What was slain al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri doing in Afghanistan?

“Justice has been delivered,” President Joe Biden said soon after a US drone strike killed al-Qaeda’s top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on Monday.

“This terrorist leader is no more,” he added.

Al-Zawahri, 71, took reins of the militant group after Osama bin Laden was assassinated by US troops in Pakistan in 2011. The US had been hunting al-Zawahiri for decades.

Biden said that he hoped the al-Qaeda chief’s killing brings “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks orchestrated by al-Qaeda. Washington accused the Taliban of sheltering the 9/11 masterminds and invaded the country in October that year.

After the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban toppled President Ashraf Ghani’s government and retook Kabul.

The US president also said that al-Zawahiri had moved to Kabul to reunite with his immediate family. “No matter where you hide, the United States will find you and take you out,” he said.

Al-Zawahiri’s presence in Afghanistan, however, indicates that al-Qaeda started regrouping in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal from the war-torn country. His killing is likely to further complicate Washington’s ties with Afghanistan’s new rulers, who, for years, have denied any link to the militant group.

Is al-Qaeda regrouping in Afghanistan?

The Taliban leaders in Kabul were quick to condemn the US drone strike, terming it a violation of their agreement with Washington in 2020.

A Taliban source familiar with the situation told DW on condition of anonymity that the targeted house is located in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan area, where senior Taliban leaders are residing. Residents told DW that the Taliban have cordoned off the area.

This raises the question: What was al-Zawahiri doing in that neighborhood?

Ali Ahmad Jalali, Afghanistan’s former interior minister and a professor at National Defense University in Washington, believes al-Zawahiri’s killing has embarrassed the Taliban.

“It has proven how unreliable they are. The have been telling the international community for years there is no al-Qaeda presence in Afghanistan, but al-Qaeda’s top leader was staying in downtown Kabul,” Jalali told DW.

A recent UN Security Council report expressed concern over the rise of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, saying the group helped the Taliban seize power in the country last year. According to the report, al-Qaeda leaders have enjoyed greater freedom in Afghanistan since the Taliban captured Kabul but have largely confined themselves to advising and supporting the Islamic fundamentalist group.

A blow to Taliban’s recognition efforts

Since seizing power, the Taliban have been pressing the international community to recognize them as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers.

International recognition is crucial for the Taliban to avoid a possible economic collapse. Millions of Afghans are jobless and their bank accounts are frozen. Many people are selling their possessions to buy food, and urban communities are facing food insecurity on levels similar to rural areas for the first time.

In January, the United Nations made the “biggest-ever appeal” for humanitarian aid for a single country, saying it needed $4.4 billion (€3.9 billion) for Afghanistan to prevent the “world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crisis” from deteriorating further.

But the international community has been reluctant to hand over the funds directly to the Taliban, fearing that they would use the money to buy weapons. For the same reason, Washington has refused to unfreeze Afghanistan’s bank assets.

The fact that al-Zawahiri was hiding in Kabul is likely to dent Taliban efforts to get support from the international community.

• Afghanistan in free fall

  Too little food

  According to an analysis by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), nearly half of Afghanistan’s population is experiencing acute hunger and is dependent on food supplies, as here in Kabul, where people are receiving Chinese food aid. “Hunger continues at unprecedented levels throughout the country,” a UN spokeswoman said, putting the number of those going hungry at 19.7 million.

• Afghanistan in free fall

  Drought and economic crisis

  Throughout the country, people are suffering from an ongoing drought and severe economic crisis. UN expert Anthea Webb said the World Food Programme, the largest scheme of its kind in the world, has already helped 22 million people this year alone. However, she said, the UN needs $1.4 billion (€1.3 billion) to continue its programs in Afghanistan.

• Afghanistan in free fall

  Control and stricter rules

  The Taliban initially said they would rule with more restraint than during their first period in power from 1996 to 2001, but the rights of women and girls in particular have been increasingly curbed: They are denied access to secondary education, are no longer allowed to travel alone and must completely veil themselves in public. Checkpoints like this one in Kabul serve to help maintain control.

• Afghanistan in free fall

  Protest against new regulations

  In the more liberal areas of Afghanistan, like here in Kabul, protests are rising against the new regulations. “We want to be known as living creatures; we want to be known as human beings, not slaves imprisoned in the corner of the house,” said one participant. Protesters also chanted, “The burqa is not my hijab (headscarf),” criticizing the new rule on full-face veils.

• Afghanistan in free fall

  15 dollars for a burqa

  A burqa dealer in Kabul says that in the days following the announcement of the new clothing regulation, prices for burqas increased by 30%. In the meantime, however, price levels have returned to normal, he says, as dealers have found that there is no increased demand for burqas at all. “A burqa is good according to the Taliban, but it is the women’s last choice.”

• Afghanistan in free fall

  Joint restaurant visits prohibited

  In Herat in western Afghanistan, which is generally considered liberal by Afghan standards, men and women are no longer allowed to eat together. Safiullah, the manager of a restaurant, confirmed that he had to follow the directive even though “it has a very negative impact on our business,” and adding that if the ban continues, he will be forced to fire staff.

• Afghanistan in free fall

  Reaction of the international community

  The new rules introduced by the Taliban, some of whom are seen here at an event marking the anniversary of the death of late leader and founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, are calling the international community into action. G7 foreign ministers said, “We condemn the introduction of increasingly restrictive measures” and that urgent steps must be taken “to lift restrictions on women and girls.”

  Author: Philipp Böll

Humanitarian aid on a backburner?

Former Afghan Interior Minister Jalali says the Taliban never upheld their promises under the 2020 Doha agreement.

“The Taliban never held intra-Afghan talks, and they don’t respect women’s rights. On top of it, they did not sever ties with terrorist networks like al-Qaeda,” Jalali said.

“The Doha agreement is now defunct. It has not been implemented the way it was intended to. The Taliban failed to make good on their commitments,” he added.

The Washington-based professor claims that not only al-Qaeda, numerous other militant organizations now find a “safe haven” in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban “grossly” violated the 2020 Doha Agreement by sheltering al-Zawahiri, but Washington “will continue to support the Afghan people with robust humanitarian assistance and to advocate for the protection of their human rights, especially of women and girls.”

But the killing of al-Zawahiri is likely to divert attention from humanitarian aid and human rights to fighting militancy in Afghanistan. Common Afghans are likely to suffer more in the aftermath.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/what-was-slain-al-qaeda-leader-al-zawahiri-doing-in-afghanistan/a-62697777?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf