistani side has requested the Taliban delegation during the Istanbul talks to issue a fatwa declaring that the war against its government is unlawful. Rahmatullah Najib confirmed this, adding that the mediators also requested this fatwa but are unaware of the sensitivities between the two countries…

Rahmatullah Najib, the deputy of the Taliban Ministry of Interior and a member of the negotiation team with Pakistan, revealed strange details on Wednesday (November 21) in a meeting in Kabul. He announced that during the talks, the Pakistani side requested the Taliban delegation to issue a fatwa that the war against its government is unlawful and illegitimate.

Mediators Are Unaware of Sensitivities

Mr. Najib added that even the mediators of the negotiations wished for the desired fatwa to be issued by the Taliban government; however, according to him, these mediators are not properly aware of the sensitivities and complexities between the Taliban and Pakistan.

So far, Islamabad has not reacted to this matter. The third round of negotiations between the Taliban and Pakistan took place last Thursday and Friday, hosted by Turkey in Istanbul, but ultimately ended without results, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress in talks.

Pakistan’s Concern Over Security Incidents

In this regard, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban foreign minister, stated on Sunday in Kabul that Pakistan expects Afghanistan to guarantee that no security incidents will occur in Pakistan anymore.

At the same time, the Pakistani foreign ministry had previously declared its position, stating that the country’s primary concern is terrorism, which, according to this ministry, originates from Afghan soil, and preventing it is a priority for Islamabad.

Islamabad claims that the leadership and fighters of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have hidden in the territory of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban and plan and carry out attacks in Pakistan from there. However, the Taliban government, while rejecting this claim, emphasizes that TTP is Pakistan’s internal issue and the group bears no responsibility for it.