Taliban warned against missions abroad

Analysts and Pakistan welcome a reported decree of Afghanistan's Supreme Leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, that Afghan citizens venturing into Pakistan for militancy purposes will not be honored as martyrs if they perish in their act.

He emphasized that members of the transitional government and the wider Afghan population should refrain from engagements outside Afghan borders.

The supreme leader said the era of jihad beyond Afghanistan has come to an end, as it stands contrary to the principles of Islam.

The decree in late July was believed to be assigned to Taliban commanders and officials, though not yet made public, according to sources from the Afghan embassy in Islamabad and Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

Akhundzada warned that those who breach this order will not receive forgiveness or recognition from the Afghan government. Further, should any individual die in terrorism-linked actions outside Afghanistan, particularly in Pakistan, representatives from the administration would avoid attending their funerals.

This sentiment was echoed by Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, who has urged Afghan troops to steer clear of external confrontations.

Earlier, Pakistan's military chief, General Asim Munir, said involvement of Afghan nationals in Pakistan is "detrimental to regional peace, stability", citing the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which has attacked security forces as well as Chinese nationals working on different projects across Pakistan.

Pakistan has long expressed its wish that Afghanistan's administration will outlaw the TTP.

Ashfaq Hassan, a retired brigadier and security analyst, said in an interview: "It is a turning point in the ongoing standoff between the two neighbors. The Afghan supreme leader understood the complexity and issued the decree."

The Samarkand Declaration issued by foreign ministers from Afghanistan's neighboring countries, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, in April noted that all parties acknowledge that the security situation related to terrorism in Afghanistan is still grave, pointing out that terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, including the "Islamic State", the "East Turkestan Islamic Movement" and "Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan" continue to pose serious threats to regional and global security, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Yerzhan Dosmukhamedov, a former fellow at the University of Oxford, said the Afghan supreme leader's statement "is a positive development".

The Taliban leadership should educate Afghan youth to contribute to the country's future, he said.

Abdul Basit, Pakistan's former diplomat to India, noted the most recent terror attack in Bannu was perpetrated by the Khorasan chapter of the Islamic State, or IS-K. "It is also believed that many TTP militants have joined the IS-K," he said.

In a message on June 25, the Afghan supreme leader said Afghanistan wants good relations with the world, though no one should interfere in the country's internal affairs, Xinhua reported.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.