Ismail Khan, a renowned figure opposing the Taliban, has made a striking claim about the group's rise to power, labelling it a “global conspiracy."

Speaking to Afghanistan International at the Herat Security Dialogue in Dushanbe, the former Afghan jihadi leader asserted that the international community remains actively involved in Afghanistan's affairs and continues to have a presence in the country.

Khan's statement echoes previous remarks by another ex-jihadi leader, Mohammad Mohaqiq, who alleged during a meeting in Moscow that American forces are covertly managing the Taliban government's operations from a hotel in Kabul.

The Herat Security Dialogue, taking place in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, serves as a critical platform where various anti-Taliban figures, scholars, and experts have convened to deliberate over the current state of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies, which is the organiser of the summit, in a statement, declared that the organisation brought together global experts, politicians, and representatives of different countries to discuss the critical situation in Afghanistan.