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The fatwa from Kabul appears to be aimed at the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan -- an extremist group that has close ideological and organizational ties with the Afghan Taliban. (file photo)
The fatwa from Kabul appears to be aimed at the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan -- an extremist group that has close ideological and organizational ties with the Afghan Taliban. (file photo)

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe for free, click here.

I'm Frud Bezhan, regional desk editor for Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Afghan Taliban has issued a fatwa, or Islamic decree, banning its fighters from launching attacks in neighboring Pakistan.

That is according to the Taliban’s top diplomat in Islamabad, Hafiz Mohibullah Shakir, who told Pakistan’s Geo News that waging violence in "Pakistan is not jihad," or holy war.

Shakir did not say when and by whom the fatwa was issued.

“I want to make it clear: No attacks will be launched from Afghanistan on Pakistan,” Shakir said on October 25.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, said in August that the group had issued a fatwa that banned its fighters from waging violence outside Afghanistan, without specifically mentioning Pakistan.

The Taliban defined its 19-year insurgency against the U.S.-backed Afghan government and international forces as a jihad against “infidels” and “occupiers.”

Why It's Important: The fatwa appears to be aimed at the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- an extremist group that has close ideological and organizational ties with the Afghan Taliban.

The TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, has intensified its insurgency against Islamabad since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

Pakistan has accused the Afghan Taliban of harboring the TTP and carried out cross-border attacks targeting TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan.

The fatwa also appears to be a response to growing reports that some Afghan Taliban fighters have joined the TTP’s insurgency.

Pakistani officials have said that Afghans have been involved in recent militant attacks in the South Asian country of some 240 million.

What's Next: The Afghan Taliban’s alleged sheltering of the TTP has soured its relations with Pakistan, its longtime ally.

The fatwa suggests that the Afghan militants are keen on mending ties with Islamabad. Recent tensions have led to costly border closures and deadly clashes.

In June, the Afghan Taliban relocated TTP fighters and their families away from the border with Pakistan to other areas of Afghanistan, a move intended to placate Islamabad.

What To Keep An Eye On

A young Afghan man has committed suicide in a refugee camp in Indonesia. Aqil Ali, 28, hanged himself in a camp in the city of Tanjung Pinang on October 22.

Hossein Azizi, Ali’s friend, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that he was in a “bad mental state” for weeks. “We found him hanging from a tree near the volleyball court in the camp,” he said.

Ali’s body was laid to rest on October 24. He had been in Indonesia since 2014.

Why It's Important: Ali’s death has highlighted the plight of the over 7,000 Afghan refugees stranded in Indonesia.

Many Afghans saw Indonesia as a short-term stopover en route to Australia. But in 2013 the authorities in Canberra began refusing entry to boats carrying refugees and sent them back to the Southeast Asian nation.

Indonesia is one of the world's least desirable places for refugees. Jakarta is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or the related 1967 protocol intended to eliminate restrictions on who can be considered a refugee.

Indonesia also has no asylum law of its own and delegates its responsibility to determine who gets refugee protection and finds solutions to the issue to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The result is that thousands of Afghan refugees are living in limbo in the archipelago, some for more than a decade, with no livelihood or security.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Until next time,

Frud Bezhan

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe for free here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

A family of Afghans sit on a vehicle in the Jamrud area of Khyber district on October 6 as they return to Afghanistan, following Pakistan's decision to expel people illegally staying in the country.
A family of Afghans sit on a vehicle in the Jamrud area of Khyber district on October 6 as they return to Afghanistan, following Pakistan's decision to expel people illegally staying in the country.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

A growing chorus of governments, human rights groups, and NGOs have urged Pakistan to reverse its decision to forcibly deport over 1 million Afghans from the country.

Islamabad has said the estimated 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants living in Pakistan must leave voluntarily or face deportation by November 1.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HCRP) became the latest organization to criticize the decision, saying it "amounts to forced repatriation, which is not recognized under international law."

In its October 18 statement, the HCRP said Pakistan's caretaker government lacked the legal mandate to order the mass expulsions.

Around 3.7 million Afghans live in Pakistan, according to the United Nations, including some 700,000 people who arrived after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Why It's Important: Rights groups have said the mass deportations will put Afghans at great risk of retribution in their homeland.

Tens of thousands of Afghans who have applied for foreign visas or refugee relocation in the West remain stuck in Pakistan. Many of them are journalists, activists, and former interpreters who worked with international forces.

A group of former top U.S. officials and resettlement organizations on October 18 urged Pakistan to exempt them from deportation. "To deport them back to an environment where their lives would be in jeopardy runs counter to humanitarian principles and international accords," the open letter said.

Activists also say Pakistan's announcement has fueled growing abuse against Afghans, including harassment, assault, and arbitrary detention.

"Afghanistan is reeling from economic and human rights crises," Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. "Pakistani authorities should realize that this announcement has prompted the country's police to abuse refugees."

Last week, the United Nations said the "forced repatriation of Afghan nationals has the potential to result in severe human rights violations, including the separation of families and deportation of minors."

What's Next: Despite mounting criticism, Pakistan has been adamant that all "illegal" refugees and migrants must leave the country of some 240 million.

Pakistan's powerful military, which has an oversized role in the country's domestic and foreign affairs, said on October 17 that it backed the government's decision to "deport all illegal foreigners" and will "support and facilitate smooth, respectable, and safe repatriation/deportation of all illegal foreigners."

It is unclear if Islamabad will be able to deport all undocumented Afghans by the November 1 deadline, given the complex logistics involved.

Over the years, Islamabad has expelled many Afghans, who are often blamed for insecurity and unemployment, and periodically threatens those who remain with mass expulsion.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban said it wants to formally join China's globe-spanning Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The Taliban Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters on October 19 that the group had "requested China to allow us to be a part" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a centerpiece of the BRI.

"China, which invests all over the world, should also invest in Afghanistan...we have everything they need, such as lithium, copper, and iron," Azizi told Reuters.

Azizi spoke a day after the end of the annual Belt and Road Forum, which Taliban representatives attended.

In May, Islamabad and Beijing announced that CPEC would be extended to Afghanistan.

Why It's Important: China has been cautious about expanding its relations with the Taliban government, which is under international sanctions and remains internationally unrecognized.

It is unclear if the Taliban's participation in the Belt and Road Forum, a key annual event in China, is a sign that Beijing is ramping up its engagement with Afghanistan.

Experts have said Beijing's primary concern in Afghanistan is the threat posed by members of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) -- an Uyghur extremist group that Beijing blames for unrest in its western province of Xinjiang.

The Taliban has been accused of sheltering Uyghur militants and done little to alleviate China's security concerns.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

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Radio Azadi is RFE/RL's Dari- and Pashto-language public service news outlet for Afghanistan. Every Friday in our newsletter, the Azadi Briefing, correspondent Abubakar Siddique shares his analysis of the week’s most important issues and explain why they matter.

To subscribe, click here.

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