Open letter: Taliban warn IS to stay away from Afghanistan

Taliban leaders to attend with Afghan officials a conference in Norway

ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban have urged the self-styled caliph of Islamic State, Abu Bakar alBaghdadi, to keep his ultra-extremist group out of Afghanistan.

An open letter sent by the acting chief of the Taliban’s central council, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, said there was no need for launching a “parallel front in the presence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [a name used by the Taliban during their regime until 2001]”.

This is the first time the Taliban have publicly commented on the emergence of IS, also known by its Arabic acronym Dai’sh, amidst reports that fighters from both groups have fought deadly battles in parts of eastern Nangarhar province. The Taliban are apparently perturbed over the defection of several of their cadres to IS.

“The Islamic Emirate does not intend to interfere in your affairs and expects the same from you. It is in the interest of Islam and Muslims to continue Jihad under a united front,” reads the letter which was released to the media. “Difference of opinion and approach should not lead to bloodshed. Such actions will damage your reputation as it could cause losses to Mujahideen.”

Ahmad Zia Abdul Zai, a spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, has said fighting between Taliban and IS fighters has forced hundreds of families in Batikot district to flee to the provincial capital of Jalalabad. Some Taliban sources suspect IS could be behind Sunday’s assassination of Taliban governor for Nangarhar Maulvi Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi in Peshawar.

According to the Taliban letter, since 1,500 religious scholars have name the leader of the Islamic Emirate in accordance with ‘Sharia’ and renowned scholars across the Muslim world have declared allegiance to him, “everyone should work under one leader and one flag”.

IS has yet not responded to the Taliban’s letter, but the group’s  senior leader for Afghanistan Maulvi Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost recently claimed that the “Taliban have given up the path of Jihad at the behest of other countries.”

On the political front, the Taliban have sent Agha to a conference in Norway, scheduled to start on Tuesday, where senior officials from the Afghan government will be in attendance. The group’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Agha was leading a three-member Taliban delegation at the Oslo Forum. “The Taliban leaders will not hold any talks with the Afghan delegation,” he added.

Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hikmat Khalil Karzai is leading a seven-member delegation to the conference to be co-hosted by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2015.