Afghanistan and Regional Peace

From Resistance to Occupation to the Responsibility of Peace

Pakistan and Afghanistan are bound by faith, geography, history, trade and family relations. Instability in either country inevitably harms the other. Jamaat-e-Islami has therefore regarded Afghanistan not as a foreign-policy file alone, but as a central question of Pakistan’s security and the freedom of the Muslim region.

Resistance to the Soviet Occupation

When Soviet forces entered Afghanistan in December 1979, Jamaat regarded the invasion as an expansionist occupation and a direct threat to the freedom of Afghanistan and the security of Pakistan.

Jamaat supported the Afghan Mujahideen politically, morally and through humanitarian work from the beginning. Refugee camps, medical facilities and assistance networks were established for families fleeing war and for injured Afghans. Pakistani communities hosted millions of refugees, while Jamaat and its welfare workers helped provide education, food, healthcare and rehabilitation.

Jamaat’s leadership developed relations with major Afghan resistance figures, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Burhanuddin Rabbani and Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf. These leaders represented different movements and ethnic or political constituencies, but they shared resistance to Soviet occupation.

Afghan Jamiat-e-Islami, led by Professor Rabbani, had itself been influenced by the writings of Maulana Maududi. Hezb-e-Islami and other Afghan movements also maintained close relations with Jamaat leaders in Pakistan. 

Qazi Hussain Ahmad visited Afghanistan repeatedly, met Mujahideen leaders and travelled to frontline regions. Jamaat also celebrated the Soviet withdrawal as the victory of an oppressed people over a superpower.

The Afghan Civil War and Mediation

The withdrawal of the Soviet Union did not bring the peace for which Afghans had sacrificed. Disagreement among Mujahideen factions developed into armed conflict and caused immense destruction.

Jamaat did not regard conflict between Muslim resistance groups as an acceptable outcome. Its leaders repeatedly attempted reconciliation among Hekmatyar, Rabbani, Sayyaf and other Afghan figures. Qazi Hussain Ahmad met Afghan leaders and supported negotiated arrangements intended to prevent civil war and create a representative Islamic government.

These efforts did not always succeed, but they reflected Jamaat’s consistent position that Islamic movements must resolve differences through shura and agreement rather than destroy their societies through factional warfare.

Opposition to the United States Invasion

After 11 September 2001, the United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan. Jamaat opposed the invasion and rejected the use of Pakistan as a logistical base for a prolonged foreign war.

Jamaat believed that the Afghan people could not be collectively punished for the actions of individuals and that occupation would deepen violence rather than bring stability. Under Qazi Hussain Ahmad and later Syed Munawar Hasan, Jamaat opposed drone attacks, civilian casualties, foreign military bases and Pakistan’s subordination to an externally defined war.

Its moral support for Afghan resistance to occupation did not amount to approval of every tactic or every armed group. Jamaat condemned attacks upon civilians, mosques, schools, markets and public institutions.

The Taliban’s Return in 2021

The withdrawal of foreign forces and the Taliban’s return to Kabul in August 2021 ended two decades of direct Western military occupation. Jamaat welcomed the end of occupation and urged the international community not to punish the Afghan people through isolation, frozen assets and economic strangulation.

At the same time, victory created new responsibilities for the Taliban. An Islamic government must provide justice, security, education, consultation, economic opportunity and protection of life and property. It must move from the discipline of resistance to the institutions of responsible governance.

Jamaat has sought constructive relations with the incumbent Afghan authorities and supports engagement rather than another cycle of isolation and war.

A Clear Distinction Between Afghanistan and Militancy in Pakistan

Jamaat distinguishes between the Afghan people’s resistance to foreign occupation and armed attacks against Pakistan.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other militant organisations have carried out attacks upon civilians, security personnel, mosques, schools and public facilities. Jamaat has repeatedly condemned such violence. No organisation has the right to impose its interpretation through bloodshed or to declare war upon Pakistani society.

Dialogue may be necessary to end conflict, but dialogue cannot legitimise terrorism. Any process must operate under Pakistan’s Constitution, require an end to violence and protect the rights of affected communities.

The Afghan Government has a clear responsibility not to allow any group to use Afghan territory for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul maintains that it does not permit such activity, while Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that TTP networks operate from Afghan soil. These accusations have created dangerous tensions and cross-border clashes. [10]

Jamaat’s Framework for Regional Peace

Jamaat calls for:

1. Direct and sustained dialogue between Islamabad and Kabul.
2. A verifiable Afghan commitment that no armed group will use its territory against Pakistan.
3. An end to unilateral attacks and collective punishment on either side of the border.
4. Cooperation against TTP, Daesh and criminal trafficking networks.
5. Respectful treatment and documented repatriation of Afghan refugees.
6. Expansion of trade, transit, education and infrastructure links.
7. Inclusion of tribal communities in border-region development.
8. Mediation by trusted Muslim countries when bilateral talks stall.
9. Humanitarian and economic engagement with Afghanistan.
10. Recognition that peace cannot be achieved through permanent war.

Pakistan must defend its citizens and territory. Afghanistan must protect its sovereignty. Neither objective requires hostility between two brotherly Muslim peoples.

Jamaat’s message is that the era of proxy war must end. Afghanistan should become a bridge between South Asia and Central Asia, not a battlefield for competing powers. Regional peace requires justice, dialogue, economic cooperation and a shared refusal to provide space to those who kill innocent people.