KABUL: More than a thousand Afghan religious scholars and community leaders endorsed a firm declaration banning any form of armed activity outside Afghanistan’s borders.
The joint statement reaffirmed that no individual would be allowed to conduct military operations abroad, and anyone doing so would be deemed a rebel. It also urged the Afghan government to ensure that its territory is never used against any other country.
The ulema called for the protection of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and demanded strict action to curb external militant activities. The declaration is widely interpreted as an acknowledgment of Pakistan’s repeated concerns about cross-border attacks originating from Afghan soil.
Earlier negotiations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban in Istanbul stalled due to the Taliban’s inflexibility and unwillingness to provide written guarantees against such activities.
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