AT News
KABUL: Taliban has denied the US Treasury Department Report regarding its ties and enduring partnership with the al-Qaeda Terrorist Network.
A Taliban Spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement said that al-Qaeda was not present in Afghanistan. Mujahid said that the purpose of these reports is to weaken the Doha peace agreement, but the Taliban are bound by the agreement.
He said al-Qaeda fighters had come to the country in 2001 since then Taliban broke ties with the group.
The group is committed to all the contents of the agreement and would not allow anyone to threaten the US and its allies from Afghanistan soil, Mujahid added.
This comes as earlier Defense Ministry Spokesman Fawad Aman accused the group of its ties with al-Qaeda and engaged in war in contradiction with the Doha accord with the US.
Taliban together with al-Qaeda continue their terror activities which increased people’s concerns regarding their commitments to cut ties with the terror group.
The US Treasury Department said in a report that al-Qaeda is getting strengthened in Afghanistan and the group through a network of trainers and advisers provides advice, guidance and financial support to Taliban.
The presence of al-Qaeda fighters and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in border areas of Afghanistan is also a matter of concern.
Earlier, the Afghan government and the United Nations reported Taliban’s links to al-Qaeda as the government claimed the killing of several al-Qaeda members in Ghazni and Helmand provinces.