Zia Siraj, the former head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), has alleged that al-Qaeda has managed the disputes among Taliban leaders and prevented the group's collapse.
Siraj said that the son of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was likely to be in Kandahar or Panjshir.
In an interview with a number of reporters, Siraj said that at the level of the Taliban leadership, ethnic and religious differences have increased more than ever, but the al-Qaeda network has played a prominent role in managing this situation.
Siraj also said that there are massive differences over power-sharing among Taliban leaders.
According to Zia Siraj, the message of the al-Qaeda network to the Taliban is that now is a good opportunity to expand their activities and they should use it properly to achieve their goals.
He stated that al-Qaeda currently sees Afghanistan as its centre of command and administration and does not want to lose this strategic position.
The former Afghan security official added that the West and the United States are now aware of the activities of the al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan and have sufficient evidence in this regard, but as long as these activities do not pose a direct threat to them, they prefer to manage them remotely.
Previously, there were concerns that the Taliban had provided sanctuary to members and senior leaders of the al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan.
These concerns made headlines when Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the al-Qaeda network, was killed in a US airstrike in Kabul.
The US State Department released its annual report on terrorism on December 14 this year, announcing that the Taliban continue to host and shelter al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
In September, the UN Security Council also reported on the visits of some al-Qaeda commanders to Afghanistan. The report said that al-Qaeda has continued to secretly organise attacks and train forces in Afghanistan.
The first round of Taliban rule led by Mullah Omar in the 1990s was also overthrown by the US-led coalition with the cooperation of the Northern Alliance forces due to its support for Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda network.
