JUI-F chief reportedly meets Afghan Taliban chief in Kandahar

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), met with the Afghan Taliban chief in Kandahar on Wednesday in a first known meeting between any Pakistani leader and reclusive Taliban supreme leader.

There was no official confirmation from either side about the reported meeting but sources told The Express Tribune that the JUI-F chief was scheduled to meet Hibatullah Akundzada during his visit to Kabul. Several reports including from Afghan journalists quoting unnamed Taliban officials confirmed the meeting.

Despite repeated attempts, the JUI-F spokesperson, who otherwise had been giving regular updates about Fazl’s engagements in Afghanistan, could not be reached.

Read more: Kabul upbeat as Fazl meets Taliban officials

The Afghan Taliban chief rarely meets leaders from outside. This was the only second known meeting he held with any foreign leader following his interaction with the Qatari prime minister last year.

The meeting could be a turning point in the bilateral ties between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban government. The two governments are at loggerheads over the issue of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Sources familiar with the development said Maulana Fazl was given a brief and talking points about Pakistan’s stance before he travelled to Afghanistan. Sources said that the JUI-F chief was told to convey a clear message to the Taliban chief that Kabul had to choose between Pakistan and the TTP.

Fazl was also told to inform the Taliban chief that without a resolution of the TTP problem, the bilateral relationship between the two countries could not move forward.

Also read: ‘No intention to harm Pakistan’, Afghan PM tells Fazl

The Afghan Taliban government has so far not given any indication to take on the TTP. In fact, Fazl was told during meeting with the Afghan interim prime minister that the TTP was an internal problem of Pakistan and it should find a solution from within.

One source who deals with Afghan matters said that if this was an attitude of the Taliban government then there won’t be any breakthrough.

The source said that the Taliban government was well aware that the TTP and its leadership were in Afghanistan. They have “sanctuaries” and this was also corroborated by the UN and other countries, according to sources.

The JUI-F chief wanted to travel to Kabul to congratulate the Afghan Taliban for their return to power in August 2021 but he could not due to various reasons.

Sources, nevertheless, claimed that the Afghan Taliban, earlier, were not keen to extend him the invitation. Since Pakistan virtually severed high-level contacts with the Kabul regime, the Afghan Taliban decided to invite Maulana Fazl to share their perspective on the TTP and other issues.

Officials are sceptical about any major breakthrough because of the close links between the Afghan Taliban and the TTP. The visit may lower the temperature between the two sides but the prospects of any major headway are slim, according to sources.

Pakistani policymakers would now be waiting for the JUI-F chief’s briefing on his return to know what exactly transpired in his meeting with the Taliban supreme leader.

Some observers see the meeting as a last-ditch effort to sort out the issue of TTP.