Mufti Abdul Rauf, a member of the Taliban's Supreme Court and head of the group’s Dar Al-Ifta, issued a fatwa against the war in Pakistan and said that the Taliban had pledged in the Doha Agreement not to wage jihad outside of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan International's sources said that Mufti Abdul Rauf's fatwa had been issued under pressure from Pakistan.
It had been previously reported that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, called the war in Pakistan illegitimate in a fatwa that high-ranking officials of the group do not want to make public.
Pakistani authorities asked Akhundzada to issue a public fatwa and declare war in Pakistan as haram (forbidden).
Reliable sources have told Afghanistan International that the video clip of Mufti Abdul Rauf, a member of the Taliban Supreme Court, has been published in line with Islamabad's demands.
In this video clip, this member of the Taliban’s Supreme Court, implicitly confirms that Mullah Hibatullah has issued a fatwa against the war in Pakistan.
Mufti Abdul Rauf said that he has received messages from many members of the Taliban who have declared their readiness for jihad in Pakistan.
In the video, he said, “We don't care whether Jihad is ongoing somewhere or not. Our people are not responsible for Jihad abroad [Afghanistan].”
Earlier, Pakistani media reports had also stated that at the request of Islamabad, the leader of the Taliban has declared war and attacks abroad, including in Pakistan, as "forbidden".
According to these reports, Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan, during his recent trip to Kabul, asked the Taliban that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada declare war in their country as forbidden.
