Taliban Defense Minister Warning: Ties with Pakistan to be harmed over Afghan refugee expulsion
Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob has condemned the latest decision of Pakistan’s caretaker government to expel Afghan refugees by October 31, 2023, calling it an unjust decision. He said the decision will harm bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The acting Minister of Defense, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, speaking at the 14th graduation ceremony of the police academy in Kabul, demanded the Pakistani people, ulema (religious scholars), and political leaders to withdraw the decision.
Yaqoob is the eldest son of the late Taliban founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar. He pursued his religious education in various seminaries in Karachi, Pakistan. When his father passed away in April 2013 amid speculations of an assassination by rival Akhtar Mansour, Yaqoob refuted the rumors, asserting that his father died of natural causes. Yaqoob is also part of Taliban’s key decision-making council, the Rehbari Shura.
The decision taken by the Pakistani government regarding Afghan refugee to leave the country on November 1 is unjust and condemnable, and we call on the people of Pakistan, clerics and political leaders to stop this decision, Yaqoob said.
Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid holds a prominent position within the Taliban hierarchy. He is an influential Afghan commander and cleric, serving as the second deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting defense minister. Yaqoob has been a deputy leader of the Taliban since 2016 and assumed his ministerial role following the Taliban’s victory over Western-backed forces in the 2001–2021 conflict. He has served as the Taliban’s military chief since 2020.
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid also called on Afghan investors who have invested in Pakistan to stop investing in their host countries and use their assets for the self-sufficiency of Afghanistan.
