Abdul Latif Mansour, the Taliban’s Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, says that shedding the blood of innocent Afghans and Pakistani citizens is forbidden in Islam. He said the Taliban are trying, on the one hand, to “avenge” the killing of Afghans and, on the other, to prevent further bloodshed and funerals.
Mansour made the remarks at a ceremony marking the inauguration of the Afghanistan-China transit road and the Wakhan project. He said indiscriminate warfare is prohibited in Islam. He added that the Taliban are seeking to make Afghanistan sufficiently self-reliant to enable them to defend every Afghan and “neutralize” those who pose a threat within the country.
He acknowledged that the Taliban administration is still not fully self-sufficient and said their objective is to prevent the situation from reaching a point where “blood is shed, funerals continue, and the objective is unclear.”
Addressing Pakistan, Mansour said that the killing of innocent Afghans is unacceptable to them, adding that Afghans had not given anyone permission to take “revenge” on their behalf.
He also spoke about the war against the Soviet Union, saying that the conflict at that time was referred to as “jihad.” However, he argued that subsequent fighting among Afghan factions damaged the name and concept of jihad. Mansour stressed that no one can now describe the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan as “jihad.”
The Taliban’s Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development described the group’s economic policy as “transparent” and claimed that development projects are awarded through open and competitive bidding. He also made allegations concerning the involvement of ministers, deputy ministers, and provincial governors in major projects during the previous republican government.
Mansour also spoke about the Taliban’s general amnesty, national security, and ethnic and linguistic relations. He claimed that since the Taliban came to power, travel and movement between different parts of the country have become easier.
He also described the Taliban’s decision to restrict the use of smartphones as a “good decision,” claiming that such devices are distracting young people from studying and from religious education.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
