The Doha Agreement between the Taliban and US stated that the Taliban would not let the radical elements operate on Afghan soil against the US or any other country. But, recently, Ayman Al-Zawahiri was found and targeted by the US in Afghanistan. The Doha agreement also mentioned that the US would not intervene militarily in Afghanistan – not without the consent of the Afghan government. Both parties have overstepped the mark.
Afghanistan is still the brimming battleground. The Taliban’s return promised peace and security to the Afghan people and region. The status quo says otherwise.
The United States carried out a counter-terrorism drone strike using a precision missile and killed Al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in Kabul on Sunday at his residence. He was staying with his family in a posh residential area where powerful people including ministers, governors, and the infamous warlords used to stay. The U.S. soon after released a message that the most wanted terrorist has been exterminated without any collateral damage, including his family.
President Biden remarked, “on Saturday, at my direction, the United States successfully concluded an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed the emir of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri.” He further added that he was al-Zawahiri was “bin Laden’s leader”, and the deputy at the time of the 9/11 bombings as well as the strategist behind multiple other attacks on U.S. citizens including the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which killed 224 and wounded more than 4500. “Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more.”, said Biden while paying tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda.
State secretary Anthony Blinked said in a tweet, “We have delivered on our commitment to act against terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan. The world is safer following the death of al Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The U.S. will continue acting against those who threaten our country, people, or allies.” This drone strike was the first major intervention in Afghanistan post-U.S. withdrawal. With this, the United States has reiterated its commitment to carry out counter ops in any part of the world to protect its interests.
Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, responded in a statement that the drone attack by the United States in Afghanistan is a violation of international laws and the Doha agreement. He added, “Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the US, Afghanistan, and the region.” The U.S. believes they had reason to do so referring to the same Doha Agreement where the Taliban had agreed not to allow al-Qaeda to operate in the areas controlled by the Taliban.
Interestingly enough, Biden did not mention the Taliban and the Taliban-led government in his whole address nor did the Taliban spokesperson comment on the presence of al-Zawahiri or his death in the drone strike. The state secretary Blinken however alleged that the Taliban were well aware of al-Zawahiri’s presence and stated that “[Taliban]grossly violated the Doha Agreement and repeated assurances to the world that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries”.
This attack was carried out after tracking al-Zawahiri for years by the United States military intelligence and its ‘partners’. The Biden administration is questioning Kabul administration as to how such a wanted terrorist could walk into Kabul and stay there without them knowing! This also gives enough reason to doubt the Taliban’s commitment to sever ties with al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations that work against the United States, its allies, and its interest anywhere in the world.
By Elsa Imdad
Elsa Imdad is a USG Alumna. She holds a bachelors in modern languages with an English major and Spanish minor. She has previously been part of American Spaces in Pakistan and now works as a Project Coordinator at the Center for Research and Security Studies. She is also a weekly contributor for Matrix. Her interests include public diplomacy, global politics, peace and conflict resolution, capacity building for marginalized groups, etc.
