Two years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there is growing consensus that the country is again devolving into a hotbed of terrorism activity that is already beginning to affect the region, if not yet capable of reaching the West.
Some of the more damning assessments have come from a United Nations sanctions monitoring team, which warned in a report in June that the Taliban “have not delivered on the counter-terrorism provisions” in the Doha Accords, the agreement that paved the way for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Instead, the report, based on U.N. member state intelligence, warned that “a range of terrorist groups have greater freedom of maneuver under the Taliban de facto authorities.”
The various groups “are making good use of this,” the report added. “The threat of terrorism is rising in both Afghanistan and the region.”
Some estimates put the number of terrorist groups in Afghanistan at about 20, and even some of Afghanistan’s neighbors have raised concerns.
Pakistan, for instance, has repeatedly pointed to a surge of terrorism-related deaths, many concentrated along its border with Afghanistan.
The Taliban have rejected such allegations.
Earlier this month, a Taliban official touted a ruling by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada forbidding cross-border attacks on Pakistan.
Source : VOA News
