NEFA Foundation: Taliban Deny Reports of Peace Talks, Urge Fighters to Avoid Innocent Civilians

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained four new statements from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban). In these new communiqués, the Taliban have denied widespread rumors of Saudi-sponsored peace talks with the Afghan government and have mocked news that U.S. troops withdrawing from Iraq may soon be sent to Afghanistan. The communiqués also include an official message from Taliban commander Mullah Mohammed Omar, in which he strongly warned Taliban fighters, “be very careful when you face the general population and your innocent countrymen. Don’t go ahead with an attack which has the possibility of harming the general population… Every act [must be avoided] which is not in harmony with the teachings of Islam, which is not customary in our Islamic civilization, or which reflects poorly upon the Islamic nation. Covert enemy operations carried out in your name—such as the blasts in the mosques where there are gatherings of innocent people, highway robbery, the chopping of noses and ears in the name of what is forbidden in Islam and what is considered permissible or non permissible, and the burning of Islamic books—must be strongly countered. Whoever is responsible for acts such as this for whatever reasons must restrain his group, and must not defame our mujahideen.”

The translated statements can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

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