Foreign Invaders Established ISIS Phenomenon, Claims Taliban Deputy Interior Minister

Mohammad Nabi Omari, Taliban’s Deputy Minister of Interior, has claimed that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Afghanistan has been established by “foreign invaders”. He stressed that ISIS has been highlighted in the media more than its ground presence in Afghanistan.

Omari has not clarified which countries he meant when he mentioned “foreign invaders”, however, the Taliban usually refers to the United States and other countries which had been present in Afghanistan as part of the coalition of NATO member states from 2001 to 2021 as “occupiers”, and “invaders”.

Earlier, the Washington Post, citing leaked US documents, said that Afghanistan has changed into a hub of terrorism and ISIS coordination.

In an audio message released by the group's Ministry of Interior on the occasion of Eid, Omari emphasised that the Taliban has been established to stabilise Afghanistan.

Omari emphasised that those who publish “fake reports about the presence of forces that destabilise Afghanistan,” can’t tolerate the stability and current situation of Afghanistan.

He said that the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan is "media propaganda", while in the past 20 months of the Taliban reign in Afghanistan, ISIS has taken responsibility for bloody attacks in Kabul and various provinces of the country.

On the other hand, Central Asian countries have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the presence of ISIS fighters in Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban.