KABUL - Afghanistan's National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday announced that al-Qaeda's move to extend allegiance to the Afghan Taliban reiterates the network's commitments to the Taliban.
Referring to the implications of the ties between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, military commentators have said that the new partnership between the two militant groups will give the foreign forces in Afghanistan a free hand to extend their attacks on al-Qaeda operatives and the Taliban in the country, something Afghan officials have frequently asked foreign troops to do in order to back the embattled security forces.
The statement comes a day after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new chief of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, who was appointed as new leader of the group last month after a US drone strike killed his predecessor Mullah Akhtar Mansour inside Pakistan.
In his message, Zawahiri, said that his predecessor and former leader of al-Qaeda Network Osama Bin Laden had also announced his support to the Taliban and he is extending his allegiance to the Taliban within the same spirit.
"Relations between Taliban and al-Qaeda network has been clear from the past. Taliban has often sacrificed Afghanistan and the Afghan people to save al-Qaeda leaders. This is not a new thing as they [al-Qaeda] have announced the same allegiance in the past as well. They said they have renewed their allegiance," said NSC spokesman Tawab Ghorzang.
"What Afghan government has always insisted on is that enhanced relations between regional and international terrorist groups has posed a potential threat to Afghanistan and the region," he added.
Meanwhile, a number of analysts have said that al-Qaeda's allegiance to the Taliban indicates that the Taliban are used as tools in the hands of international terrorists and this will lead to the inclusion of the Taliban in the list of world terrorist organizations.
"The United States has always demanded Taliban to cut relations with al-Qaeda. Now, if Taliban approves this allegiance, a center of al-Qaeda will be re-established in the region," said political analyst Sediq Patman.
Al-Qaeda's allegiance to the Taliban has not been an unprecedented move in the history of Afghan insurgency as the two groups have routinely cooperated with each other in their attempt to target Afghan and foreign troops in the country.
However the renewed partnership between the Taliban and al-Qaeda in some way raised alarm among US and Afghan officials with U.S President Barack Obama recently confirming new powers to U.S forces in Afghanistan in their struggle against the Taliban.
"Al-Qaeda announced allegiance to Akhtar Mohammad Mansour [Taliban's former leader] when he was appointed as Taliban's leader. This was announced for Mullah Omar [Taliban's founding leader] as well. This is not a new thing,"
Recently Obama announced a broader role for U.S forces in Afghanistan. Based on the new U.S plan, the current level of U.S forces in Afghanistan will not change.
Obama also authorized the American troops to help their Afghan counterparts on the war fronts.(Tolonews)