Mirza Kashif baig
Afghanistan has become the new gathering point for ISIS. Much like any parent child relationship, ISIS and its parents US and Israel cannot remain further apart from each. The parent in the form of USA has suffered losses in Iraq and Syria by the hand s of Iran and Russian coalition. As a result ISIS fighters started gathering in Afghanistan since 2015. Americans were and still are facing much retaliation from Afghan Taliban and are in a pitiful state in Afghanistan. American and Afghani are being pushed against the wall by the Taliban resistance and their success rate is really high. Americans, it seems are looking for dignified way out from Afghanistan but at the same time they have a few tricks up their sleeve which they won’t hesitate from trying. ISIS is their trump card and they intend to use it to enhance their influence in the region. America entered Afghanistan to enhance its influence in South Asia and abandoning their Afghan bases would mean that this goal of theirs will have to be compromised. As a result they are pitching ISIS against the Afghan Taliban. ISIS is many being aided by defectors of Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban who fled the country seeking refuge in Afghanistan, out of fear of Zarb-i-Azb. They are also being backed by Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and other elements from within Afghanistan. ISIS fighters are mainly started their operations in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar province and here Afghan Taliban have ensured that ISIS isn’t able to hold its ground. Once they are beaten from one province they escape into the other and in this way presently their presence is seen in Farah and Helmand provinces. ISIS poses a threat to all the players in the region, especially the ones who are opposing USA. While ISIS is unable to establish a firm footing in Afghanistan, they are certainly increasing in power. This is evident from the number of threats which have taken place since 2015. In 2015 2 attacks were attributed to ISIS, In 2016 ISIS claimed responsibility for 10 attacks , this number grew to 20 in 2017 and doubled in 2018 bringing the total to 40 attacks. This shows that ISIS is getting cosy in Afghanistan and all neighbouring countries should be on their guard. Pakistan has already faced the worse side of terrorism and while we have won the battle against terrorism on our soil we must remember that there may still be some evil seeds remaining in the form of sleeper cells which might disrupt the country’s peace. Also, it will bode well for Pakistan to remember that one wrong step and we could easily fall victim to atrocities of the American puppet, ISIS. We must remain vigilant should work closely with neighbouring countries as well as other major players in the region who are also threatened by ISIS. One must bear in mind ISIS was created to serve American and Zionist agenda, therefore it has an global approach with no respect or restraint for international borders. This means that countries like, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and other Central Asian Republics should be aware and must remain cautious of the danger posed by ISIS. In the present scenario, the Afghani Taliban are the better option as their agenda is limited to Afghanistan only and they only wish to rid their motherland of foreign invaders. It is important that the people of Afghanistan get peace and have a established system in place to govern their country, for which it is important and crucial to rid Afghanistan of ISIS and foreign invaders.