Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization said in a meeting that Afghanistan is seen as a threat in terms of exporting terrorists.
During the 40th meeting of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Council which took place on Friday in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, the member states expressed their concerns about the growing number of Daesh (ISIS-K) fighters and al-Qaeda activities in Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Chairman of the National Security Committee, Ruslan Seysembayev, said that the Taliban has failed to establish a proper government and that the number of Daesh fighters has surged from 500 to an estimated 6,000.
The SCO was founded by Russia and China in 2001. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan are its permanent members – most of which border Afghanistan.
Does the Taliban have the ability to fight international terrorist groups?
Arian Sharifi, a former official of the Afghanistan intelligence agency, believes that the Taliban are not familiar with methods of counter-terrorism.
“They are well familiar with militia fighting and terrorism activities, but they are not familiar with counter-militia and counter-terrorism. These two matters are completely different,” he said.
Pakistan, which is a member of the SCO, has repeatedly voiced concerns over Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) activities in Afghanistan.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said that the Pakistani military outposts have been targeted from Afghanistan soil.
She said that Islamabad had been negotiating with the Taliban government about attacks on Pakistan military outposts from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, it has been said that Islamabad has summoned the Taliban ambassador for Pakistan regarding the TTP’s attack in Chitral district.
While concerns continue to increase over the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, the Taliban has repeatedly stated that it will not allow any person or group to act against a foreign country from its soil.
