Taliban supreme leader says Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan cross-border attacks on Pakistan security forces ‘haram’

The supreme leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban has declared that cross-border attacks, including those on Pakistan, are “haram,” or forbidden under Islam. By so doing, Hibatullah Akhundzada is said to have  “terminated the jihad or holy war,” at least in a formal way. Defense minister Muhammad Yaqoob stated of errant Taliban forces — particularly from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — that if they “continue to fight despite orders from the emir to stop, it is not jihad but rather hostility.” This groundbreaking move represents an enormous shift in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with efforts by the two countries to unite in friendship. Once again, America is left out of global alliances which are detrimental to its interests. The goal of the Taliban is a global caliphate, while Pakistan has sealed a deal with China to expand its Belt and Road Initiative through the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Plans include Afghanistan.

A decade ago, Pakistan and its intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), was described as having “more influence over the Taliban than any other country or intelligence service,” as Pakistan provided “critical safe haven and sanctuary to the groups’ leadership.”

Yet the relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistani government became complex ever since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, when the Taliban defied Pakistan “by challenging the status of the Afghan-Pakistan border and providing a haven to the anti-Pakistan insurgent group the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, which has killed thousands of Pakistanis and seeks to establish a Taliban-style, Shariah-compliant state in Pakistan.  This has stunned Islamabad, which was operating on the assumption that the Taliban would be beholden to Pakistan out of gratitude for years of support.”

So in a new effort to improve relations between Afghanistan and the Pakistani government, “the Pakistani side urged the Taliban to make the diktat public to help deter TTP and its Afghan supporters from conducting activities that undermine relations between the two countries.”

Without a commitment from the Afghanistan Taliban to reign in TTP militants, the relationship between Taliban and Pakistan would continue to destabilize. The TTP share a common a root and the same ideals with the Afghan Taliban, and both are led by Afghan supreme leader Akhundzada, who issues Islamic religious edicts from his hideaway in Kandahar.

Back in February, Pakistan asked Akhundzada to rein in jihadis in Pakistan, even though Akhundzada agreed with the TTP that the “Pakistani system is un-Islamic.” It didn’t initially appear that the Taliban would rein in the TTP jihadists in the interests of peace with the Pakistani government. In fact, Pakistani officials reported a 70% increase in TTP-led terrorist attacks over the past two years, with the killing of over 450 people, including Pakistani security forces.

Yet by May, the two countries agreed to boost trade, lower border tensions and “combat terrorism” by the TTP. Perhaps economic necessity and China’s investment via Belt and Road provided a new vision for the Taliban and Pakistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have been in talks which have led to the new groundbreaking declaration by Akhundzada. Now that he has declared an end to the jihad against Pakistan, any action by the TTP will be regarded as terrorism, which could be now punished by both governments. If this relationship holds, there could be adverse consequences for the entire region, given Pakistan’s long history of support for the Taliban, as well as the two governments’ allegiance to the Sharia and shared hatred for America, along with the Taliban’s expansionary goals in the region and the ultimate global Islamic goal of a caliphate. Also a concern is the gradual legitimization of the Taliban, in which China is aiding. China has been pursuing a greater role in Afghanistan and already has a growing relationship with the Taliban. Consider also that China has expanded its multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative with its well-regarded “all weather ally” Pakistan for “regional connectivity,” with plans for greater expansion into Afghanistan.  China and Pakistan are also seeking to unfreeze Afghanistan’s funds abroad.