Abdul Bari Jahani, a former minister of information and culture and a well-known poet of the Pashto language, said in a letter to the Taliban that the group has made other ethnic groups suspicious of Pashtuns by handing over all power to Pashtun mullahs.
In an open letter to the Taliban on Sunday, May 17, Abdul Bari Jahani strongly criticized the group’s treatment of Shiites and their way of governing. He called the distinction made by the Taliban’s penal code between the followers of Hanafi and Jafari jurisprudence incorrect, stressing that all Afghans have equal citizenship rights.
Mr. Jahani said that Shia opposition to the Taliban has now turned into hatred. He warned the Taliban that they could not stand up to “the enmity of about seven million people,” not only the group, but also the great powers.
Referring to the Taliban’s arrest and humiliating treatment of Hussain Dad Sharifi, a prominent Shiite cleric, the Minister of Information and Culture of the previous government wrote that although Mr. Sharifi asked his followers to exercise patience and tolerance, there is no guarantee that the followers of the Shia religion will not react harshly.
The Pashto-language researcher believes that the Taliban’s pressure on Shiites has caused hatred among the religious group. He warned that the sense of hatred is passed down from generation to generation and can lead to serious reactions.
“On behalf of hundreds of thousands of Pashtuns, I say with full responsibility that not all Pashtuns or all Kandaharis are Taliban,” he said, stressing that Pashtuns in the north and south of Afghanistan have lived in peace and brotherhood with non-Pashtuns and Shiites throughout history.
The remarks come as the Taliban have recently faced a lot of criticism for exerting pressure on Shiites. The Taliban are accused of narrowing the playing field for Shia followers across Afghanistan and forcing them to follow the precepts of the Sunni religion.
The well-known Pashto-language poet and writer claimed that the Taliban have handed over all power to Pashtun mullahs, especially the mullahs of the southwest. He clarified that the Taliban have made other ethnic groups of Afghanistan suspicious of the Pashtuns with this action.
Abdul Bari Jahani has said that he is not in favor of armed conflict with the Taliban due to the bloodshed and civil war. However, he stressed that the Taliban have made not only Shiites but also the “majority of Pashtuns” and other ethnic groups of Afghanistan their enemies. According to him, the Taliban are accelerating the process of their destruction with these measures.
The former official wrote to the Taliban: “I did not find a single person in Kandahar, Kabul, and Jalalabad who was satisfied with you. If this situation continues, just as the people were fed up with the MEK’s intra-group wars and were satisfied with your power, your system will collapse as a result of public opposition.”
Mr. Jahani emphasized that there is no system in the history of the world that will stand up to the general opposition of the people and will not fall.
He wrote that if the Taliban continue to usurp the rights of Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns, allocate political power only to Pashtun mullahs, provide specialized ministries to uninformed people, and consider the people as enemies, it will lead Afghanistan towards destruction.
