South East Asia

It is difficult to speak of European ambitions for international crisis management against the backdrop of the images from Kabul over the past few weeks, which seem to tell a story of the failure of Western interventionist policies. But that discussion is urgently needed.

Afghanistan and Tajikistan share a 1,400-kilometer border. Recently, a war of words has erupted between Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and the Taliban government in Kabul. Rahmon censures the Taliban for the destabilization of Central Asia by the export of militant groups, while the Taliban leadership has accused Tajikistan’s government of interference.

While the Taliban may have wrested control of Afghanistan from the national government, the fighting and killing continue. Taliban forces raided an ISIS-K cell in Kabul and killed several of the terrorists, according to a Taliban spokesman.

The raid followed a deadly bombing at a Kabul mosque earlier on Sunday that killed five civilians. The Taliban claimed that the bombing was conducted by Islamic State terrorists. The Taliban and ISIS are enemies.

The Past

In April 2017, Ehsanullah Ehsan, a senior spokesperson of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] who subsequently joined its breakaway faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar [JuA] supposedly, ‘surrendered’ to Pakistan army. It was a great moment for Rawalpindi and the then Director General [DG] of Pakistan army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations [ISPR] Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor proudly announced how “The state is re-establishing its writ,” adding that “No element can challenge the state if the state has the will to weed out dangerous elements.” He also said that “There can be no bigger achievement for Pakistan than the fact that our biggest enemies are now realising the error of their ways and are turning themselves in,” a unquestionable assertion that even Rawalpindi’s staunchest detractors had to accept.

The Financial Times reported last week that numerous Afghan opposition leaders such as the famous Panjshir Valley commander Ahmad Massoud have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan and that they hope to use this safe haven as a base to fight the Taliban. But experts caution that the prospects are poor for any such attempt to continue the anti-Taliban resistance.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) forces raided a Daesh (ISIS-K) hideout north of Kabul on Friday, killing and arresting an unspecified number of militants, an IEA spokesman said.

Since the IEA’s takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August, there has been an increase in attacks by Daesh militants targeting IEA members.

The IEA and Daesh are enemies, and the attacks have raised the specter of a wider conflict between the long-time rivals.

The Taliban have attacked a sanctuary of the Islamic State terrorist group in central Parwan province.

Several IS fighters were killed and detained in Friday’s raid in Charikar, the provincial capital, said Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced a three-week ceasefire, starting from October 2I.

The outlawed militant out made the announcement hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government was in talks with TTP.