Afghanistan cannot be left alone to fight ISIS, says Uzbekistan’s spy chief

Uzbekistan’s Chairman of the State Security Service, Lieutenant General Abdusalom Azizov, on Wednesday acknowledged the Islamic Emirate’s fight against terrorism, especially against ISIS-K (Daesh), but said Afghanistan cannot be left to deal with the problem alone.

Addressing the opening session of 10th International Scientific-Practical Conference of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Second Conference of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on Combating Terrorism and Extremism, which is currently being held in Tashkent, Azizov said the the situation requires SCO member countries to work together to fight the problem.

He said the complex and contradictory military-political processes taking place in the SCO and CIS space require member countries “to consolidate efforts and coordinate measures to counter international terrorism, religious extremism, and radicalism.”

He said the situation is aggravated by the fact that the leaders of international terrorist organizations have not abandoned their destructive plans against member nations.

“The government of Afghanistan, based on its capabilities and resources, counteracts international terrorism. The Afghan Special Service is at the ‘front line’ of the fight against ISIS and is achieving certain results. In this regard, Afghan partners cannot be left alone with this problem. The enemy must be defeated together, based on the principle of indivisibility of security”, Azizov emphasized.

He stated it was important to assist Afghanistan in the fight against the “Khorasan Province”, since weakening countermeasures will lead to strengthening the group, and this, in turn, threatens the security of the region.

He went on to say that only through joint efforts with consistent and coordinated work based on mutual trust, regular information exchange, and experience in combating international terrorism and extremism and countering cyber threats can effective results be achieved in ensuring stability and security in member countries.

The main goal of the conference is to exchange best practices in countering terrorism and extremism, develop measures to improve international cooperation in this area, and establish a unified understanding and approach among participants to new security challenges and threats.

In addition to SCO member countries, representatives from the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Center (CIS ATC), Interpol, EAG (Eurasian Group), CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia), and others will also participate in the event.

The conference runs over two days – September 4 and 5.