The danger of terrorism spilling from Afghanistan into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states persists, especially amid the strengthening of the Afghan wing of the Daesh, Sputnik news agency reported, quoting First Deputy Chief of the Russian Government Staff, Sergei Prikhodko on Friday.
“The danger of spilling of terrorist threat, extremism, illegal drug turnover and transnational organized crime from Afghanistan’s territory to SCO countries remains relevant, especially in the light of the strengthening of the Islamic State’s Afghan wing,” Prikhodko told reporters ahead of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Tashkent for attending the SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meeting.
The SCO member states are China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Prikhodko noted that there were up to 10,000 Daesh terrorists operating in Afghanistan.
The official insisted that the normalization of the situation in Afghanistan was significant not only for Central Asia but Eurasia as a whole.
That is why the SCO has paid a lot of attention to this issue and has cooperated with Afghanistan, according to Prikhodko.
The international organization supported the Afghan authorities’ efforts to restore peace and develop the country’s economy, Prikhodko noted, underscoring the importance of a peace process for the Afghanistan crisis settlement.
