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On November 12, 2024, the Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), released a 241-page Pashtu-language book titled "Answer To The Council Of Tehreek [i.e., TTP]," answering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) criticism against the Islamic State (ISIS) and its caliphate.
The book appears to be a rebuttal of TTP's fatwa, titled "The Legal Position Of The Pakistani Taliban Movement On The So-Called Caliphate Declared By Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, May God Protect Him" issued sometime around 2014 arguing that the Caliphate declared by ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is not in accordance with shari'a and Muslims should not pledge allegiance to it. In its response, ISKP accuses TTP of scholarly betrayals and hostility to the truth.
From the beginning, the unidentified author accuses the Pakistani Taliban of hypocrisy and says that their accusations against the Islamic State demonstrate that the Pakistani Taliban are not fighting in the way of Allah, but rather for Pakistan.
Accusing the TTP of sedition, the book criticizes them for supporting Islamic religious scholars like Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Mufti Taqi Usmani, who generally support the positions adopted by the state of Pakistan. The author notes that these scholars do not consider the Pakistani police to be unbelievers and the TTP's war is only to gain control of the country, which cannot be considered jihad.
Citing the Quran, hadiths, and shari'a rulings, the author rejects the TTP's claims and arguments against ISIS and accuses it of contradicting shari'a for its friendship with unbelievers, its failure to consider the Pakistani government as apostate, and its failure to harm Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Shi'ites, and other non-Muslim Pakistani citizens.
A PDF copy of the book was shared on Telegram
The author also objects to TTP policies, saying that by limiting their jihad to Pakistan, their jihadi strategy contradicts Islam. He also said that the TTP practices of seeking good relations with the international community and respecting the international order generally also violate shari'a.
In short, this book attempts to prove that the caliphate declared in 2014 by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is in accordance with shari'a and that anyone who opposes it should be killed as deserters.
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