With the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has once again become a safe haven for terrorists.
Several reports demonstrate that since the Taliban takeover in 2021, the threat of terrorism is “rising in both Afghanistan and the region.” A recent UN Security Council report stated that the Taliban has a “strong and symbiotic” relationship with Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, in addition to several other extremist groups in Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s rise to power has also strengthened other terrorist organizations in the region and globally, including Hizb ul-Tahrir, the Islamic Movement of Eastern Turkistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Jamaat Ansarullah, which pose a threat to Afghanistan, neighboring countries, and the world.
The UN report concludes that the Taliban has not delivered on the counter-terrorism “provisions under the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the United States of America and the Taliban,” signed in February 2020 in Qatar. The report also states that a number of “terrorist groups have greater freedom of maneuver under the Taliban de facto authorities” in Afghanistan, making it a safe haven for terrorists in the region and around the world.
The de-facto authorities cannot be trusted with counterterrorism efforts in keeping Afghanistan, the region and allies safe. The Taliban’s enabling of terrorist groups to infiltrate and find refuge in Afghanistan, sets dangerous precedents for terrorists groups globally, letting them believe that violence and injustice will be rewarded.