Taliban Rejects US Lawmaker’s Claim Of Terrorist Presence In Afghanistan

The Taliban has rejected recent remarks by US Congressman Bill Huizenga, who said that Afghanistan has once again become a haven for terrorist groups under Taliban rule.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement on Friday, 27 June, asserting that the Taliban-led government maintains full control over the country and will not permit any group to use Afghan soil to threaten other nations.

“We strongly reject the claim made by the US House of Representatives suggesting that foreign groups are present in Afghanistan or that any threat emanates from its territory,” Mujahid wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. He described Afghanistan as having a “unified and strong government.”

The response follows comments made by Huizenga during a Thursday hearing of the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, which he chairs. In his remarks, the Michigan Republican said that the Taliban’s return to power and the Biden administration’s rapid withdrawal of US forces have significantly increased the terrorism threat across the region.

“Afghanistan has once again become a hotbed for terrorists looking for safe harbour,” Huizenga said, criticising the Taliban for failing to uphold its counterterrorism commitments under the 2020 Doha Agreement.

He pointed specifically to the rising influence of ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), warning that the threat posed by these groups is now “higher than at any time in recorded history.”

While the Taliban maintains it has eradicated terrorist networks in the country, US and international officials have repeatedly expressed concerns over Afghanistan’s potential to harbour extremist groups, particularly amid reduced Western intelligence capabilities on the ground.

Mujahid insisted that no threat originates from Afghanistan and reaffirmed the Taliban’s position that it does not allow the use of Afghan territory for operations against other countries.