Terrorist threat from Afghanistan may spread to SCO countries - National Security Committee
According to him, there are some key factors leading to the emergence of terrorist threat for the SCO states. «One of them is preservation of the terrorist potential in Afghanistan. The Taliban movement [prohibited in Kazakhstan - edit], which came into power in 2021, failed to create an effective system of governance and ensure proper control over security,» Seissembayev said.
In his words, Afghanistan remains the center of attraction for international terrorist groups.
«Over 350 people were killed and more than 700 were injured in more than 50 terrorist attacks. The branch of the international terrorist organization Wilayat Khorasan poses the biggest threat with its enhancing potential. As per various estimates, the number of its members has increased from less than 500 to 6,000 highly trained terrorists,» he noted.
«Wilayat Khorasan attacked Russian and Pakistani diplomatic missions. Its members shot down the citizens of China in a hotel in Kabul. The leaders of this organization regularly call for jihad both against the U.S. and against Russia, China and Pakistan,» he added.
Besides, Ruslan Seissembayev states the possibility of the spread of terrorist threat from Afghanistan to the SCO states.
«In addition, Al-Qaeda is based in Afghanistan. The number of its militants reaches up to 500. Although Wilayat Khorasan and al-Qaeda control part of the territory, they are quite capable of committing resonance and complex attacks. In general, the current situation creates a real threat to the implementation of large-scale projects in the territory of the SCO states,» he said.
Among them is construction of Termez-Kabul-Peshawar railroad corridor and Tapi gas pipeline for the transportation of Turkmen gas to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
«The analysis of the situation allows us to forecast preservation of a high-level terrorist threat in Afghanistan and the possibility of its movement to the SCO space, which surrounds this country from all sides,» Seissembayev said.
He noted that improvement of the practical forms of interaction of intelligence, counterintelligence, border and law enforcement structures of the SCO states gains a key importance in these conditions.