There have been reports about al-Qaida's efforts to reestablish itself in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida is setting up recruitment and training camps in the areas with no or insignificant presence of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and NATO troops.

Reportedly, Arab fighters for al-Qaida have moved back into eastern provinces along the Pakistani border to take advantage of a gradual withdrawal of US forces from the area. It is worth mentioning that since the death of Osama bin Laden – who was killed last year in Pakistan by US Special Forces – al-Qaida is thought to have grown weak.

The fact that Osama was killed and his terror network has grown weak makes positive points for Barrack Obama during his ongoing presidential campaign. Nonetheless, al-Qaida's plan for resurgence in Afghanistan and elsewhere is never good news for the US.

There is no doubt that al-Qaida is not present in Afghanistan as it used to be during the Taliban regime. When its leaders and fighters were ousted from their centers, they had to take refuge in caves and mountains and the decade-long US military campaign has done much to keep them at bay.

But Taliban and Haqqani group that are closely linked to al-Qaida have grown much strong. They have shown their strength by attacking the US embassy and American troops in Afghanistan. They continue to take responsibilities of deadly attacks on security forces and civilians.

Keeping in view NATO troops' withdrawal plan and the fact that Taliban and other terror networks are now stronger than they used to be in the period 2002-06, the environment for al-Qaida to come back is becoming feasible.

Another undeniable fact, which goes in the favor of al-Qaida, is that the Taliban have not broken ties with them. Taliban and al-Qaida have been fighting under one banner and have resembling ideologies. It is quite obvious that they will continue assisting each other in carrying out terror attacks. It is not beyond expectation that Taliban will allow al-Qaida to operate from the regions of Afghanistan where they have control and influence.

The success of Taliban, by any means, would mean the return of al-Qaida. If the international community and the Afghan government failed to handle the post-2014 scenario properly, falling of Afghanistan in the grab of insurgents would not be impossible.