February 20, 2026

Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule Makes the World Less Safe

By: Annie Pforzheimer

This article was originally published in The Diplomat.

The Taliban regime is expanding its provision of national sanctuary to terrorist groups with regional and international aspirations, according to the United Nations’ Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s 2025 annual report, issued in December 2025. The report notes that the Taliban continue to allow al‑Qaida and its violent offshoots, such as the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate. It details the existence of terrorist training camps, extremist religious schools, and safe houses linked to lethal TTP attacks across the border in Pakistan.

The world has shifted focus away from Afghanistan, much as it did in the lead-up to September 2001, giving dangerous networks room to rebuild. The Taliban are becoming an inspiration to other groups and the safe haven of choice.

The Taliban deny this reality. The international community is fooling itself if it assumes that this threat is contained. Avoiding a repeat of 9/11 requires tightening worldwide sanctions on the Taliban, supporting Afghan political forces advocating for non-violent change, and providing safe haven to Afghan allies with a well-founded fear of persecution, torture, or execution if they were returned.

The Taliban’s claim that their government has controlled the activities of al‑Qaida, a condition of the 2020 Doha Agreement with the United States, is negated by the U.N.’s findings. The Monitoring Team reports that al‑Qaida “provides ideological guidance” to other terrorist groups and acts as “service provider and multiplier” for them. The report highlighted the operation of religious schools (madrassas) in eastern and northeastern provinces, where al‑Qaida “indoctrinates children and trains them to become fighters.”

Read the full article in The Diplomat.

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