![Afghan security personnel stand guard along a street at a checkpoint in Faizabad, Badakhshan province, on October 15. [Omer Abrar/AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/10/20/44640-33ya9j9-highres-739_416.webp)
BADAKHSHAN -- Terrorist elements have infiltrated parts of Badakhshan province over the past two years and, if not contained, could become a serious threat to the region and world, local residents and Afghan political analysts say.
"About 250–300 family members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Jamaat Ansarullah (JA) of Taijikistan and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) fighters live in Jurm, Raghistan, Khwahan, Mahemai and Darwaz districts of Badakhshan province," said Samiullah Saqib, 55, a political analyst from Badakhshan who now lives in Iran because of security problems.
The majority of these fighters -- who are nationals of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and Chinese Uyghurs with ties to al-Qaeda -- also hold Afghan passports and national IDs, he told Salaam Times.
"These foreign terrorist groups operate in the bordering districts," Saqib said. "A majority of them have ... married into Afghan families to strengthen their bases in Afghanistan."
Unless Afghanistan's leaders in co-operation with the international community contain them, these groups could use Afghan soil to attack other countries.
Terrorist groups including JA, ETIM and the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) are active in the northern provinces, especially in Badakhshan, Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan and Sar-e-Pul, said Col. (ret.) Noorullah Mohammadi, former commander of the former Afghan National Army's Quick Reaction Force unit in the northeastern zone based in Kunduz province.
"Based on my information, these groups have strengthened their finances and equipment over the past two years and are now engaging in regular activities," said Mohammadi, who has lived in Iran since 2021.
"The [pre-August 2021] security forces ... launched several operations to suppress these groups," he said. "Some of their members were arrested while others fled."
Taking advantage of the situation, "these groups are re-equipping and preparing for terrorist attacks," he added.
Growing concerns
Prior to August 2021, these foreign terrorist groups were active in the Khustak Valley of Jurm district, said Ghulam Sakhi Darbar, 46, a local resident. Now some of them have moved down from the valley and have settled in the district centers and cities.
"Families of most of these groups have moved to the center of Faizabad, Baharak and other bordering districts of Badakhshan as well as to Kaldar district of Balkh and Darqad district of Takhar provinces," he said. "They have come down from the Khustak Valley since they face no security threats and can move around freely."
Terrorist groups will always do their best to achieve their goals and make life difficult for peaceful civilians, said Abdul Bashir Maqsoudi, 28, a resident of Badakhshan province.
"These groups were active in different districts of the province in the past too. They were harassing the population and had turned their life into hell," he said.
"These groups not only used to oppress innocent residents but were also forcing residents to involuntarily migrate and leave their homes," he said. "Now it is the responsibility of the current government to suppress these groups."
In most cases, distorted reports of events were attributed to the sillyness of individuals. They felt that the witness made a mistake in the meaning of the words or in transfering the meanings, falsified the event and left the truth in doubt. Knowledgeable and wise people gave opinion that because the senses are prone to errors and mistakes, therefore it cannot be trusted and the memory is not able to remember what is perceived, completely. In the past, people even knew from experience that a witness or reporter would sometimes repeat the whole story. He tries to create logical relationships between the events he remembers according to his own mentality and to link the details in a way as to reduce the ambiguity in his understanding. Willingly or unwittingly, he makes some of the events appear milder or more intense than the original to make his memory understandable.
Reply10 Comment
Research is an effort to find the best possible solutions to solve problems in different areas of life. Also, research is a coherent activity to reach a clearer understanding of the concepts around us. In general, research is a way to expand the boundaries of knowledge and open new horizons for the present and the future. One of the fields that researchers are busy with is writing of the history. It has been mentioned that Aristotle considered history to be the science of unbiased narration of partial events; while psychologists researched perception and memory throughout the 20th century. The great Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco uses history as a basis for novel writing and implicitly or explicitly considers history to be a strange concoction of imagination, fabrication and facts. For those interested in history, exploring historical facts is one of the most important motivations for studying. Obviously, in principle, a thought, a behavioral event or a work of art can be better understood by studying its history. The more exciting and sensitive an event is, the more eager a person is to understand it more clearly. The seeker of historical facts at first regrets to find that the sources give different accounts. Since ancient times, attention to the reports of people who witnessed the incident has been done with great consideration. Judges with experience know that the witness is sometimes not able to convey the whole truth or what is not important to him in terms o
Reply10 Comment
In today's world, research is one of the main axes of progress and development of countries, and scientists gather in research centers to research various issues and share their findings with universities, institutions, senior managers and with the media. In order that, based on their findings, plans for scientific, economic, political and social development will be made. For the blessing of modern technology such as the Internet and various software, even the scientists of the continents have come together, sharing their ideas and findings so that their researches can be used for the growth of science and human welfare. Measuring the level of knowledge and the importance of findings depends on the amount of production and consumption of information and the expansion of knowledge on quick and easy access to reliable scientific sources. Our knowledge is obtained either through the study of available information sources or based on the research that we do ourselves. If this knowledge is based on the results of previous research, we have actually consumed information, and if it is based on current observations and analysis, our efforts have led to the production of information. Therefore, the main source of new information and knowledge production is actually the result of research activities that are carried out. In other words, one is awareness and the other is knowledge and the difference between the two is presented by thinkers. Our knowledge and information is consciousness.
Reply10 Comment
Now, Pakistan is facing a terrible situation in the region. If we go to the bottom of the matter, Pakistan has done nothing but torture since its inception till today. To promote extremism, Great Britain separated parts of Great India and Great Afghanistan, and out of it, they made Pakistan, which was a great betrayal of Great Britain in this region. The policy of the time was that after the departure of the British from the region, a subsidiary country should remain in the region to protect its interests. Therefore, it was considered necessary to cut part of India and part of Afghanistan, and under the guise of Islam and Muslims, a country named Pakistan was created. The current British-made Pakistan is not only a nest of terrorism in the region but also trains and exports terrorists to the world. This country has created difficulties for the region, including Afghanistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Palestine and China. Originally, Pakistan was doing this for its survival, but finally, it got caught in it. Today, Pakistan is suffering from the same groups that they created with their own hands. For the past forty-five years, Afghans have been victims of projects created by the West and implemented by Pakistan. It seems that the current ISIS project created by the Arabs, Britain, and America to destabilize this region has once again taken Pakistan. As in the past, in this project, the victims will be Afghans and especially Pashtuns. Time will tell how long it will
Reply10 Comment
Considering that Afghanistan has been involved in crisis and civil wars for nearly half a century and has been facing with two invasions from the East and the West, investing in terrorist groups continues openly and secretly. The main activities of terrorist groups are currently going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and soon we will see the expansion of these activities at the regional level and even beyond.
ReplyActually I agree with you. The game is going on, and the man doesn't know what to do. The world superpowers want to start a permanent war in Afghanistan and they will fight it until this fire remains for years and years. We must be alert, so that the world doesn't make us fight for various reasons.
Reply10 Comment
There are conflicting reports about the extent of the growth of ISIS and Al-Qaeda after the Taliban's taking over of power, but what is true is that considering the suitable platform for the growth of terrorist groups, it can be said with certainty that these groups attract new forces and use this situation for taking advantage. We are witnessing lack of a powerful government in Kabul and the deplorable conditions in Afghanistan and the consequences of this growth in the course of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, and the fear of Afghanistan's northern neighbors should not be ignored. The hidden secrets surrounding extremist groups and the process of financing these groups by trans-regional countries can indicate the fact that Afghanistan is still a suitable platform for continuing proxy wars. On the other hand, the security problems facing Pakistan and the increase in political and security tensions in this country can lead to civil war in this country. The view of the great powers on the issues of the region and the competitions that exist, shows that the process of gaining power by terrorist groups has accelerated after the Taliban and what is ambiguous is the conflicting reports surrounding the gaining of power by these groups. The process of the formation and strengthening of extremist and militant groups, which in line with the specific policies of some regional and extra-regional countries to continue proxy competitions in Afghanistan and the region, has put the future of
Reply10 Comment
The process of formation and strengthening of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the region is becoming a big challenge for the people of Afghanistan and the countries of the region and even the world. There are visible and hidden hands in this field to use the mechanisms of terrorist groups to continue proxy contests in the region, but there are conflicting narratives about the existence and process of gaining power of these groups. Some reports indicate the expansion of the activities of terrorist groups under the rule of Taliban, and some reports indicate a decrease in the terrorist activities of groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, but what is the reality? It is clear that the media of different countries report on this issue according to their interests. Justification of Taliban's positive performance in the course of controlling the activities of terrorist groups can be analyzed in this regard, but what is seen is that these biased reports cannot clearly express all the realities in Afghanistan. Speaking on the topic, a retired American commander said I have many regrets about the evacuation of Kabul. Frank McKenzie, the former commander of CENTCOM who was in command of the US forces in Afghanistan when Kabul fell, has said that he has "many regrets" about the decision to leave Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with Fox News, he said, "I believe that history will judge the decision to leave and how American troops left Afghanistan as a fatal mistake." General Mackenzi
Reply10 Comment
All the people of Afghanistan are poor. Again, in Afghanistan, the people of Badakhshan province are poorer than others. Second, Badakhshan province has more minerals, but the government has not started working on these minerals so that the people of Badakhshan province are busy. What is my main goal from the mentioned position? The people of Afghanistan have been involved in an unknown war for several years, the main reason is that they are unemployed. For the people of Afghanistan, first of all, it is important to find bread for their children. It doesn't matter who finds it halal or haram [legitimate or illegitimate], because the majority of our people are very illiterate, and at the same time, they are unemployed and they don't have a job. If the current government of Afghanistan wants to reduce the activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, it must provide responsibility to its people. The government of the Islamic Emirate has made it a priority to allow construction work, which most people are engaged in. Our youth, who joins a terrorist group in order to find money, may not do the same if he finds work for the sake of money. Any government that wants to avoid fronting against them should provide our youth with jobs or study opportunities. If a government employee is given a salary of AFN 15,000, instead of one person, they should hire two people and divide the same salary between two people so that the people get busy with work and stop fighting.
Reply10 Comment
The presence of these terrorist groups is worrying not only for the people of Badakhshan, but also for the people of all over Afghanistan. If the international community would not destroy the centers of these terrorist groups, Afghanistan will once again become the center of international terrorism and civil wars, murders, suicide bombings and kidnappings will begin, which will continue to fall on the homeland. Then, it will turn difficult for all the people. We hope that the international community will pay serious attention to this point and Afghanistan will not be filled with dirt again like in the past. We are also human beings and we have the right to live.
Reply10 Comment