JUI-F’s Fazlur Rehman in Afghanistan to discuss security issues

KABUL: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday reached Kabul, Afghanistan to hold talks on regional and security issues amid a spike in cross-border attacks, ARY News reported.

According to party spokesperson, the JUI-F chief – who is on maiden visit to Afghanistan in nearly 10 years – was welcomed by interim Afghan Foreign Minister Ameer Khan

Fazl last visited Afghanistan in 2013 and met then-president Hamid Karzai.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the JUI-F said Fazlur Rehman departed for Afghanistan with a high-level delegation of party leaders, including Maulana Abdul Wasi, Maulana Salahuddin, Maulana Jamaluddin, Maulana Salimuddin Shamzai, Aslam Ghauri and others.

جے یو آئی سربراہ مولانا فضل الرحمان افغانستان روانہ
مولانا فضل الرحمان کے ہمراہ پارٹی رہنماؤں پر مشتمل اعلی سطحی وفد بھی ہے ۔اسلم غوری
مولانا فضل الرحمان افغان حکومت کی خصوصی دعوت پر آج کابل پہنچیں گے ۔اسلم غوری
خطے سمیت امن وامان کی صورتحال پر بات چیت ہوگی ۔ترجمان
جے یو آئی… pic.twitter.com/cseIjbqcX7

— Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (@juipakofficial) January 7, 2024

During the visit, Fazlur Rehman will hold meetings with the Afghan Taliban leaders and discuss the regional and security situation, the statement noted.

It is pertinent to mention here that the representative of the Taliban government and Afghan envoy in Islamabad had officially invited Maulana Fazlur Rehman a few days ago to visit Afghanistan on behalf of his government.

Relations between the Taliban government and Pakistan have seen a rapid deterioration after an increase in terrorist attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, mostly claimed by outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Islamabad has stated that the TTP and other groups use Afghan soil against Pakistan – a claim denied by Afghan Taliban government.

The interim Afghan government stated they will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil to be used against the neighbour. But authorities remain unconvinced and have demanded action against the TTP, its sanctuaries and the handover of its leaders.

Last year, Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwarul Haq Kakar pointed out a 60 percent increase in terrorism and a 500 percent spike in suicide bombings since the Afghan Taliban came to power in August 2021.

Moreover, Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies – in its report – stated that over 82pc of terrorism-related deaths in 2023 resulted from attacks perpetrated by three major groups TTP and its subsidiaries Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan, Islamic State of Khorasan and the Balochistan Liberation Army.

JUI-F’s Fazlur Rehman, on the other hand, expressed grave concern over the peace and security situation in the country after his party came under attack thrice in the last six months.

Recently, the JUI-F’s chief convoy was targeted in a brazen attack at the Yarik Interchange in Dera Ismail Khan.

KP police said vehicles part of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s convoy went to Yarak area for refuelling when the incident occurred, but the politician was not present on the spot.

Last year in September, senior JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah was injured in a blast — that wounded 10 others — in Balochistan’s Mastung area, while in July 2023, at least 40 JUI-F workers were killed in a suicide blast that targeted the party’s workers’ convention in Bajaur.