At a press conference on Tuesday, one of the main Taliban officials, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, said that no organization would be allowed to use Afghan territory to launch attacks against to any other country.
He stressed that the territory of Afghanistan will also not be used as a training ground for terrorist organizations to carry out subsequent attacks.
“We don’t want any internal or external enemies,” Mujahid said for the first time publicly at his first press conference. Mr. Mujahid is a shadow figure of the Taliban and has not been seen publicly for many years.
During the 1990s, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, the organization harbored terrorist networks such as al-Qaeda, which is considered the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, making the United States last. had to launch an invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Other terrorist organizations such as ISIS and the Haqqani network are known to have a presence in the country.
“I want to make sure, I want to assure the international community including the United States, that no one will be harmed,” Mujahid said at a press conference in Kabul. In Afghanistan, I want to assure our neighbors, our first nations, we will not permit the use of our territory against anyone or any nation. any in the world. Therefore, the entire global community should rest assured that we are committed to fulfilling these wishes that no one will be harmed.”
Ensuring that the Taliban will not attack other countries is part of a 2020 peace deal brokered by the group and the Trump administration. This agreement paved the way for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
However, on Sunday (August 15), when the Taliban captured Kabul and declared victory, Islamic terrorist organizations celebrated on social media.
The Taliban, an Islamic organization, shares the same worldview as al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, ISIS and other Sunni Muslim organizations. There were also reports that ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorists detained in Afghanistan were freed by the Taliban during last week’s fighting. However, ISIS has been involved in armed conflict with the Taliban since 2015.
In a post on Medium.com, Charles Lister, of the nonpartisan Middle East Institute, said that a few weeks ago, al-Qaeda was still in a very difficult situation, but now that has changed. “Without a doubt, this is the most important day for al-Qaeda since 9/11,” he said. For the first time in years, al-Qaeda is finally not only having the space to breathe, but also being given a vitally important safe haven to rebuild.”
According to the SITE Intelligence Organization, pro-al-Qaeda media accounts posted a message congratulating the Taliban on their victory online: “Afghanistan has been conquered and Islam has won.”
On Monday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Politico that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had warned of a worsening terrorist threat, adding that anyway. U.S. officials could not make a “sure statement.”
Meanwhile, several Republican lawmakers have written to the White House that they are concerned that terrorists may flourish in the war-torn country.
Republican Representative Mike Rogers, along with other House Republicans, wrote in a letter to the White House: “We remain deeply concerned that the vacuum left in Afghanistan will quickly be filled by organizations filled with terrorism. The Taliban currently controls the country. Al-Qaeda used Afghanistan to plan and carry out the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist activities. We cannot let this happen again.”
