Taliban letting down al-Qaeda to please US

Mustafa Kamel

The Taliban and al-Qaeda cooperated for over 30 years in Afghanistan.

During those years, the Taliban offered refuge to al-Qaeda’s fighters and commanders at a time they were renounced everywhere around the world.

A spokesman for the Taliban said recently that his movement would not tolerate the presence of camps for the recruitment of al-Qaeda elements in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda is active in at least 15 Afghan provinces, according to CIA.

It said the organization is mainly stationed in the eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan and along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

CIA said that al-Qaeda’s strength waned remarkably since late 2020.

It noted that the organization remains a focal point of inspiration for a global network of affiliated groups and organizations.

False reports

Taliban Spokesman, Muhammed Suhail Shaheen, said his movement had pledged in Doha that it would not allow the existence of any fundraising, training or recruitment centers for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

“We will never allow the use of Afghan territories against any other country,” he said.

Shaheen added that reports about al-Qaeda’s activities in Afghanistan do not reflect realities on the ground.

He claimed that some countries provide unreal information about the numbers of al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan to the United Nations Security Council.

The Taliban, he said, would enforce the law and bring order back to Afghanistan.

On August 22, Mohammed Naim, a spokesman for the Taliban’s politburo, said al-Qaeda had no presence in Afghanistan.

He denied the presence of relations between his movement and the terrorist organization after the takeover of Afghanistan.

“Al-Qaeda does not exist in Afghanistan,” Naim said.

“We have no relation with it whatsoever,” he added.

Naim noted that the Taliban’s agreement with the US in Doha stipulated that no extremist party would be allowed to use Afghan territories against other countries.

He noted that his movement would not allow any individual or group to enter Afghanistan to launch terrorist activities.