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Pakistani Cleric Calls Taliban Freedom Fighters
Monday, 05 January 2015 18:27
Last Updated on Monday, 05 January 2015 21:07
Written by Abdulhaq Omeri
A prominent Pakistani cleric and leader of the political party Jammat-e-Islami Pakistan, Sirajul Haq, has sought to legitimize the insurgency in Afghanistan and in a recent interview with Geo TV he told his followers, who are primarily Pakistani, that fighting foreign troops in Afghanistan is a fight for freedom.
Sirajul Haq has said that his party supports the Taliban movement in Afghanistan just as it supports the resistance of the Kashmiris against India and the Palestinian movement against the state of Israel. "We have always supported those fighting for their freedom in the past; we supported the war of the Vietnamese against the U.S., likewise the war of the Palestinians for their country, and those who resist in Kashmir also have our support and the same policy is pursued toward the Afghans," Sirajul Haq said. "The Taliban who are addressed sometimes as Taliban and sometimes as Mujahideen, in reality, they constitute the common people of Afghanistan who in the past fought against the Russians and now resist against the U.S., and they have always fought for their freedom and independence."
Despite promoting his views as belief in the right of Afghans to self-determination, the Pakistani cleric expressed explicit support for his government's covert backing of the Taliban in Afghanistan without a hint of irony. He admitted that in the past the Taliban has been used by Pakistan to serve its own interest, yet seemed to argue that Afghan and Pakistani interests are now one and the same.
"Pakistan has always supported them [Taliban] and will continue doing so," Sirajul Haq said. "The Pakistani people are familiar with the Taliban, initially I heard the name of Taliban from former Interior Minister Nasirullah Babur, who via Quetta travelled to Kandahar and remained there for eleven days and conveyed a positive image of Taliban and that they are our children," he added.
In response to his remarks, a number of Afghan legislators have come out in condemnation. They have highlighted the cleric's viewpoint as the root cause of violence in Afghanistan and instability in the region as a whole, but also questioned his right to speak about what is best for Afghanistan having likely been ruffled by his paternalistic approach to their country. "There is no reason for religious leaders of another country to comment on the internal affairs of Afghanistan or declare the war in Afghanistan in the name of freedom for the country," MP Shukria Barakzai said on Monday. "It is better that this guy express his views about Pakistan."
Others questioned if continuing to support the Taliban was in fact in Pakistan's interest, especially given Haq's comments come less than a month after Pakistani Taliban fighters infiltrated a school in Peshawar and slaughtered over 130 children. "The Taliban are common enemies of Afghanistan and Pakistan, therefore, Pakistan must not consider a difference between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban," MP Mohammad Nazir Ahmadzai told TOLOnews.
Although bilateral ties between Kabul and Islamabad seemed to have improved in recent months, as the new national unity government in Afghanistan has made overtures for cooperation and leveraged pressure from common allies such as China to bring Pakistan to the table as an honest partner for peace. The massacre at the school in Peshawar seemed to strike cord in Pakistan in a way other attacks by Taliban militants previously had not. Nevertheless, from Sirajul Haq's comments, it is clear some in Pakistan are still stand fully behind the insurgents.
[MENTION=1034]Badlun[/MENTION]
Monday, 05 January 2015 18:27
Last Updated on Monday, 05 January 2015 21:07
Written by Abdulhaq Omeri
A prominent Pakistani cleric and leader of the political party Jammat-e-Islami Pakistan, Sirajul Haq, has sought to legitimize the insurgency in Afghanistan and in a recent interview with Geo TV he told his followers, who are primarily Pakistani, that fighting foreign troops in Afghanistan is a fight for freedom.
Sirajul Haq has said that his party supports the Taliban movement in Afghanistan just as it supports the resistance of the Kashmiris against India and the Palestinian movement against the state of Israel. "We have always supported those fighting for their freedom in the past; we supported the war of the Vietnamese against the U.S., likewise the war of the Palestinians for their country, and those who resist in Kashmir also have our support and the same policy is pursued toward the Afghans," Sirajul Haq said. "The Taliban who are addressed sometimes as Taliban and sometimes as Mujahideen, in reality, they constitute the common people of Afghanistan who in the past fought against the Russians and now resist against the U.S., and they have always fought for their freedom and independence."
Despite promoting his views as belief in the right of Afghans to self-determination, the Pakistani cleric expressed explicit support for his government's covert backing of the Taliban in Afghanistan without a hint of irony. He admitted that in the past the Taliban has been used by Pakistan to serve its own interest, yet seemed to argue that Afghan and Pakistani interests are now one and the same.
"Pakistan has always supported them [Taliban] and will continue doing so," Sirajul Haq said. "The Pakistani people are familiar with the Taliban, initially I heard the name of Taliban from former Interior Minister Nasirullah Babur, who via Quetta travelled to Kandahar and remained there for eleven days and conveyed a positive image of Taliban and that they are our children," he added.
In response to his remarks, a number of Afghan legislators have come out in condemnation. They have highlighted the cleric's viewpoint as the root cause of violence in Afghanistan and instability in the region as a whole, but also questioned his right to speak about what is best for Afghanistan having likely been ruffled by his paternalistic approach to their country. "There is no reason for religious leaders of another country to comment on the internal affairs of Afghanistan or declare the war in Afghanistan in the name of freedom for the country," MP Shukria Barakzai said on Monday. "It is better that this guy express his views about Pakistan."
Others questioned if continuing to support the Taliban was in fact in Pakistan's interest, especially given Haq's comments come less than a month after Pakistani Taliban fighters infiltrated a school in Peshawar and slaughtered over 130 children. "The Taliban are common enemies of Afghanistan and Pakistan, therefore, Pakistan must not consider a difference between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban," MP Mohammad Nazir Ahmadzai told TOLOnews.
Although bilateral ties between Kabul and Islamabad seemed to have improved in recent months, as the new national unity government in Afghanistan has made overtures for cooperation and leveraged pressure from common allies such as China to bring Pakistan to the table as an honest partner for peace. The massacre at the school in Peshawar seemed to strike cord in Pakistan in a way other attacks by Taliban militants previously had not. Nevertheless, from Sirajul Haq's comments, it is clear some in Pakistan are still stand fully behind the insurgents.
[MENTION=1034]Badlun[/MENTION]
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