No signs Taliban took steps to limit activities of foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan: UN report

A recent report by UN chief Antonio Guterres indicates that the Taliban, who assumed power in Afghanistan in 2021, has not shown signs of curbing the activities of foreign terrorist fighters in the conflict-ridden nation. The report expresses concerns from member nations that terrorist groups now have more freedom in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan than ever before. Particularly alarming is the surge in the strength of ISIL-K, which has nearly doubled from previous estimates of 2,200 fighters following the release of numerous individuals from prison. The security landscape in Afghanistan underwent a significant transformation on 15 August, when the Taliban swiftly captured 33 out of 34 provincial capitals, including Kabul, according to the ‘14th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat’. Member States have observed that the strength of the ISIL affiliate in Afghanistan, ISIL-K, has escalated from earlier approximations of 2,200 fighters to nearly 4,000, largely due to the Taliban’s release of thousands of individuals from detention. According to the Secretary General’s report, one Member State assessed that up to half the individuals are foreign terrorist fighters. While Da’esh controls limited territory in eastern Afghanistan, it is capable of conducting high-profile, complex attacks such as the August 27, 2021 bombing at Kabul airport, which killed over 180 people, and several subsequent attacks, in particular against the Taliban and members of the Shia community. The report further said that Da’esh in Afghanistan continues to be led by Sanaullah Ghafari, an Afghan national. The group is taking advantage of the turmoil in the country, including by recruiting fighters from the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and the Turkistan Islamic Party, among other foreign terrorist groups. Da’esh in Afghanistan aims to position itself as the chief rejectionist force in Afghanistan and to expand into neighbouring Central and South Asian countries and is viewed by the Taliban as its primary armed threat. Member States are concerned that, if Afghanistan descends into further chaos, some Afghan and foreign violent extremists may shift allegiances to Da’esh, the report said. The report was prepared by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and the Office of Counter-Terrorism, in close collaboration with other United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities. Member States also remain concerned about the glut of weapons, especially small arms, that exists in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan, to which Da’esh, its affiliates and other terrorist groups could gain access. Such concerns have been exacerbated by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, given the large quantities of weaponry and other military equipment in the country, the report said. With Afghanistan facing a severe economic, financial and humanitarian crisis, there is a risk that tradable commodities such as arms and related materials could be acquired by organised criminals and terrorists inside Afghanistan and even that they could find their way into neighbouring countries, it said. On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the Doha Agreement, which led to the August 30, 2021, withdrawal of US and Allied forces from Afghanistan. Since the forcible takeover by the Taliban in August 2021, culminating in the fall of Kabul on August 15, the US has shifted to a position of pragmatic engagement in Afghanistan. With inputs from agencies