"For the Taliban in Afghanistan, it is all about territory and Islamic Sharia."Vicky Nanjappa OneIndia, July 21, 2021
Nearing the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces and allies in Afghanistan, the South Asian country is quickly descending on a path to chaos and conflict.The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces has drawn the ire of former President George W. Bush. As the American-backed government in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, is left to fend for itself, Bush was quick to criticize the move, calling it a "mistake" with grave consequences.
Afghanistan struggles for stability in the face of a splintered Taliban and a growing Islamic StateAUTHOR: Animesh Roul
"The emergence of the Islamic State caliphate and the possibility of a Khurasan chapter once again fanned Saeed Khan’s ambitions to become a high-level militant leader in the region. The much-expected shift of allegiance came last October, when Saeed Khan along with other TTP regional commanders such as Sheikh Umar Maqbool, Gul Zaman of Khyber Agency, Mufti Hassan of Peshawar, Hafiz Quran Daulat of Kurram, and Khalid Mansoor of Hangu pledged allegiance the Islamic State (Dawn [Karachi], October 14, 2014).
Amid a series of government denials from Pakistan and Afghanistan regarding the presence of the Islamic State militant group in these countries and its ongoing outreach activities there, its expansion was corroborated by none other than the Islamic State’s spokesperson, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, on January 26, 2015 (The Nation [Lahore] September 5, 2014; Dawn [Karachi], November 11, 2014;