KABUL: Afghan scholars have issued a fatwa, or religious decree, banning the use of Afghan soil for attacks on other countries and declaring national defense a sacred religious duty, less than a week after deadly border clashes erupted again between Afghanistan and Pakistan following a fragile ceasefire.
The decree was issued on Wednesday following a grand assembly in Kabul that was attended by around a thousand clerics, religious leaders and officials.
They held discussions in the presence of several Taliban leaders, including Supreme Judge Sheikh Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Minister of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Khalid Hanafi, and Minister of Higher Education Sheikh Neda Mohammad Nadeem.
In a five-article decree seen by Arab News, the scholars said that defending national interests is “necessary and obligatory” for every Muslim.
“Whenever anyone from outside Afghanistan attempts to invade or harm the country, defense becomes a religious obligation. Muslims, without hesitation, must consider defending the system, the land, and their own values as an obligation. This defense is called ‘sacred jihad,’” one article reads.
