Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was purportedly assassinated in a U.S. drone raid in Kabul. The statements claimed that the air raid was launched from Ganci Air base, a US transportation service at Manas in northern area of central Asian state Kyrgyzstan. According to the US Department of Defense, Ganci is a former Pentagon military base in Kyrgyzstan, near the Bishkek airport. It was controlled by the American Air Force, which handed it over to the Kyrgyz armed forces in June 2014. At a safe house owned by an assistant to Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Ayman al-Zawahiri was present. “Any cooperation” with an international terrorist organization in Afghanistan would have been disastrous for the Afghan Taliban.
The raid has heightened worldwide concerns about the Taliban’s earnestness and capacity to deliver on their obligations in the Doha accord and other undertakings. However, the assassination may have only minor ramifications. The Taliban government is frail and yet seeking international recognition. According to the UN “Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team”, Zawahiri’s “takeover of Afghanistan” “coincided” with the publishing of its 30th report in July. A world notorious terrorist leader like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could only fathom how much freedom militants from South Asia, China, and Central Asia would have in Afghanistan.
The UN monitoring team’s February 2022 report stated that terrorist groups had “enjoyed considerable independence in Afghanistan than ever in recent history.” Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders have been visiting Pakistani officials, tribal jirgas and religious scholars in Kabul for some months now. Many counterterrorism analysts point to Islamabad’s negotiations with the TTP and the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri as evidence that the Haqqani Network has close ties to foreign terrorist organisations.
There is no sign that the Haqqanis can assess their prior links or demilitarise international terrorists. There is no law enforcement in Kabul due to the Haqqanis who hold the city under their grip. Islamabad has been impressed by Haqqani’s “reconciliatory’ strategy, but the rest of world may have been less so. The Taliban and the Haqqani network’s contribution to the international community serve as a conduit for communication between governments and terrorist groups. Pakistan has already accepted the offer and begun a contentious political settlement with the TTP. Pakistan has already accepted the offer. They offered the same to China, but it refused and made it clear that the country has zero tolerance for terrorism in general or AQTP in particular.
There is no virtue in states engaging with their foes for no reason, which is why Haqqani’s “reconciliatory’ approach has not pleased the world. Terrorists and insurgents use such inter-group reconciliation strategies to keep peace and avoid squandering resources. In Afghanistan, Al Qaeda has served as the major mediator between terrorist groups, and for some reason, it followed the same policy when it loosened its administrative grip and empowered its affiliates.
The early days of the Taliban revival were said to have seen Al Qaeda mediate disputes among the Taliban’s several shuras (advisory councils). Arbitration between Islamist militant groups was made famous by Osama bin Laden.
Conflict arose over the division of resources after Maulana Masood Azhar split from Harkatul Mujahideen in March 2000 and founded Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Ultimately, Osama bin Laden’s presence was crucial to reaching an agreement. The TTP representatives met with Pakistani officials, but it’s unclear whether Al Qaeda or Zawahiri counselled them.
