NSC claims Taliban still has ‘firm ties’ with terrorist groups

The Afghan National Security Council (NSC) said the Taliban has focused on continuing the war and that the group has “ideological” and “financial” ties with terrorist groups

Rahmatullah Andar, a spokesman for the NSC, said in a series of tweets Tuesday that the Taliban has no will to bring peace to Afghanistan and that the Taliban still has firm ties with terrorist groups.

“There are still foreign fighters in the Taliban rows who are practically involved in the war…that is why the US-Taliban Doha deal was reviewed,” Andar said.

Ander stated that the Taliban insurgents are doing their best to capture certain areas and then “destroy them, forcing people to be displaced and disrupting public order and paving the way for looting [of public facilities]”.

Afghan National Security Advisor (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib meanwhile said all forms of leverage must be used against the Taliban in order to persuade the group to engage in peace talks seriously.

In a phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Mohib stated that all “levers of influence” should be used to induce the Taliban to engage in talks earnestly, “including UN sanctions and other avenues where China’s unique capabilities can be helpful.”

The Taliban, so far, has not commented on this regard.