The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issued a statement rejecting a report by the UN Security Council alleging that Al-Qaida and the Islamic Emirate have a “close” relationship and that foreign groups are in Afghanistan.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan again reaffirms its commitments and reassures all that none shall be allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan against others,” the statement said.
The UN Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team in the report said Al-Qaida has a “safe haven under the Taliban and increased freedom of action.”
“The relationship between the Taliban and Al-Qaida remains close, with the latter celebrating the former’s success and renewing its pledge of allegiance to [Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada],” the UN report said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a recent statement said the allegations were baseless: “The fact remains that since the return to power of the Islamic Emirate, the world and the region have been prevented from facing any harm from Afghanistan, and the Afghan government has consistently worked for the last nine months to build an environment of trust with the regional and world countries.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement called on the United Nations to hand over the post of Afghanistan’s permanent representative at the UN to the current Afghan government in order to directly provide factual information to the UNSC and other countries.
The United Nations report estimated an approximate presence of “180 to 400 fighters affiliated with Al-Qaeda” from “Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan” who are settled in “Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimruz, Paktika and Zabul provinces.”
“The Islamic Emirate is committed to its promises. It has attempted for the past nine months to prevent any kind of threat to other countries from Afghan soil and to create a trust-building environment with regional countries,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
