Hyderabad: If reports are to be believed, one of the key developments amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the completion of US troops' withdrawal is the return of Al-Qaeda terrorists to the war-torn country. A video that has emerged online reportedly shows Amin Al-Haq, former security chief of slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, travelling in the open in his hometown in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan with Taliban escort.
Amin Al-Haq, the security coordinator of Osama Bin Laden helped the Al-Qaeda leader escape to Pakistan during the 2001 battle of Tora Bora. Al-Haq became close to Osama Bin Laden in the 1980s during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
The security establishment in Pakistan has been keeping a close tab on the movements of Amin Al-Haq. He had escaped to Pakistan after he was injured during the bombings in Tora Bora. Al Haq was arrested in Lahore in 2008 but was released in 2011.
With the Taliban takeover, it is feared that Afghanistan will be used as a base for terror attacks. An intelligence agency of the United States federal government had recently warned that the Taliban maintained "close ties with al Qaeda" and is "very likely preparing for large-scale offensives" against population centres and Afghan government installations. Al-Qaeda is likely awaiting further guidance from the Taliban as the United States reviews the US-Taliban agreement, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report said. "Al-Qaeda continues to rely on the Taliban for protection, and the two groups have reinforced ties over the past decades, likely making it difficult for an organizational split to occur," the report further said.
