Afghanistan’s elusive peace: Measures to end proxy war

Chris Alexander, former Deputy Special Representative to the United Nations Secretary-General for Afghanistan. [Courtesy]

In June 2021, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council released a report on relationships between Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and how they have been operating and enjoying ‘unbreakable ties’. Based on the report, Al-Qaeda is active in at least 15 out of 34 provinces. There are up to 10,000 foreign fighters mainly from Central Asia, the north Caucasus region of Russian Federation, Pakistan and the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region of China fighting the Afghan government.