Criticism Arises Over Taliban-Russia Military Cooperation Agreement
Following the signing of a new military and technical cooperation agreement between the Taliban administration and Russian officials in Moscow, Rahmatullah Ander, spokesperson for the National Security Council of the former republic, criticized the move, describing it as contradictory to the Taliban’s previous views.
Ander stated that the Taliban’s staged conflicts with Pakistan paved the way for establishing relations and signing a military agreement with Russia. According to him, until recently, the group considered agreements with non-Muslim countries, especially in the military sector, to be forbidden, but now signs such agreements without being accountable to public opinion.
He questioned what had changed in the Taliban’s perspective that interstate relations and agreements, previously labeled by them as “un-Islamic,” are now deemed legitimate. Ander emphasized that international interactions and signing agreements were characteristics of republican and democratic systems—values the Taliban had previously rejected.
The former official added that expanding foreign relations and signing agreements with various countries is fundamentally a diplomatic necessity; however, the Taliban administration must clarify its current criteria to avoid once again declaring its opponents as apostates on religious grounds and framing political rivalries under the banner of jihad.
Last week, the Taliban’s defense minister signed a new military and technical cooperation agreement with Russian officials during a visit to Moscow—a move that has triggered reactions and questions among political figures and parts of the public.
