Najib stated in a press conference from Kabul on Wednesday that the disagreement over the fatwa brought the talks to a standstill. He noted that the mediators, including Qatar, supported the Pakistani request but were not fully aware of the sensitivity of the issues, according to Afghanistan’s National Radio and Television. He confirmed that it is not within the Taliban leader’s authority to issue fatwas, pointing out that Pakistan was advised to send a written request to the Dar al-Ifta and await its response. Najib also revealed that there was a request to transfer Pakistani Taliban fighters and their families to Afghan territory. He stated, “We informed them that if you consider these individuals as political actors, we can invite them. However, if you label them as terrorists, your argument that Kabul supports terrorism becomes stronger.” He affirmed that the negotiations in Turkey did not yield results, but declared the Taliban government’s readiness to resolve disagreements through dialogue.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Information said last week that the round of negotiations held in Istanbul, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, ended without reaching an applicable solution. The ministry pointed out that the escalating border tensions following the explosions in the Afghan capital Kabul on October 9 were the main background for this round.
Later, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban government, stated that the failure of the third round of talks with Pakistan, which began on November 6 in Istanbul, was due to the “irresponsible behavior and lack of cooperation of the Pakistani delegation.” He noted that the Afghan representatives, “acting on their leadership’s instructions, participated in the Istanbul talks on November 6 and 7 with good intentions and high confidence.”
