How are the Taliban connected to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups?
Author: Fazl Ahmad Manawi, former Minister of Justice of Afghanistan, especially for Sangar
The most important condition of the Doha agreement is the severance of the Taliban's relations with al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, which the Americans are emphasizing to convince the American people and their other security allies (NATO members).
This is an important point in the agreement between the Americans and the Taliban. The Biden government views the irresponsible withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan as based on an agreement that the Taliban will no longer have relations with al-Qaeda and foreign terrorists. On the other hand, the Americans made many commitments to the Taliban by completely withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, including sending huge packages of money to the Taliban. They say that in a secret annex to the treaty, the US promised the Taliban many concessions, one of which was non-cooperation and support for anti-Taliban forces. After two years and several months, it became clear that the Americans were seeking to strengthen relations with the Taliban as much as possible.
But are the Taliban cut off from al-Qaeda and international terrorism? When the Taliban's existential philosophy is examined, the depth of the Taliban's faith and religion is examined, and their 30-year war in Afghanistan is assessed, it will be clearly proven that the Taliban makes no sense without Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. In fact, they need each other and there is an unwritten agreement between them that they have been following for several generations.
In terms of beliefs, the Taliban consider themselves followers of the Hanafi school of Maturidism and build the Islamic Sharia, based on the theory of Hanafi jurists, as the basis of their practice. They cling to the hadith of the Prophet who says: “Jihad will be constant until the Day of Judgment, and no leader, just or unjust, will be able to stop it.” The Taliban considers the Arab terrorists who fought under the command of Al-Qaeda as their brothers and believes that cutting ties with their brothers who led them to victory in the war is a great sin and an unforgivable ugly act. Their argument is another hadith of the Prophet: “A Muslim is a religious brother of a Muslim, he does not oppress him and does not refuse his help (that is, he always helps and supports him).
Based on this belief, the Taliban consider a religious brother to be more important than a blood brother and consider it a sin not to help him when he needs help.
Over the past thirty years, al-Qaeda has always sided with the Taliban, providing fighters and paying financial expenses to the Taliban. Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman Azwahiri appear to have officially pledged allegiance to their Amir al-Muminin (Mullah Umar).
From 1996 to 2001, an important shield was created in the defense of Kabul against the Resistance Front forces led by Ahmad Shah Massoud in northern Kabul by al-Qaeda and other international terrorists who spoke mainly Arabic and Punjabi. After the fall of Kabul in 2001, when the Taliban left Kabul, they were unable to take with them the terrorists stationed on the northern borders of Kabul. They fought to the death and most of them were killed.
On the other hand, the Taliban group, consisting mainly of Pashtuns from rural areas, are loyal to their military partners and, based on tribal custom, consider abandoning their allies to be contrary to Pashtunwali principles.
There were many family ties between them, and, in fact, blood ties were established between them, which cannot be interrupted.
International terrorist organizations have killed many people in collaboration with the Taliban, so it is difficult to ignore all these obligations.
Currently, in various provinces, many schools have been created under the army corps, brigades, and military centers of the overthrown government, where thousands of foreign terrorists are being educated and trained.
They have created thousands of terrorist schools in different provinces called “jihad schools”, which are created by extremist militants with false teachings about religion and Sharia. Some of these schools teach in non-native languages, even English and Arabic. For example, the former ISAF (NATO) center, which used to be called the Askari Club, turned into a terrorist training center called a madrassa. They teach in English and Arabic, and thousands of young people between the ages of twelve and eighteen receive terrorist training.
The Taliban have learned to hide their goals and maintain the trust of regional and neighboring countries. In some cases, they even deceive the West and the United States of America in order to carry out their plans.
There are two reasons for America's tolerance of the Taliban.
The US knows that the Taliban works closely with al-Qaeda and terrorist groups, but does not admit it in order to keep the public opinion of its country calm and not pay attention to its irresponsible departure. The assassination of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the charismatic leader of al-Qaeda, in central Kabul exemplifies this point.
Or they know, and this is part of their long-term plans to involve the region and neighbors in a long and destructive war by cultivating terrorism in Afghanistan as much as possible, so that in this way they can take revenge on Afghanistan's neighbors who supported the Taliban against the Americans, and secondly, create big trouble for its adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran.
The third option, that perhaps the Americans do not know the truth and are being neglected by the Taliban, is implausible.
All extremist groups in the region and the world were inspired by the defeat of the US and the victory of the Taliban and they were able to achieve their goals through hard work and ruthless violence.
Al-Qaeda and dozens of other terrorist groups fought alongside the Taliban against the Islamic State led by Ustad Rabbani, against Ahmad Shah Massoud and killed hundreds of people. Over the past two years, dozens of Pakistani and non-Pakistani terrorist groups of different nationalities from near and far countries in the region have fought against the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud in Panjshir province and other regions such as Andarab, Khost, Takhar, and Badakhshan. They are still fighting, which is proof of their connection and commitment to the Taliban. Among them, we can mention Tehriki Taliban Pakistan, Jaishi Muhammad, Lashkari Tayiba, and a number of other terrorist groups located in Afghanistan.
TEHREEK-E-TALIBAN PAKISTAN (TTP)
One of them is the TTP, a Pakistani Taliban group that has much in common with the Afghan Taliban. These two groups are completely identical in terms of religious readings, culture, language, even clothing and lifestyle, so it is definitely impossible to separate them.
Although the Pakistanis thought that they could control the TTP or use it for purposes other than the Afghan Taliban (which were created by their own hands and have deep roots in Pakistan and have been controlled by that country's military intelligence for many years) and keep them busy with other things, but this analysis and expectations were not met. Today the Pakistani Taliban have the unwavering support of the Afghan Taliban and this has caused the Pakistani regime a huge headache.
Having put pressure on their former friends (the Afghan Taliban), the Pakistanis began deporting refugees, which is unjustified from the point of view of humanity, morality, and international conventions.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban, known as the Pakistan Taliban, was founded by Baitullah Mehsud. After his death, Mullah Fazlullah became the leader of this group. Currently, after the assassination of Fazlullah, the leader of this group is Nur Wali Mehsud. They all swore allegiance (bayat) to the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar. This group was formed to oppose the Pakistani government and has extensive ties to the Afghan Taliban. Their forces fought together against Afghan security forces. The group has deep and enduring ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Before the formation of the TTP, a number of leaders of this group fought on the side of the Taliban against the Islamic State of Afghanistan under the leadership of Ustad Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Massoud. After the formation of the TTP group, they also fought against the forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for the past twenty years.
After the fall of the republic, they widely participated in the Panjshir War.
JAYSHI MUHAMMAD
After Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, another Pakistani extremist group that fought alongside the Taliban against the Afghan government and people of that country and whose hands are stained with the blood of thousands of innocent Afghans is Jaishi Muhammad (Mohammed's Army).
Jaishi Muhammad is a militant group that resorted to armed struggle after the separation of Kashmir from India. This group, created by Maulana Masood Azhar, in 1999, its members took hostage an Indian airliner flying to Kandahar (Afghanistan) in collaboration with the Taliban. They demanded the release of Maulana Masood Azhar from India. The group has close ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda and is said to have educational centers in Afghanistan's southern provinces.
Other small and large groups that closely cooperate and interact with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and are supported by the Taliban group in Afghanistan include the following groups.
LASHKAR-E-TAIBA
Another group is Lashkar-e-Taiba, founded in 1990 by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to oppose Indian control of the Kashmir region. The group initially had good relations with al-Qaeda, and after the emergence of ISIS, it tried to strengthen its relationship with the group. This group also operated in Afghanistan. 19 of its members were killed in an airstrike in Dangam, Kunar province, earlier during the republic.
TARIQ GIDAR GROUP (TGG)
This group can be called one of the small terrorist groups working closely with the Taliban. It belongs to Pakistan and was previously active in Afghanistan. In 2016, Omar Naria, the mastermind of an attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, was killed by Afghan security forces in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
LASHKAR-E-JHANGVI
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi also works closely with the Taliban and al-Qaeda. This group is an exclusive group associated with Sipahi Sahaba Pakistan which was created by Malik Ishaq and several other figures of this group in 1996 and is based in Pakistan.
"LASHKAR-E-ISLAM"
The group is also linked to the Pakistani Taliban operating in eastern Afghanistan. Operated in the Nazian and Achin districts of Nangarhar province. Currently is in general and complete harmony with the Afghan Taliban.
"MUJAHID AL-BADR"
Another group of Pakistani militants who operate in Kashmir. They have a history of insurgency in Afghanistan and are supported by the Taliban. The Ansari Islam group, created in 2004 by Pir Saifurrahman as a result of internal conflicts with another terrorist group, also operates in Afghanistan.
AL-QAEDA IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
Another terrorist group whose forces have allied with the Taliban is Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent. The group was founded as a new branch of al-Qaeda by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, in the Indian subcontinent in 2012. The leader of this group Asim Omar, who was in Afghanistan and was supported by the Taliban, was killed in 2017 during a joint operation of American and Afghan forces in Helmand. He was originally from India but was also famous and influential in Pakistan. The people of this group enjoy the unconditional support of the Taliban.
JUNDULLAH
This group was created in Iran in 2003 and its goal is to protect religious and tribal rights, especially the Baloch and Sunnis in Iran. The Jundullah group operates against the Shiites of Afghanistan and Iran.
In 2016, sixteen members of the group were killed in the Birka district of Baghlan province. The year before, Qari Bashir, the group's leader in northern Afghanistan, and another leader, Qari Hazrat, known as Abu Huzaifa, were killed in Kunduz. At the moment, this group enjoys full financial and military support from the Taliban.
ISLAMIC MOVEMENT OF UZBEKISTAN
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was founded in 1998 by Juma Namangani and Tahir Yuldash after the end of the civil war in Tajikistan. After the fall of the Taliban regime in Kabul and the entry of American troops and their allies into Afghanistan, members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan went to the border areas of Afghanistan and began their activities, and currently, their centers are located inside Afghanistan. They have collaborated with al-Qaeda in the past, but most members of the movement have now joined the Taliban or ISIS.
ISLAMIC MOVEMENT OF EASTERN TURKESTAN (or Turkestan Islamic Party)
The group is made up of Uyghur militants, and Muslim separatists from Xinjiang, China. This movement was founded in 1993 and, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, was able to establish relations with fundamentalist groups and parties in Central Asia. The group later collaborated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and played a key role in the Panjshir War after the fall of Kabul in coordination with the Badakhshan Taliban. Hassan Makhsum, the leader of this movement, worked closely with bin Laden in Afghanistan.
CAUCASIAN EMIRATE (governed by citizens of Chichini)
These groups are present in northern Afghanistan in the provinces of Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, Kunduz, Jawzjan, and Saripul. A number of groups from Chechnya and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan joined ISIS.
TALIBAN MOVEMENT OF TAJIKISTAN (TTT)
The Taliban movement of Tajikistan was created in the Afghan province of Badakhshan near the border with Tajikistan.
The group was reportedly formed by Tajik citizen Mehdi Arslan, known as Mohammad Sharipov, who is attempting to launch an armed struggle against the Tajik government and has close ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. They continue their terrorist activities with the continuation of Jamaat Ansarullah.
Jamaat Ansarullah was formed in 2006 under the leadership of Amruddin Tabarov and consisted of Islamist members opposed to the Tajik government who refused to accept the 1997 peace agreement that ended the civil war in Tajikistan. This group mainly trained in North Waziristan. In areas under the influence of the Taliban, they carried out terrorist activities with the help of this group, which was mainly present in the provinces of Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, and Baghlan. They fought shoulder to shoulder with the Taliban against the forces of the Afghan government, and after the dominance of the Taliban and the fall of the regime in Afghanistan, they are training terrorists, recruiting people, and strengthening their ranks. The Taliban use them as a means of putting pressure on the Tajik government, but in the long term their presence is seen as a high potential threat to Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries. Sometimes they are also called the Tajik Taliban.
They have close ties to al-Qaeda and good relations with the Haqqani network. Most of them have the support of Fasihuddin, who is the chief of staff of the Taliban army. A number of members of this group joined ISIS.
A number of radical and Salafist Tajiks have been recruited into the ISIS group, and some have also fought in the wars in Syria and Iraq.
At the moment, the Taliban have conducted several exercises called “Suicide Battalion Exercises” on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Tajikistan's position in supporting the Mujahideen government led by Ustad Rabbani and the armed resistance led by Ahmad Shah Massoud in 1996-2001, as well as the country's political support for the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, made the position of Jamaat Ansarullah - the Tajik Taliban important and visible among other Taliban factions, and they provided it with a lot of financial and weapons resources.
The Taliban try to maintain strong religious feelings among them and hide their ethnocentrism from them. For this reason, there are no narrations about their presence in the Panjshir War. In the short term, the Taliban will use them as a tool for regional cooperation, and at the right time they will use them to destabilize Tajikistan and the countries of Central Asia.
The Taliban has been coveting a presence in Central Asia for many years. One day, their leader and founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, said in a telephone conversation with resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud that you had better stop fighting with us and work in Tajikistan for the benefit of the Islamic Emirate. Of course, this was an arrogant and stupid request, to which a worthy answer was given.
ISLAMIC STATE - KHORASAN BRANCH/PROVINCE (ISIS in Afghanistan)
The Islamic State (ISIS) was formed in 2014 and announced a Khorasan branch in Afghanistan. At the beginning of its formation, this group was present in eastern Afghanistan, especially in the provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar on the border with the “tribal areas of Pakistan”. The group's members were largely composed of Pakistani Taliban forces who had fled a large-scale Pakistani army operation in areas under their influence the previous year.
ISIS was able to have significant influence in northern Afghanistan and recruit Uzbek and Tajik soldiers. At first, they fought together with the Taliban against the then government of Afghanistan, and later bloody conflicts occurred between them. In eastern Afghanistan, they have come under increasing pressure from US-led coalition forces, the Afghan government, and the Taliban, and have also had mother bombs used against them in the Achin region of Nangarhar province during the Trump presidency.
Finally, consistent pressure weakened the three ISIS factions in eastern Afghanistan and stopped their advance. But in northern Afghanistan, they had a more peaceful environment, which allowed them to grow. ISIS is also accompanied by citizens of Central Asian countries in northern Afghanistan. ISIS in the north is a sleeping dragon that could awaken at any moment. The northern Taliban's dissatisfaction with the Taliban's monopoly and ethnic politics provides more opportunities for ISIS. The growth and promotion of extremism by Taliban schools and terror centers in the north is another potential platform for ISIS.
If the National Resistance Front fails to fill the vacuum of discontent in the north in the short term and the Taliban continues to resettle families from other provinces under the name of refugees, northern Afghanistan will turn into another North Waziristan with a large ISIS presence that will be difficult to contain.
Afghanistan's northern neighbors have no choice but to support the National Resistance Front to fill the void left in northern Afghanistan and prevent the growing confusion of the people and the rise of extremism to expand the ranks of terrorist groups such as ISIS.
