Regional Cooperation Needed to Eliminate Terrorism
During the second round of Kabul Process-2 on Wednesday, the head of the national directorate of security (NDS) Masoom Stanekzai said the increase of drug and terrorist organizations, is not only a serious threat to Afghanistan, but also to all countries in the region and world.
During the second round of Kabul Process-2 on Wednesday, the head of the national directorate of security (NDS) Masoom Stanekzai said the increase of drug and terrorist organizations, is not only a serious threat to Afghanistan, but also to all countries in the region and world.
“The Afghan government is pushing for a stable peace in the country and regional countries should held Afghanistan to fight terrorism – which is a serious threat to all regional countries – because Afghanistan alone can not win against global terrorism,” the NDS chief stressed during the so-called Kabul process.
“There is a very clear connection between terrorist organizations and the production of narcotics, which terrorist groups benefit from the increase in the production of the drug in Afghanistan. These groups are funded by rich countries of the region, and the government of Afghanistan holds evidence that some countries are supporting terrorist groups,” said Stanekai.
Meanwhile, the interior minister Wais Ahmad Barmak said some people are forced to produce drug by terrorists and on the other hand, unemployment and poverty are the other reasons that people turn to cultivate drug in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan needs regional cooperation to counter terrorism which is a serious threat to countries in the region,” he added.
National security adviser Hanif Atmar also considered terrorism a global threat.
“There should be better coordination among the countries in the region to fight the terrorism, in order to create a common understanding of the threat that Afghanistan faces,” said Hanif Atmar.
Mr. Atmar considered extremism and funding terror groups by other countries as main reasons behind the increase of terrorism.
“If anyone thinks that war on terror is a civil war in Afghanistan, it is wrong, because it is not a civil war, but a war against terrorism that threatens the world and it is a global struggle,” he added.
“The regional countries and the world should help Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism. This is not Afghanistan’s defense but the defense of regional countries, and regional countries can take joint steps to eliminate terrorism with cooperation and sharing intelligence,” the national security adviser continued.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Atmar in an interview with Asharq ul-Awsat newspaper, said: “there are more than 55,000 terrorists operating in Afghanistan.
