Pakistan Urges Taliban to Declare War Against It as Religious Prohibition
Rahmatullah Najib, Deputy Interior Minister of the Taliban administration and a member of the negotiating team with Pakistan, stated that during recent talks, Pakistani officials requested that the Taliban issue a religious decree (fatwa) declaring all ongoing warfare in Pakistan as ‘illegitimate.’
Najib emphasized that this request was also supported by mediators, who he said lacked a full understanding of the complexities and sensitivities of the relationship between the two countries.
He added that the delegation sent by the Taliban administration did not entirely oppose the issuance of such a fatwa, but maintained that the authority to do so lies with the Taliban-affiliated Dar al-Ifta (religious decree body). He noted that any religious ruling would be issued solely based on Islamic law and not under the influence or pressure of foreign states.
Najib acknowledged that the Taliban’s conditional response may not have been acceptable to the Pakistani side, and stressed that these differing viewpoints ultimately led the negotiations to stall without tangible results.
It is worth noting that security talks between Kabul and Islamabad have intensified in recent weeks but continue to fail in reaching effective agreements. The recent impasse reflects the deep-rooted disagreements between the two sides in managing security threats—a burden that continues to fall largely on innocent civilians on both sides of the border.
