India shouldn't underestimate Pak-Taliban link, warns Afghanistan's acting prez-in-exile Amrullah Saleh

As the United States and its NATO allies withdrew from Afghanistan, after almost two decades of war, the resurgent Islamist group, Taliban, took over on August 15, 2021. President Ashraf Ghani fled and Saleh declared himself the acting president of the country and is leading the fight against the Taliban.

Saleh rubbished the belief that Pakistan, which is facing dire financial crunch, lacks the resources to coopt Taliban. "This is why Taliban is trying to reach out to other countries. It is a matter of time before this mask will fall off… There are nearly 300 officers from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) accredited in Afghanistan and twice the number operating in the country under the garb of doctors, NGOs and businesspersons. This is not a veiled programme. ISI officers and engineers are directly involved in interception operations. Pakistan SSG officers are providing training to the Taliban strike units. There are Pakistani mentors in strategic communication of Taliban."

Commenting on the Taliban's fatwa on Pakistan, Saleh alleged it was, in fact, issued in collaboration with Pakistan. "The architect of the fatwa was Mufti Rauf. He stayed in Pakistan for 30 years. He was a close associate of Pakistani politician Fazl-ur-Rehman and is currently the chief of the fatwa department of the Supreme Court of Taliban. Rauf drafted the 51-point fatwa after a call from Rehman and a visit from an ISI officer," he said.

"When Pakistanis asked the Taliban to issue a fatwa against the TTP, it didn't lead to a discussion within the Taliban leadership. It was done so swiftly as if Pakistan has asked one of its own mulks to do it. For every other thing, they get into a debate and then come up with a decision and inform the people about the reasons for doing it, but regarding the security of Pakistan, they were very swift. It was done with two-three days and they read the fatwa in every mosque of Pakistan. The fatwa said that we should not destablise Pakistan, instability in Pakistan is haram as it an Islamic country and its Army is Islamic and we are friends. That is the 51-point fatwa. The pundits who say that Pakistan's policy failed and Taliban are not entirely the 'boys of GHQ', they are not taking this fatwa seriously…"

Even as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continues to clash with the Pakistani administration in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Saleh said the ISI looks at it as "a smaller issue". "The chattering in the ISI is that we defeated a NATO-India-US-backed system, which was posing an existential threat to the social fabric of Pakistan. Now, we are facing insurgency from the TTP, which is a small group. In comparison, the latter is a small issue. They exaggerate the TTP to attract attention and also play the victim card."

"There is an exaggerated view that the Taliban is not helping Pakistan with regards to the TTP. The Taliban are enforcing this view to create an atmosphere of independence, because in Afghanistan, if you want to be seen as a nationalist, you have to be clear on Pakistan. It is not in the interest of the Taliban to come out everyday and say we are anti-Pakistan. In reality, the influence of Taliban and Pakistan is very deep."

"The TTP is not affected by the fatwa as the Taliban's influence on the TTP is not as is stated. The TTP has benefitted enormously from the porous border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. If the Taliban were able to apprehend all the 6,000 people the ISI is asking them to, they would do it. But these people are not in Afghanistan, they are in Pakistan… The Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, the umbrella madrassa in Lahore, is the Vatican for the Taliban. If the Taliban were to sever ties with it, they would lose legitimacy. It is similar to how a Catholic country would have to create their own church if they said they didn't believe in the Pope. The Taliban and madrassa network in Pakistan hail from the same school of thought. They praise each other openly. That is why Pakistan's demand for an anti-TTP fatwa was met within days. Can New Delhi convince Taliban that the Jaish-e-Mohhamd is a terror organisation so easily? The Taliban project is not slipping out of Pakistani control. The TTP is not as dependent on the Taliban as is believed, perceived or portrayed. The Taliban is just trying to give the impression that they are not fully cooperating with Pakistan. This is nonsense."

According to Saleh, the Taliban has, in four months alone, extradited nearly 300 TTP fighters to ISI, keeping it low profile. "The Pakistani envoy to Afghanistan Durani said this on record… If the Taliban wants to adhere to its promise in the Doha agreement that they would not send terrorism to any country in the region, why are they not cooperating with Central Asia on that level? Because it is not part of that agenda. In case of a terror strike in Kashmir, even by giving half-a-million dollars to Taliban, will New Delhi be able to convince them to issue an anti-jihad fatwa for India? Of course not."

According to Saleh, Taliban has an ideological and structural hierarchy, which cannot be influenced by India. "Pakistan as an Islamic country is a promoter of religious fanaticism and extremism… India can only influence certain people in Taliban, not their thought process and ideological conduct," he said.

Saleh said that Pakistanis will do something to make sure that the world realizes that there is an unresolved (Kashmir) issue. "The way Jaish, LeT moves…There is a booklet on how to bring down Hindu arrogance, outlining the strategy. Don't believe Pakistan is not associated with the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). Pakistan has its financial issues, but there is also a boiling sentiment. To come out of the feeling of inferiority, they will do something unconventional. We see them on the ground in Taliban. Every time Indians meet the Taliban a copy of the meeting between India and Taliban is on the desk of the ISI."