CIS Anti-Terrorism Centre Warns of Taliban's 'Export of Sharia' to Central Asia
Evgeniy Sysoev, Director of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Anti-Terrorism Centre, warned that the Taliban leaders' statements regarding the "export of Sharia" are a danger to Central Asia.
During a meeting in Tashkent on Tuesday, Sysoev called Afghanistan a source of "one of the special concerns".
The 9th International Scientific and Practical Conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure was held in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
According to TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies, in this meeting, Sysoev considered the ethnic and religious prejudices and the "Pashtunisation of the political elites" of Afghanistan as one of the current challenges of the country.
He also said that although the Taliban has declared a fight against terrorism, it cannot cope with the increasing influence and capabilities of the Khorasan branch of ISIS.
Sysoev stated that there are approximately 6,000 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, emphasising that all of them pose a direct threat to Central Asian countries.
