RASC News Agency: Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, a prominent former Afghanistani Jihadi leader, has categorically denounced the Taliban’s armed uprising against the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani, calling it illegitimate, misguided, and contrary to Islamic principles. In a recent high-profile media interview in Iran, Sayyaf characterized the Taliban’s emergence as an insurrection against the internationally recognized administration of President Rabbani and condemned it as religiously and legally unjustifiable.
Sayyaf asserted that internal political discord and factional rivalries provided the Taliban with an opportunity to rise, but their armed resistance against a lawful and legitimate Islamic government was indefensible. Speaking to Iranian media outlet “IRAF,” he emphasized that “rebelling against a Muslim, a Mujahid, and a scholar dedicated to Islamic propagation is fundamentally impermissible under Islamic law.” Despite multiple diplomatic efforts to engage the Taliban in negotiations, he lamented, the group consistently rejected dialogue in favor of war.
Furthermore, Sayyaf accused the Taliban of failing to adhere to Islamic jurisprudence in governing Afghanistan, asserting that their approach to establishing an Islamic state lacks both legitimacy and strategic foresight. He urged them to convene a legitimate governing council (Shura Ahl al-Hall wa al-Aqd) but accused them of having no real inclination toward power-sharing or meaningful reconciliation. In a veiled reference to the growing armed resistance against the Taliban inside Afghanistan, Sayyaf remarked that “those who have taken up arms against them have done so out of necessity, not desire because the Taliban refused to engage in genuine dialogue.”
Reflecting on Afghanistan’s final years as a republic, Sayyaf criticized the administration for systematically sidelining Jihadi leaders from governance. He accused then-President Ashraf Ghani of deliberately marginalizing Mujahideen figures, claiming that Ghani was deeply averse to their ideology and contributions. Sayyaf disclosed that he had personally requested authority over Kabul’s security, but Ghani refused to grant him the responsibility, a decision he implied contributed to the country’s eventual collapse.
Sayyaf’s recent diplomatic visit to Iran, reportedly at the invitation of Iranian officials, has fueled speculation about his potential role in brokering negotiations with the Taliban. While in Tehran, he is said to have held a direct phone conversation with Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader. Observers now speculate that Sayyaf may be positioning himself as a key mediator in future political discussions regarding Afghanistan’s governance.
