Explained | Taliban have put Afghan clock back to 1990s’ autocracy: UN report

The connection between the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and mutually beneficial for all the parties involved with the Taliban as current rulers of Afghanistan acting as the nucleus of the entire set-up harbouring terror activities, a latest UN report has indicated. 

The report highlights that terrorist groups are now able to freely operate under the Taliban's authority in Afghanistan, posing a significant threat of terrorism in the country and the wider region.

The report further describes that the Taliban's relationship with Al-Qaeda and TTP remains robust and symbiotic, enabling other terrorist groups to operate more freely under the Taliban's rule except for the ones that it sees as its rival. 

The UNSC’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted its 14th annual report about the Taliban’s impact on the security situation in Afghanistan this month, in which it accused the regime of reverting to its "autocratic" policies of the late 1990s.

Contrary to the Taliban's promises and subsequent claims of not allowing Afghan soil to be used for attacks against other countries, the report reveals that they have been harboring and actively supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 

In another contradiction, while the Taliban maintains ties with various terrorist entities, it has sought counter-terrorism assistance from member states in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-K), which it considers its primary rival.

“The Taliban leadership shows no signs of bending to pressure for reform or compromise, in the hope of earning international political recognition,” the report said, adding that Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada has been “proudly resistant” to external pressure to moderate his policies.

The Taliban has failed to fulfill its counter-terrorism obligations as outlined in the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the United States and the Taliban, the UN report said.

Moreover, the Taliban is helping Al-Qaeda rebuild its operational capability even amid a crisis of leadership after its leader Al-Zawahiri’s death in 2022.

Unlike the popular optics of August 201 showing Pakistani establishment mingling with Taliban as an apparent mark of US’ departure from the region, the snakes Islamabad has fed for decades have come to bite Pakistan itself. 

The report underscores that the tight bond between the Afghan Taliban and TTP, similar to their relationship with Al-Qaeda, is unlikely to dissipate. This situation puts Pakistan to the test and raises the risk of heightened violence on both sides of the border.

The report, the first to cover the entirety of the Taliban's period in power, indicates that the Taliban leadership shows no intention of reform or compromise to gain international political recognition. With no significant political opposition, the Taliban's unchecked authority has allowed foreign terrorist fighters sheltered by the group to become an increasingly significant security threat to neighboring countries.

While the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Aiman al-Zawahiri in a Kabul house connected to Taliban's acting Interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, did lead to a sense of distrust among its members, according to the latest UN report, Afghanistan continues to be a safe haven for Al-Qaeda. 

Al-Qaeda aims to strengthen its position in Afghanistan and has been collaborating with the Taliban, supporting the regime, and safeguarding senior Taliban figures.

Al-Qaeda maintains a low profile, utilising the country as an ideological and logistical hub for mobilisation, recruitment, and covertly rebuilding external operational capabilities. Al-Qaeda finances its activities through core funding and donations, including the use of hawala services and cryptocurrencies.

ISIL-K has been identified as the most serious current terrorist threat in Afghanistan, neighboring countries, and Central Asia, according to member states. 

The group has enhanced its operational capabilities and freedom of movement within Afghanistan, aiming to sustain a high pace of mostly low-impact attacks while sporadically executing high-impact actions to incite sectarian conflicts and destabilise the region in the medium to long term. 

Over the past year, ISIL-K has claimed responsibility for more than 190 suicide bomb attacks targeting major cities, resulting in the death or injury of approximately 1,300 people.

Barely a month after coming to power, the Taliban banned girls from secondary education in September 2021. 

On December 21, 2022, the Taliban banned women from attending universities. 

WION first reported in January 2023 when the Taliban-ruled in Balkh province that male doctors can no longer treat female patients. 

The Taliban stormed to power virtually unchallenged after the withdrawal of US-led forces from the country in the first week of August 2021. The regime has not received international recognition especially due to its imposition of anti-women decrees. 

 

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