ISLAMABAD (Staff Reporter)
Afghanistan has increasingly become a safe haven and training ground for terrorist groups, posing a severe threat to global peace, according to a recent report by the international journal Eurasia Review. The report supports Pakistan’s long-standing stance that Afghan soil is being used for terrorist activities targeting not only Pakistan but the broader international community.
The journal highlights that since the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan is rapidly turning into a hub for international terrorism, defying global assurances that such developments would not recur. Incidents such as a drone attack on Chinese engineers in Tajikistan and the involvement of an Afghan national in the Washington D.C. National Guard killings demonstrate that terrorist networks in Afghanistan are now capable of operating across borders.
The report warns that Afghanistan hosts both foreign and local terrorist groups, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ISIS-Khorasan, Al-Qaeda, East Turkestan militants, and Central Asian extremist factions. According to Denmark’s representative, around 6,000 TTP militants are active in Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban government. Terrorist groups are conducting recruitment, propaganda, and crypto-funding operations from Afghan territory.
Eurasia Review notes that Russia has also identified extremist networks in Afghanistan as a significant regional threat. The total number of terrorists operating in Afghanistan exceeds 13,000, with the Taliban government reportedly lacking both the capacity and willingness to restrain these groups. The journal emphasized that without a coordinated international strategy, Afghanistan risks becoming a permanent safe haven and launchpad for global terrorist activities.
The report underscores that Pakistan has borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan for years and stressed that the threat cannot be addressed by Pakistan or regional countries alone. Global cooperation is critical to prevent Afghanistan from evolving into a secure base for international terrorist operations.