Taliban Leader Urges Officials To ‘Know Their Limits’ After Haqqani’s Remarks

In a video message circulated on social media, Sheikh said his group was ready to make “any sacrifice” to defend Pakistan. “We are prepared to sacrifice everything for the defence of our beloved homeland,” he said.

The US Treasury Department sanctioned Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh in 2012 for his membership of the central council of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group in Pakistan.

The Markazi Muslim League, where Sheikh is a senior leader, was formed after the banning of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and later Milli Muslim League, both widely regarded as political fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Several leaders from those banned organisations are now active under the Markazi Muslim League banner in different parts of Pakistan.

Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded in Pakistan in the 1980s under the leadership of Hafiz Saeed, following a Salafi Islamist ideology. The group has primarily focused on attacks against India, particularly in the disputed Kashmir region.

Sheikh welcomed Pakistan army chief Gen Asim Munir’s move to mobilise clerics for the defence of the country, saying the step had earned Munir the trust and respect of Pakistan’s religious scholars.

He also referred to a recent gathering of Taliban clerics in Afghanistan, saying Afghan religious scholars had “issued a fatwa stating that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism against any country.” The remarks appeared to refer to a meeting at which Taliban-aligned clerics opposed the use of Afghan territory by foreign militants and declared it impermissible for Afghans to take part in wars against other countries.

Sheikh praised what he described as the “sacrifices of the Pakistani army,” adding that every country has the right to exceed certain limits in self-defence.

He said the Afghan Taliban must declare that “not even a single bullet will be fired from Afghan soil towards Pakistan.” If such a guarantee were provided, he said, Pakistan’s clerics would be “appreciative” and relations between Kabul and Islamabad would improve.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and allowing them to plan and carry out attacks on Pakistani territory from Afghanistan. The Taliban have consistently denied the allegations.

Sheikh’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban and suggest that Islamabad’s military leadership is seeking to mobilise religious narratives and militant-linked networks to increase pressure on the Taliban. Pakistan has demanded a written guarantee from the Taliban that TTP militants will not use Afghan territory to launch attacks.

Several rounds of talks between the Taliban and Pakistan, held in Qatar, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, have failed to resolve the dispute or produce a lasting agreement. In recent months, border clashes between the two sides have left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

The law firm Barings, which is representing the claimants, is seeking £50,000 in compensation for each client.

Robert Whitehead, the firm’s owner, said a letter before legal action has been sent to the MoD. He said the firm has evidence that some individuals whose data was exposed, or people connected to them, have been killed, while others have been extorted by the Taliban through threats against their relatives.

“It was the MoD’s responsibility to protect the data,” Whitehead said.

The legal action follows an unprecedented incident in which the Ministry of Defence accidentally disclosed the personal details of Afghans who had applied for relocation to Britain because they feared reprisals from the Taliban.

The database contained the personal information of about 25,000 Afghan applicants and their family members, as well as details of some British special forces personnel. In February 2022, a British soldier inadvertently released the data. The breach remained undetected until August 2023.

In response, the UK government established a confidential immigration scheme for those affected, known as the Afghan Response Route. Under the scheme, 7,355 people have arrived in the UK or are expected to do so. However, the route was closed to other victims of the breach in July.

Among Barings’ clients are highly vulnerable individuals, including former members of Afghan special forces who worked closely with the UK before the Taliban returned to power. Other claimants include former police officers and members of Afghanistan’s judicial system.

Adnan Malik, Barings’ data protection officer, said the firm has seen videos showing armed groups ransacking homes and searching for people who cooperated with Western forces. He said one client reported that his brother, a former Afghan police officer, was recently killed, which the firm believes was a direct result of the data breach.

In another case, Malik said a former senior Afghan army officer now living in the UK reported being forced to pay the Taliban to keep his son alive.

Criticising the MoD’s handling of the case, Malik said it was “very strange” that the ministry warned during several court hearings that lives were at risk, before later saying that lives were not at risk.

The Ministry of Defence has previously said that simply having a person’s name on the spreadsheet was highly unlikely to be sufficient reason for them to be targeted. The ministry has said it will “robustly defend against any legal action or compensation claims.”

In an updated travel advisory issued on Monday, the UK Foreign Office warned that violent clashes have occurred in border areas with Pakistan and that the overall security environment in Afghanistan remains volatile. The advisory also said the risk of detention of British nationals in Afghanistan has increased.

London noted that several border crossings in Afghanistan remain closed.

The advisory stated: “If you are a British national and you are detained in Afghanistan, you could face months or years of imprisonment.”

The Foreign Office stressed that its ability to assist British citizens detained in Afghanistan is extremely limited and that it cannot provide essential support inside the country.

It warned that any British nationals who choose to travel to Afghanistan despite the advice should carefully assess the risks, review their destinations and ensure they have appropriate travel insurance.

Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have sharply deteriorated in recent months, leading to deadly border clashes. The United Nations has previously reported that at least 50 civilians were killed and 453 others wounded in clashes between Taliban forces and Pakistani forces between 10 and 17 October.

According to the UN report, most of the casualties resulted from airstrikes and cross-border shelling in Spin Boldak and Kabul.

In a statement on the meeting, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Afghanistan’s neighbours and Russia supported efforts to de-escalate tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan and expressed readiness to help strengthen those efforts.

The statement added that regional countries are prepared to assist in promoting stability in Afghanistan if requested by authorities in Kabul.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said participants emphasised the need for greater regional convergence to address existing issues and challenges, including those related to Afghanistan. The statement, released on Monday, said Afghanistan’s neighbours also stressed the importance of integrating the country into regional political and economic processes.

According to the ministry, regional countries, while underscoring ongoing security threats, expressed readiness to assist Afghanistan in combating terrorism and drug trafficking.

The Tehran meeting was held on Sunday, with the participation of special representatives from China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Despite Iran’s emphasis on consensus among Afghanistan’s neighbours and Russia, no joint statement has been issued so far.

The Iranian statement made no reference to human rights violations in Afghanistan, including restrictions on education and employment for women and girls, or the formation of an inclusive government.

Instead, participants stressed the need to strengthen economic and trade relations with Afghanistan to improve the livelihoods of the Afghan people. Tehran said countries at the meeting called on the international community to lift sanctions and release Afghanistan’s frozen assets.

The statement also urged countries considered responsible for Afghanistan’s current situation to assist in rebuilding the country and improving economic and living conditions without using aid as a political tool.

Participants further called on international organisations to support the return of Afghan refugees.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the second round of the meeting of special representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries and Russia is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in March next year.

The meeting of Taliban clerics was held amid heightened tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In a statement issued after the gathering, clerics aligned with the Taliban declared the use of Afghan territory against other countries illegitimate and warned that action would be taken against those responsible.

Speaking on Sunday, 15 December, Ashrafi said: “It is now the responsibility of the Afghan interim government to ensure the implementation of the recent declaration issued by its scholars.” He described the statement as “a positive step in the right direction.”

Ashrafi said there was no difference between the positions of Afghan and Pakistani clerics on the issue, adding that attacks should not be carried out from Afghanistan against Pakistan, or from Pakistan against Afghanistan.

His remarks come as relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have sharply deteriorated. A surge in militant attacks inside Pakistan has contributed to rising tensions and clashes between Afghan Taliban forces and the Pakistani military.

In response, Pakistan’s military has carried out strikes on targets inside Afghanistan, including in Kabul. Following the escalation, the two sides engaged in several rounds of talks mediated by various countries, but the negotiations ended without a breakthrough.