Taliban Denies Reports of Al Qaeda Network Rebuilding in Afghanistan

The Taliban authorities have rejected reports saying that Al Qaeda networks and other armed groups are being rebuilt in Afghanistan, saying there is no evidence to support the claims. The statement came after a new Washington Post report, citing U.S. security officials, Western officials and a United Nations body, said these groups had reorganized after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban authorities, said groups that were previously present in Afghanistan belonged to the “conditions and jihad of the past period” and that, according to him, the situation has changed with regional developments. He added that these groups are now not present in Afghanistan and there is no need for them to be there.

Fitrat also claimed that such reports are being issued by “some intelligence circles” in order to portray Afghanistan as insecure. He repeated that the Taliban authorities will not allow Afghan soil to be used against any other country.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that, in the view of U.S. security officials, Western countries and a UN-affiliated body, Al Qaeda and a number of other armed groups have been working to rebuild their networks since the Taliban again took control of Afghanistan. In recent years, this issue has been one of the main sources of international concern about Afghanistan’s security situation.