IF one of the main purposes of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s visit to Afghanistan was to convince the Afghan Taliban to rein in the banned TTP and prevent the terrorist group from using Afghan soil as a launchpad for anti-Pakistan activities, either the message did not get through, or the TTP are in no mood to listen.

The maulana received official protocol upon his arrival in Kabul and on Monday met the ‘Islamic Emirate’s’ Prime Minister Mullah Hassan Akhund. Incidentally, on the day the maulana was meeting the Taliban leadership, the TTP launched a murderous assault on policemen escorting polio vaccinators in Bajaur. At least six police personnel were martyred in the attack.

Mullah Akhund also brought up the issue of Afghan migrants’ expulsion from Pakistan with the maulana, decrying the allegedly ‘cruel’ treatment meted out to his compatriots by this country.

Maulana Fazl, who was accompanied by a delegation, also had Pakistan’s top diplomat in Kabul with him during his engagements, indicating that the JUI-F chief’s visit has state sanction. According to media reports, Mullah Akhund assured the JUI-F chief that his government bore no malice towards Pakistan, while adding that they would not let Afghan soil be used against any country.

The Afghan Taliban have long denied that their country is being used by terrorist groups to target regional states, while Pakistan has firmly argued that the TTP have havens on the other side of the Durand Line.

While maulana sahib’s efforts are welcome, questions arise about how effective these will prove to be in actually bringing down militancy. It should be remembered that in 2022, a delegation of Pakistani Deobandi ulema, led by Mufti Taqi Usmani, made a similar trip to Afghanistan and met both the Afghan Taliban as well as the TTP leadership.

While the Pakistani divines were received with great reverence in Afghanistan, their visit failed to dampen the TTP’s appetite for violence against this country. Even if Maulana Fazl is able to convince the Afghan Taliban that controlling militancy is in Afghanistan’s interest, will Kabul’s rulers be able to rein in their ideological comrades in the TTP?

At the end of the day, both the Afghan Taliban and the TTP — though bound by ideology and worldview — are two different organisations, with separate leadership structures.

For the Taliban, the marching orders are received from the Kandahar-based Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, while the TTP has its own hierarchy. The Taliban can and should apply pressure on the TTP to stop attacking Pakistan.

But while some militants may be reverential to the clergy, ultimately they are free agents, and not bound by the usual rules of engagement. Therefore, the days ahead will tell if Maulana Fazl’s mission has been a success.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2024