Kabul, Jan 29 (.) An Islamic cleric in Afghanistan, aligned with the ruling Taliban, has urged supporters to wage “jihad” against Pakistan and several Central Asian countries, while attending a funeral ceremony near Kabul.
The cleric, Sher Ali Hamad, made the comments at a funeral in Guldara district for a man identified as Ayoub, also known as Zakir, who was reportedly killed by Pakistani authorities amidst the recent clashes near the border areas of Kunar, between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan Army.
In his speech, Hamad calling for the Islamisation of all these countries, and berated the political systems of Central Asian states and Pakistan, which are based on parliamentary republics, according to Afghan International.
Terming their political systems as “infidel”, he called for the overthrow of those governments to establish Islamic rule, and vowed that he would not rest until “the flag of Islam” was raised in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
The remarks come despite repeated statements by Taliban authorities that their administration in Afghanistan poses no threat to the region or the wider world and that they are working to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries.
The theocratic rant has caused concern among officials in the Central Asian nations and Pakistan, with all their administrations reiterating their claims of having repeatedly expressed mounting concerns about the presence and activities of militant groups in Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials have further alleged that deadly attacks inside Pakistan are planned by terror groups from Afghan territory.
While the Taliban has acknowledged that there are security concerns in the country, amid their constant clashes with fighters from ISIS – Khorasan, they have consistently denied the Pakistani claims.
The Taliban, in turn, have accused Pakistan of using Afghanistan as a smokescreen to hide their own failures, as well as repeatedly charged them with supporting fighters belonging to ISIS, giving them both shelter and munitions for carrying out attacks in Afghanistan.
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