It is unclear on what grounds the High Peace Council (HPC) could declare the Taliban’s jihad un-Islamic anyway, as warfare against unbelievers is a well-established principle in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and particularly so when that warfare can be cast as defensive. The High Peace Council will probably issue a deceptive document that relies on U.S. officials’ ignorance of Islam. Still, it is noteworthy that the Taliban would be concerned enough about this conference to issue this call.
“Taliban Urge Clerics Not to Attend ‘Anti-Jihad’ Meeting,” by Ayaz Gul, VOA News, September 29, 2018:
The Taliban have denounced Afghanistan and Pakistan for planning to convene a major bilateral conference of religious scholars in a bid to declare the Afghan insurgency as un-Islamic.
An Afghan delegation composed of officials and clerics is visiting Islamabad and holding talks with Pakistani counterparts to prepare ground and an agenda for the proposed conference of “ulemas,” or clerics. The deputy head of the government-appointed High Peace Council (HPC), Atta-ur-Rehman Saleem, is leading the Afghan delegation….
“The Islamic Emirate [the Taliban] calls on religious scholars in Afghanistan and Pakistan not to attend the meeting and fall victim to America’s plots and desist from indirectly cooperating with American invaders,” said a Taliban statement issued Saturday.
It alleged the United States is plotting Afghan clerics’ meetings with counterparts in other countries to try to build religious opposition to the insurgent group’s “ongoing jihad,” or holy war, against foreign “occupation” of the country….
Some religious groups in Pakistan have long voiced support for the Taliban and publicly defended the Afghan insurgency as Islamic jihad. Kabul believes leaders of these groups could use their influence to help reduce violence and promote an Afghan political reconciliation process.