Pakistan, Nov. 4 -- What good is a 179-page book on Islamic belief if its own followers never open it? That is the question hanging over a Pashto text attributed to Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban. It is titled "D Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaat Aqeeda." It lays out religious principles that sit very awkwardly beside the conduct of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. If the book means what it says, the TTP has a lot to answer for.

Take the matter of Muslim lives first. Pages 131 and 132 tell believers not to raise the sword against fellow Muslims. The book asks for respect toward life and property. In Pakistan, the TTP has done the opposite. Civilians and state personnel have been its targets. Markets, mosque...