RASC News Agency: Veteran Afghanistani jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf has dismissed the Taliban’s proposed Grand Assembly (Loya Jirga), asserting that it will serve no genuine purpose in addressing the nation’s challenges. Sayyaf criticized the initiative, stating that the assembly, which the Taliban claim will determine Afghanistan’s future, will be nothing more than a gathering of their own members and handpicked loyalists. He argued that such a meeting would fail to represent the Afghanistani people and would offer no real solutions to the country’s mounting crises.
Recent reports suggest that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, plans to convene a Loya Jirga aimed at legitimizing their rule. However, this move has drawn sharp criticism from political opponents and former government figures. Sayyaf strongly rejected the notion, asserting that such a gathering would be a mockery of Afghanistan’s historical traditions rather than a legitimate forum for national dialogue. He ridiculed the Taliban’s approach, remarking: “They are the pot, the potter, the clay, and the buyer of their own pottery.” He further stressed that outside the Taliban’s inner circle, no one would recognize or accept the legitimacy of this assembly.
Sayyaf has previously urged the Taliban to establish a “Shura-e-Hal o Aqd” (Council of Resolution and Agreement) as a more credible and inclusive mechanism for determining Afghanistan’s leadership. During a March 3 visit to Iran, he told Iranian media that the Taliban regime lacks legitimacy and that the people’s representatives must have a role in selecting the country’s leader. He emphasized that a legitimate leadership process must involve representatives from all districts and provinces, ensuring that the nation’s leader is chosen through a transparent and inclusive system. Sayyaf argued that if a leader were elected through such a council, the people would pledge allegiance to them, unlike the Taliban, who have seized power unilaterally without public consent.
He also pointed out that Burhanuddin Rabbani’s government had been established through a legitimate Council of Resolution and Agreement, providing it with a religious and political foundation. Despite nearly three years in power, the Taliban have refused to form an inclusive government and continue to exclude non-Pashtun ethnic groups from governance, further deepening Afghanistan’s political and social divisions.
