The Taliban’s intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq has alleged that foreign countries are dispatching ISIS fighters into Afghanistan to fuel instability, warning of a “heavy price” if the threat is overlooked. His remarks, given in an interview with Al Jazeera, come as Pakistan, the United Nations and regional powers continue to voice alarm over the regrouping of militant networks inside Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
Wasiq claimed that ISIS no longer maintained territorial control in Afghanistan and that recent attacks had been orchestrated from abroad. He dismissed reports of fighters arriving from Syria as “fabrications” intended to damage the Taliban’s international engagement.
Taliban officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of sheltering ISIS elements in Balochistan, a charge Islamabad rejects. Instead, Pakistani officials stress that Afghanistan under Taliban control has become a hub for groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS-Khorasan, which have staged multiple cross-border attacks in recent years.
Rejecting reports of intelligence cooperation with the United States, Wasiq asserted that the Taliban’s intelligence services had been “cleansed” of arbitrary arrests and torture. He further alleged that ISIS had become a tool for certain foreign agencies, accusing unnamed states of amplifying the group’s threat while ignoring the flow of fighters and funds.
His claims, however, stand in contrast with global assessments. Pakistan estimates that nearly 6,000 TTP militants are currently operating from Afghan soil. Russia has raised concerns about the transfer of fighters from Syria to Afghanistan, while the United Nations has warned of al-Qaeda re-establishing several bases in the country.
