UN Security Council: “Afghanistan has Become a Safe Haven for Terrorists”

The latest report of the United Nations Security Council shows that Afghanistan is currently considered a sponsor for terrorist groups and a large number of members of these groups are actively present in this country.

This council has said in its new report that Afghanistan has become a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban.

According to the report of the Security Council, based on the data obtained from the member countries, terrorist groups consider Afghanistan as a safe place and the caretaker government of Afghanistan is also soft on them in some provinces. This may lead to the spread of terrorism to neighboring countries.

The presence of al-Qaeda as a known terrorist group that has attacked many targets worldwide in the past is specifically mentioned in the report. The report emphasizes that Al-Qaeda has started the process of organizing and recruiting in the past year and has established its training centers in five provinces including Kabul and Nangarhar. According to the report of the Security Council, a number of experienced Al-Qaeda members from outside Afghanistan have gone there and are active there. The United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee has mentioned Saif al-Adl, the leader of al-Qaeda, that he sent Arab soldiers to Kunar and Nuristan provinces to carry out educational activities in the group’s camps, as well as provide communication with the group’s leadership.

In the report, it is also said that two members of al-Qaeda specialist in the weapons manufacturing sector have taken refuge in Afghanistan and another member of al-Qaeda, who has Libyan citizenship, is working in the Ministry of Interior with an Afghan passport.

The presence and activity of TTP in Afghanistan has also been mentioned in this report, and while pointing to their activities inside Afghanistan, it has called this group the biggest terrorist group in Afghanistan, with around 6500 of its members active in the country.

Nevertheless, the UN Security Council has appreciated the efforts of the caretaker government of Afghanistan in fighting against ISIS.

The caretaker government of Afghanistan has not yet officially reacted to this report, but it has always denied the presence of Al-Qaeda and the existence of their training camps in Afghanistan and has repeated its commitment to fight terrorism and not allow attacks from Afghanistan to neighboring countries.