World ‘sleepwalking into another 9/11’ warns exiled Afghan chief

The world dangers going through one other huge terrorist assault on the dimensions of 9/11 now al-Qaeda has been welcomed again to Afghanistan, an exiled opposition chief fears.

Atta Mohammad Nur believes the Islamist extremists are planning to make use of his former house as a base from which to coach and put together for atrocities on international soil – simply as they did earlier than the assaults on the World Trade Centres in New York 22 years in the past, during which practically 3,000 folks died.

Mr Nur, a former Governor of Balkh Province who stop the nation after the Taliban’s return to energy two years in the past, stated the world ignored the rising menace at its peril.

He defined: “The Taliban’s history of supporting terrorism is on repeat, with al-Qaeda once more scheming to train, plot and prepare for international operations from inside Afghanistan.

“The world is sleepwalking into another nightmare like 9/11.”

The Taliban, as a recognised terrorist organisation, had a confirmed observe document of supporting militant extremism, not simply throughout the borders of Afghanistan however past, Mr Nur identified.

He defined: “Nobody needs reminding of how the Taliban’s first regime, 1996 to 2001, allowed al-Qaeda to prepare, plot and launch attacks against the West from within Afghanistan, most tragically the 9/11 attacks of 2001.

“Since regaining power in 2021 the Taliban continued the same pattern of behaviour, even allowing al-Qaeda to return to Kabul under Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader who replaced Osama bin Laden.”

The choice flew within the face of assurances by Taliban leaders that they’d not allow worldwide terrorists to function on Afghan soil, Mr Nur burdened.

He stated: “Our sources tell us the Taliban is actively involved with at least 22 international terrorist groups.

“Some of these operate within Afghanistan, some across the border in regional neighbours such as Uzbekistan.

“But we are convinced the Taliban represents a clear and present danger to the entire world, with its toleration of extremism that we know seeks to attack and destroy the most high-profile targets.

“The developed West, with its modernity, freedoms and inclusivity, knows full well it is the target of this sort of backward looking hatred.”

The internationally-recognised Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed after the Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021, and no nation has but established formal diplomatic ties with its successor, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Legitimising the Taliban by any kind of worldwide recognition would signify a betrayal of the rules, values and morals of the developed world, Mr Nur added.

He continued: “The greatest achievements of modern development – the creation of nation states built on cooperation not coercion, willing productive participation of the many not repression by the few – would be denied to 40 million Afghans.

“It would create a cruel double standard where a commitment to liberty and rights would be shown up not as fundamental principle but as a meaningless slogan.

“And it would be a short-term solution that guarantees a long-term disaster.”

The Taliban was dedicated to a lifestyle “fundamentally at odds with the West”, Mr Nur fears.

He stated: “To ignore the lessons from 1996-2001, to a regime that fomented violence, instability and, ultimately, terrorist atrocities would be the height of folly.

“In 2021 some western observers argued the Taliban had changed. Women’s rights were to be protected, international extremists would not longer be tolerated, the gullible believed.

“We know this leopard has not changed its spots. The stakes are too high for the West to trust the Taliban.”