Photo courtesy JUIF
Acting Afghanistan Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund on Monday said his country has no intention of creating any problems for Pakistan or any other neighboring country, as this is not permissible under sharia.
In a meeting with a delegation of Pakistani religious leaders—led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman—Akhund stressed the interim Afghan government dealt with all issues per Sharia. He stressed that the incumbent government would not allow any group or entity to use Afghan soil against any other country.
According to a statement issued by the JUIF, Fazl informed the acting Afghan prime minister that the Pakistani delegation was visiting Afghanistan to remove any misunderstandings hampering ties between the neighboring nations. He said he hoped the meeting would find ways of cooperation in various fields, including political relations, economy, trade, and mutual development. “We have brought a message of goodwill and hope this trip will yield positive results,” he added.
Akhund, likewise, hoped Fazl’s visit would lead to stronger ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Noting the commonalities between the neighboring nations, he said neither could be separated from the other. However, he added, Pakistani authorities should stop their “cruel attitude” toward Afghan refugees, noting this type of behavior does not solve problems, rather increases opposition and frustration.
Agreeing with the Afghan official, Fazl said the JUIF had protested against the incumbent government’s repatriation policy. “We consider this kind of behavior wrong and a cause of problems between the two countries,” he added.
During the meeting, the JUIF chief also hailed the Afghan Taliban’s “great victory” against foreign occupation, congratulating the people of Afghanistan on their new government. “The Islamic system will be more stable in Afghanistan, and its blessings will reach the entire Islamic world,” he said.
Both sides, per the JUIF statement, stressed on jointly finding ways to resolve mutual problems and avoiding steps that could worsen them. Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Maulvi Amir Muttaqi, meanwhile, regretted the problems of Afghan traders, claiming issues raised by Pakistani authorities in transit and exports were causing heavy financial losses to Afghan traders annually. Commercial or economic transactions between the two countries should not suffer from political problems, he added.
Maulana Abdul Wasi, Maulana Salahuddin, Maulana Kamaluddin, Maulana Jamaluddin, Maulana Salimuddin Shamzai, Maulana Imdadullah, Maulana Idris, Dr. Atiqur Rehman, and Mufti Abrar accompanied Fazl as part of the Pakistani delegation. The Afghan delegation included Chief Justice Maulvi Abdul Hakeem, foreign minister Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi, minister of Hajj and Auqaf Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saqib, and other high-ranking officials.
The JUIF chief is visiting Kabul with a nine-member delegation on the invitation of the Afghan Taliban in a bid to revive deteriorating ties between the neighboring countries. Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP); the Afghan Taliban have denied this, and urged Pakistan to look inward and address its own internal security challenges.