ISLAMABAD  -  Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is likely to leave for Kabul to hold talks with the Taliban Supreme leader.

Reportedly, Maula Fazl is waiting for some final arrangements by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. The JUI delegation comprises of two members from each province. A key member of the delegation is already in Kabul and has laid the foundation for all expected meetings and their agendas. 

The Taliban Supreme leader, has given his nod to meet Mau­lana Fazlur Rehman, according to a media report. 

“The TTP remains the im­pending issue between Ka­bul and Islamabad and it is the main agenda points along with several other issues that will be discussed” revealed the source with direct knowledge of the visit. Meanwhile, a car of a local leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF)’s, Haji Gul Zareen, was fired upon by unidentified per­sons in Paharkhel area, Lakki Marwat district, Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa. He was said to be safe after the attack. 

Meanwhile, Maulana Fazlur Rehman is set to embark on his maiden visit to Afghanistan in nearly 10 years today (Sun­day). The senior politician has Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Pak-Afghan bilater­al relationship among other is­sues on the visit’s agenda, the sources said. 

Interim Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Sardar Ahmed Jan Shakib on December 16, met the senior politician and invited him to visit Afghanistan. Later, Taliban government’s spokes­person Zabihullah Mujahid con­firmed Fazl’s upcoming visit.

This will be Fazl’s first vis­it since the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country following the United States withdrawal in 2021. Fazl first visited Afghani­stan in 2013 during the govern­ment of former president Ha­mid Karzai. 

The sources said that former member of the National Assem­bly Jamaluddin Mehsood will accompany the JUI-F chief on the trip. Continuous use of Af­ghan soil against Pakistan — an issue that Islamabad has time again raised before the Tali­ban-led Afghan administration — will also be discussed on the visit, sources added. 

Speaking on Geo News’ pro­gramme “Jirga”, which will be aired tomorrow, Fazl said that he has the government’s man­date for the Afghanistan visit. 

“I believe in negotiations but one can move towards a com­prehensive strategy only by looking at the ground realities for talks with TTP,” Fazl said. 

The visit comes at a point when ties between the two countries have gone sour in the backdrop of a spike in ter­ror incidents in Pakistan, most­ly claimed by the TTP. 

Pakistan remained a theatre of terrorism and violence in the year 2023 amid internal politi­cal conflicts, socioeconomic dis­parities, regional instability, and rising tensions with the militant groups operating in border ar­eas adjacent to Afghanistan.

Fazl, on the other hand, has expressed grave concern over the peace and security situation in the country after his party came under attack thrice in the last six months due to being in the cross-hairs of banned out­fits over the years.

The latest was a gun attack on the politician’s convoy in Dera Ismail Khan, but fortunately, he remained unharmed as he wasn’t present there. 

Last year in September, se­nior JUI-F leader Hafiz Ham­dullah was injured in a blast — that wounded 10 others — in Balochistan’s Mastung area, while in July 2023, at least 40 JUI-F workers were killed in a suicide blast that targeted the party’s workers’ convention in Bajaur’s .