Taliban's refusal to take action against Al Qaeda is a declaration of war

Washington – ‘The Taliban has refused to assist the United States in taking action against Al Qaeda terrorists. The Taliban’s refusal is a declaration of war’, Senior US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned. Former US Special Envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, claimed that Al Qaeda Chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri is currently in Afghanistan. At the same time, there are reports that Pakistan is preparing to allow the United States to use its airspace to launch attacks in Afghanistan. Therefore, there are indications that US action will soon be seen in Afghanistan.

It is claimed that Al Qaeda, IS, and other terrorist organisations have increased in Afghanistan following the country’s takeover by the Taliban. While speaking to a leading news agency, Senior US Senator Lindsey Graham pointed to the threats posed by the Taliban and other terrorist organisations.

‘Afghanistan is collapsing. Al Qaeda is growing rapidly. IS is getting stronger by the day. Despite this, the Taliban refuses to take action against Al Qaeda, which has vowed to kill Americans. The Taliban’s refusal is as serious as declaring war on the United States’, Graham warned.

Graham called for military action in Afghanistan and said, ‘The Taliban’s non-cooperation has made Afghanistan the biggest threat to US national security and if not acted, upon in time, it will be the biggest man-made crisis on earth”. Only a few hours before the interview of Lindsey Graham was published, former US Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, made a major disclosure regarding Al Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri is likely to be hiding in Afghanistan or neighbouring countries, Khalilzad said. Earlier, the Pakistani media had reported that Zawahiri was not alive. But last month, on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, al Qaeda released Zawahiri’s message. In this scenario, the claim made by Khalilzad that Al-Zawahiri was hiding in Afghanistan or its neighbouring countries becomes important.

US leaders, military officials and analysts claim that the presence of the Al Qaeda leader and IS terrorists in Afghanistan is a wake-up call. Leaders and strategic analysts from the United States are suggesting new airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan for the security of the United States. There are reports that Pakistan is willing to allow the United States to use its airspace to take action against IS and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Therefore, the United States might launch attacks on Al Qaeda and IS terrorists in Afghanistan using Pakistan‘s airspace in the near future.

If the United States were to launch such an attack, it would have far-reaching consequences. The attack would break the agreement between the United States and the Taliban. At the same time, the Taliban could launch attacks against US-backed Pakistan. This has greatly increased the importance of the claims made by Graham and Khalilzad.