The resolution follows a three-day conference of religious leaders and elders in Kabul, according to Afghanistan’s state-run Bakthar news agency. ISIS-K (the k stands for Khorasan, the name of a historical region that covered parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan) has been active in Afghanistan in recent years. It is an offshoot of ISIS — the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — according to the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan policy forum. It has carried out numerous attacks on Afghan civilians and is believed to be responsible for thousands of deaths since its inception in 2015. The Taliban resolution stated that Afghanistan follows an Islamic system of government and that “armed opposition to this system is considered rebellion and corruption.” He added that “any kind of opposition to this Islamic system of power, which conflicts with Islamic Sharia and national interests, is corruption and illegal action.” The connection between ISIS-K and its apparent parent group, the Islamic State, is not entirely clear. affiliates share an ideology and a tactic, but the depth of their relationship in terms of organization and command and control has never been fully documented. U.S. intelligence officials previously told CNN that ISIS-K’s membership includes “a small number of veteran Syrian jihadists and other foreign terrorist fighters,” saying the U.S. has identified 10 to 15 of its top operatives in Afghanistan. Its early members included Pakistani fighters who emerged in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province about a decade ago, many of whom had fled Pakistan and defected from other terrorist groups, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Counterterrorism analysts last year estimated its strength at around 1,500-2,000, but that number may have risen.
Calling for recognition
The rally in Kabul with 3,000 attendees — all men, according to state media — ended Saturday with a call for the international community to recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government as legitimate. The United States and other counties have been reluctant to recognize the Taliban since they quickly took over the country in August 2021, just weeks after the withdrawal of American troops began. Since then, the Taliban have imposed new restrictions on women, banning them from working in most sectors and requiring them to cover their faces in public and have a male guardian for long-distance travel. The girls are barred from returning to high school. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned on Friday that “women and girls in Afghanistan are experiencing the most significant and rapid decline in the enjoyment of their rights in all areas in decades.” The World Bank has frozen projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the issue. An 11-point resolution released at the end of the meeting called for the recognition and unblocking of foreign aid, while pledging to “take valuable steps towards the realization of national interests and the welfare of the people and the prevention of poverty and unemployment.” Bakhhar reported. “We call on the United Nations and other international organizations, especially Islamic countries and organizations, to recognize the Islamic emirate as a legitimate system, interact positively with it, remove all sanctions from Afghanistan, release the frozen funds of the Afghan nation and promote the economic development and reconstruction of our nation,” the resolution reads, according to Bakhtar. In the resolution, the Taliban also pledged allegiance to Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s reclusive supreme leader, whom it referred to as “the leader of the people”. In a rare speech at the rally, Akhundzada praised the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last year as “a source of pride for Afghans but also for Muslims around the world.” “Thank God, we are now an independent country. (Foreigners) should not give us their orders, it is our system and we have our own decisions,” Akhundzada added. Speaking to the clerics, Akhundzada reaffirmed his commitment to implementing Sharia law, Islam’s legal system derived from the Koran, while expressing his opposition to the “lifestyle of non-believers”. The Taliban’s harsh interpretation of Sharia law when they were last in power led to dozens of violent punishments, including stoning of alleged adulterers, public executions and mutilations. CNN’s Hannah Ritchie contributed reporting.
