Ken McCallum, head of MI5, made the remarks in an interview with the Daily Mail. He warned that terror groups may be able to reconstitute in Afghanistan and plan sophisticated attacks against the UK. However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly denied the presence of foreign terrorist groups in Afghanistan, saying that it will not allow the Afghan soil to be used against any country.
Mc Callum said Afghanistan could possibly become a “magnet for British extremists in a similar way to Syria,” according to the Daily Mail.
“Clearly we have seen some people interested in traveling to Afghanistan in pursuit of some of those goals,” the UK MI 5 chief said, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “We have seen the beginnings of some travel attempts and so with our partners we remain very vigilant.”
Political analysts believe that such remarks undermine the trust of the world countries in Afghanistan. “This information is wrong. These opinions are wrong, they try to confuse the world toward Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate should prevent such propaganda,” said Habib Hotak, a political analyst. This comes as previously the Guardian reported that two British nationals had links with the Daesh group in Afghanistan. According to the Guardian, the two British nationals has entered Afghanistan via Hairatan port from Uzbekistan. Despite consecutive calls to the spokespersons of the Islamic Emirate, TOLOnews was not able to obtain a comment from the government on this matter. “The Islamic Emirate will not allow anyone to be active on Afghan soil and I believe this is just a propagandist pressure,” said Abdul Haq Humad, a political analyst. Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, in a meeting with the UN special envoy to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons, criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s remarks about the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan. —TOLO
