KABUL - Kazakhstan's ambassador to Afghanistan Bitimov Omirtay on Friday raised concerns over what he called growing activities of militants associated with Daesh along the northern borders of Afghanistan.
Speaking to TOLOnews, Omirtay said that in some cases there has been indications that a number of Kazakh nationals came to Afghanistan to join Daesh.
Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov has said that the NATO countries' program to train Afghan security forces has not reached the goals it pursued in Afghanistan.
"We believe that the primary responsibility for the current developments in the field of safety and training of Afghan security forces lies with NATO countries that have not so far reached the set objectives. Many other issues, which were once faced by the International Security Assistance Force, which left Afghanistan, have not yet been solved, either," Safronkov told the UN General Assembly session on Afghanistan.
According to Omirtay, the terrorists are struggling to infiltrate in central Asian nations from Afghanistan.
"Unfortunately Afghanistan still remains a place for terrorism, extremism and drugs," said Omirtay.
He said some youths influenced by the propaganda of terrorist groups such as Daesh have flocked to Afghanistan to fight side by side with the militant group.
"We evacuated many individuals with the help of security....several individuals initially came from Kazakhstan and joined the terrorist groups, but later they regretted it and said that (Daesh Islam is not the true Islam) and asked us to send them back to their country," said Omirtay.
Safronkov also highlighted the readiness to assist Afghanistan with the support of the "proven structures." He noted the potential of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the possibility of strengthening counterterrorism and anti-drug cooperation in Afghanistan with the help of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Analysts say that Russia and China and other central Asian countries can play a constructive role in fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, adding if these countries take robust action in this sphere, Afghanistan can be removed out of the ongoing crisis.
"Central Asian countries, China and Russia in the structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organization can help Afghanistan to eliminate groups such as Daesh and Taliban," said political analyst Ainuddin Bekzada. (Tolonews)