(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) Unhappily, the newsof appearing Takfiri terrorist group, especial IS-K branch on the northernfrontiers of the country by Alexander Bortinkov, head of the Federal SecurityService of the Russian Federation, and acknowledgment by Scott Miller, thecommander of resolute support forces, have newly alarmed security threats inAfghanistan. Mr. Burtinkov said more than 5,000 IS forces that fled from Syriaand Iraq have sheltered in the northern borders of Afghanistan and they will bea serious threat to the security of entire region. Scott Miller also said thatal-Qaeda is still in some parts of Afghanistan fighting against the Afghangovernment in coordination with other terrorist groups. In the last days, therewere many reports of full coordination between the Taliban and al-Qaeda and theunity of the two terrorist groups.
Unfortunately, thepolitical climate in Afghanistan is so busy with internal issues that suchnews are easily forgotten and neverregain its importance, but we must accept that these news is a misfortune signfor return of another cycle of violence in the country. The above news showsthat Afghanistan may once again go to throat of terrorist groups but this roundwould be worse than what were witnessed in the past. If this happens, and theterrorist groups such as IS-K, al-Qaeda and the Taliban will once againdominate larger parts of Afghanistan, and they will try to display their lateststyle of violence that have not shown in Syria and Iraq.
However, the presenceof IS-K is not a new in Afghanistan; Initially, The Islamic State announced itsexpansion to the Khorasan region in 2015, which historically encompasses partsof modern day Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Despite initialskepticism about the group's existence from analysts and government officialsalike, IS-K has been responsible for nearly 100 attacks against civilians inAfghanistan and Pakistan, as well as roughly 250 clashes with the U.S., Afghan,and Pakistani security forces since January 2017. Though IS-K has yet toconduct attacks against the U.S. homeland, the group represents an enduringthreat to U.S. and allied interests in South and Central Asia.
But the recent growthof terrorists groups have not only concerns Afghans but also concerned many ofthe northern neighboring countries; Earlier a conference for fighting againstterrorist was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Reportedly, Rajab Ali Rahman Ali, aTajikistani Frontier Commander said that a large collection of terrorist forcesmoved to the northern part of Afghanistan border with Tajikistan. He said thatmore than 29 Taliban bases and terrorists training centers have also moved tothe northern provinces of Afghanistan which distanced from 2 to 120 kilo miterfrom the central countries borders. He added, more than 6235 fighters aretrained in these bases and centers while they also contribute to opiumsmugglers towards central countries.
Overall, it seemsthat the Middle East is waiting for new series of events, especially with theincreasing tensions between Iran and United States. Any kind of anxiety andclashes in this area will rapidly spread to Afghanistan and will morecomplicate the situation in our country. Regional and global powers candirectly or indirectly use terrorists as a weapon against one and other tostrengthen their political and economic interests. But no other area in theregion will be better playground than Afghanistan for regional andinternational actors and the nest of terrorism. Unfortunately, intentionally orunintentionally we have paved the ground for such destructive games. Means, ifa piece of cotton easier get fire than a piece of log because it has the talentof ignition. Unfortunately, the same is the case of Afghanistan comparing toother countries due to many reasons.
Some of the regionalcountries may also contribute to instability in Afghanistan in order toinfluence the process of political affairs such as election in Afghanistan butno elements can better trouble the water rather than terrorist groups. Over thepast several years, the aerial and logistic supports have been secretlyprovided to extremist groups in some part of Afghanistan but this time, theymay send their supported troops under name of IS-K to the Afghan borders. Someof neighboring countries have overtly supported terrorist groups as theircitizens and supported groups have been killed and arrested in Afghanistan butthey tried to hide the moon with their two fingers. In fact, the real issue isnot only returning terrorism because there are enough destructive forces and itmight be the return of another cycle of violence and instability inAfghanistan.
The only way toconfront the growing power of the terrorist groups is political consensus ofall political groups and factions against the terrorist groups centering onprotection of the political system and avoid playing personal games which isnaturally against the interest of the country. Some of the political gameswhich are ongoing among the internal players might be more destructive thanterrorists' attacks. As both terrorists and their supporters have disappointedfrom confrontation with Afghans that's why they try to provoke ethnic orreligious gaps in order to reach their goals. Therefore, all political factionsincluding presidential candidates must be cautious and understand that any moveagainst national unity will have destructive consequences. Unfortunately, we have repeated failed tocross from the ethnic, religious, linguistic and personal criteria but thesemust be a lesson for future.
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