The Taliban promised in the 2020 Doha Agreement on the full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan that it would not harbor al-Qaeda terrorists.
The killing of al-Zawahiri, nearly a year after US troops left Afghanistan, has raised questions about the involvement of Taliban leaders in providing safe haven for a 9/11 mastermind and wanted US terrorist.
Several Taliban leaders live near the house where al-Zawahiri was killed.
The Taliban initially tried to portray the attack as a violation of the Doha Agreement on the part of the US. The agreement also states that the Taliban will not give asylum to anyone who intends to attack America. The Taliban have not yet said who has been killed.
A Pakistani intelligence official said, “The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri has raised many questions. The Taliban knew about his presence in Kabul and if they were not aware of it, they should explain their position.
Haqqani Network was formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, it is a terrorist organization. Jalaluddin Haqqani had emerged as a rebel commander of Afghanistan during the war against Soviet forces.
The US Secretary of State has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of violating commitments made to the international community by “keeping and protecting the al Qaeda chief in Kabul”.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid accused the US of violating the Doha Agreement.
A report in Afghanistan’s state-run television channel said US President Joe Biden said al-Zawahiri had been killed.
Significantly, the 9/11 attacks on America were plotted together by al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Osama bin-Laden was killed by the US in 2011 in an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Zawahiri became the leader of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed in a US action.
US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Saturday evening in Kabul. Zawahiri was hiding with his family in a house in Kabul.
