ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban on Monday condemned remarks made by a Kabul-based senior Saudi diplomat, who had called the Taliban a “terrorist group”.
Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Kabul Mishari Alharbi told BBC in Kabul that Saudi Arabia “considers the Taliban a terrorist and anti-government group”. “This is the current position of Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi envoy had said, adding that the Taliban political office in Qatar was not working for political purposes, but was helping the Taliban insurgency.
The Taliban rejected Alharbi’s remarks and advised the Kingdom to play its role in “ending the occupation and resolution of the Afghan issue in this critical phase of the history of our country”.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also dismissed the Saudi envoy’s claim over the Qatar office and said the aim of the Taliban office was to “explore the political solution for the Afghan issue”.
“The leadership of the Islamic Emirate has assigned the said purpose, which in itself shows commitment of the Islamic Emirate for a peaceful solution. The political office has made its effort for this same purpose and will specifically continue to do so,” Mujahid said.
Saudi Arabia was of the three countries to recognise the Taliban after they took over Kabul in 1996. Pakistan and the United Arab Emirate were the other two countries to accord recognition to the Taliban government. Islamabad withdrew recognition after the attacks in the US and had handed over then Afghan ambassador Mullah Abdul Zaeef to the US military at Peshawar airport.
“As the foreign forces led by America had currently occupied Afghanistan and the Afghan Muslim people under the leadership of the Islamic Emirate are struggling for independence of the country and establishment of a system based on Islamic beliefs, therefore, we expect Saudi Arabia to play a positive role in ending the occupation and resolution of the Afghan issue in this critical phase of the history of our country,” he said.
Afghan political analysts believe Saudi envoy’s statement against the Taliban is in fact expression of its anger against Qatar in view of the current diplomatic tensions in the Gulf.
Najam Burhani, a senior Afghan journalist, says Saudi Arabia wants to exert more pressure on Qatar and its envoy has used harsh language against the Taliban.
Taliban had opened the political office in 2013, but it was closed after days when the then Afghan President Hamid Karzai raised objections at the Islamic Emirate’s use of the white flag that Taliban had used during 1996-2001.
“This is a political issue. As Saudis have problems with Qatar and have slapped sanctions on Qatar, so the Kingdom has unleashed criticism at the Taliban and their political representatives who are living in Qatar,” Burhani told Daily Times on Monday. “I do not think any major change in Saudi Arabia’s stance towards Afghanistan. Saudis have not taken any action against the Taliban because Taliban is a Sunni movement and the Kingdom supports Sunni governments and movement,” said Burhani.
Mullah Omar’s former spokesman Abdul Hai Mutmain recalls that Taliban leaders had the option of opening offices in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but Saudis distanced themselves from the Taliban due to their longstanding disputes with the Taliban over Osama bin Laden.
“There was a trust gap between the Taliban and Saudis. Taliban also had serious suspicions about Turkey as it was part of NATO’s invading forces in Afghanistan,” Mutmain told Daily Times.
People aware of the Taliban political activities in Qatar had earlier said that the Taliban leadership under Mullah Omar had preferred Qatar for their political office. Mullah Akhtar Mansour and Maulvi Haibtullah also endorsed Qatar office as the Taliban political envoys have “no problem” in their activities in the oil-rich Gulf state.
Taliban had used the Qatar office for nearly six months for secret talks for the swap of lone US soldier Sgt Bowe Bergdahl in return for five high-profile Afghan inmates held by the US military in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in June 2014. Qatar had helped in the US-Taliban talks through the political office.
Taliban’s rift with Saudi Arabia is not new. The Taliban last year rejected Saudi plans to host an international conference of religious scholars on Afghan conflict on the request by the Kabul administration.
Taliban had urged the ‘Ulema’ from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and other countries to stay away from the gathering that they argued could give a “legal face to the illegitimate Kabul administration”.
Former OIC secretary general Iyad Amin Madani had agreed to Kabul’s request for such a conference and had visited Islamabad and Kabul to hold the moot, but it could not be held after the Taliban condemnation blocked the move. Pakistan had also backed the proposed conference.
Published in Daily Times, August 8th 2017.
