KABUL - National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar said on Monday terrorist groups based in Pakistan threatened Afghanistan and other countries of the region.
Addressing a security conference in New Delhi, the advisor said: “We must always remember that we do not have any friend among terrorist groups.”
Terrorism was a generational struggle that could not be combated in a year; he said, adding the scourge was a long and arduous process. “We must continue the struggle.”
The advisor said there was no substitute for state-to-state cooperation on fighting the menace. “We can either be collectively secure or collectively insecure.”
Using a Frankenstein monster against another country was foolish as it would come back to haunt its master, Atmar remarked.
He said: “We do not have empirical evidence that Daesh and Taliban are enemies today. These terrorist outfits are mutating. Our regional response thus far has been inadequate...”
The terrorist groups based in Pakistan were threatening Afghanistan and other countries in the region, he claimed, saying: “Daesh is an enemy and a threat to all of us.”
Atmar estimated up to 45000 terrorists were currently operating in Afghanistan. “Associating Islam with terrorism is unhelpful.”
The narrative of good and bad terrorists needed to be discouraged and stopped. Atmar stressed.  Violence in Afghanistan was not a civil war, it was terrorism and extremism at its worst, he said
“Separating economic objectives from political objectives of terrorist groups in Afghanistan is difficult,” he added. The outfits also needed relationships with rogue state elements that provided them sanctuary.
“We are no longer talking of a lone group. There is a symbiotic relation between the economics and geopolitics of the region,” the advisor continued.
The NSA made clear success against terrorism in Afghanistan was vitally important for the stability of the region and the world.
He said 20 out of 98 terrorist outfits were operating within the Afghan region. He also hailed India’s assistance worth a billion dollars to Afghanistan. (Pajhwok)