Taliban claim IS under control despite instability

Kabul, Dec 20 (EFE).- Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Tuesday that the Taliban government had the threat posed by the Islamic State terror group under control in the region, despite attacks taking place in the country almost every day.

“We have handled Daesh (the Arabic acronym for IS) better than anyone,” Muttaqi said, adding that Afghan soil would not be allowed to be used for terrorism or attacking other country.

Stopping overseas terror attacks was a key commitment of the Taliban in the agreement that led to the withdrawal of international troops from the country even as the group moved towards Kabul and eventually seized power in August.

The minister’s remarks come after he returned from Islamabad, having participated in the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and he was responding to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech in the event.

Khan had said in his speech at the 17th OIC summit that the Afghan arm of the IS was a major threat to global security and claimed that the Taliban was incapable of controlling terrorism due to Kabul’s lack of resources and isolation after the Islamist regime came to power.

“The only way to handle the terror is a stable Afghanistan,” Khan said on Sunday, warning that the IS was capable of carrying out attacks internationally.

“We deny this,” Muttaqi insisted on Monday while speaking to the media at the Kabul airport.

“If Imran Khan meant that a weak government in Afghanistan could not eliminate the threats, that would be a separate issue, and we hope that will not happen,” said the Taliban regime’s top diplomat.

In his speech, the Pakistani PM had highlighted the freezing of foreign assets, suspension of aid and international sanctions as major causes behind Afghanistan’s ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis.

“If the world does not act, this will be the biggest man-made crisis which is unfolding in front of us,” he said.

Although the Taliban have had complete control over Afghanistan for many months, the government does not have access to financial reserves or international banking, having limited resources to run the country.

Guaranteeing security and controlling terrorism were the Taliban’s biggest claims for the territory under their control during the war against the now-ousted government and international forces.

However, after the Taliban came to power, the IS has increased attacks, with the largest taking place on Aug. 26 outside the Kabul airport, in which around 170 people were killed.

The Taliban has launched a series of operations against the IS across the country, killing or arresting its fighters in at least eight of the country’s 34 provinces.

However, attacks have continued in several parts of Afghanistan. EFE

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