As diplomatic efforts designed to force the Taliban-Haqqani regime to change their ways flounder, the terror network continues to expand their alliances, and decrease any threats to their control.

Two trends have again shown the world that the Taliban-Haqqani regime is not planning to cease the hunt for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) or stop the flow of terrorists into the country.

“There have been several reports of the Taliban pointing guns at the spouses of former ANDSF members while phoning their husbands to force the soldier to return to Afghanistan.”  -Former Afghan Soldier

ANDSF Have Nowhere to Turn

First, there are disturbing reports of the lengths the regime is willing to take to find and punish former ANDSF members. There are examples of the terrorists’ stopping cars, grabbing men on the street, or entering homes to capture former ANDSF and usually murder them in front of their family. Most recently, the regime (especially the Haqqanis) has been working to get Iran and Pakistan to expel any ANDSF who have sought shelter across the border. The most disgusting new technique is the terrorists holding civilians at gunpoint to get them to talk their spouses outside the country into returning.

The former ANDSF members and their families are in deep financial crisis at this point. As wanted men and women, the ANDSF veterans are unable to easily work and provide for their families. This has put the former members in double jeopardy. They cannot work in their own country safely and have no protection from the terror regime. As many have noted over the last couple weeks, the former ANDSF are now being recruited to fight in Ukraine by the Russian generals seeking cannon fodder. Unless the international community applies serious pressure to stop the retribution against the former ANDSF, the terrorists will continue to hunt them, and the former soldiers will continue to find safety and cash any way they can.

The Terrorists Are Being Treated Like Guests

While the most patriotic Afghans are being hunted internally and recruited abroad, the Talban-Haqqani regime is making room for even more terrorists to settle safely in Afghanistan. Since the terrorist takeover of the country the Taliban-Haqqani fighters have been steadily evicting families from opposition strongholds in places like Panjshir, Baghlan, and Faryab. Now the terror regime is transporting foreign terrorists into those same areas.

Many of the foreign terrorists are “citizens of China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan” according to the Independent Persian news. Verification from other sources in Afghanistan confirm that the former homes of evicted Afghans (who support or who were suspected of supporting the NRF) are being used to house foreign terrorists. The foreign terror groups so far include: the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Al Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Jamaat Ansarullah.

It seems the terror regime has learned from the drone strike on Zawahiri, and is now housing their foreign terrorist guests amongst Taliban-opposition neighborhoods across the country. The new “guests” do not interact with the local population. They are armed with various weapons and some are reported to have started building terror training facilities in these new locations.

Neither the increase in foreign terror groups, or the Taliban-Haqqani weekly executions of former ANDSF members is making Afghanistan any safer for Afghans, or the world.

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Jason spent 23 years in USG service conducting defense, diplomacy, intelligence, and education missions globally. Now he teaches, writes, podcasts, and speaks publicly about Islam, foreign affairs, and national security. He is a member of the Military Writers Guild and aids with conflict resolution in Afghanistan.