Al Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist organization, is aiming to incite communal tensions in South Asia by disseminating a movie that criticizes India’s secular fabric. The group released a video containing a communal rant by Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who attempts to incite a frenzy among Indian Muslims with his skewed and dangerous interpretation of a long-running controversy in the country involving some Muslim schoolgirls who insist on wearing the ‘hijab’ to class.
The problem is being resolved amicably by the country’s leadership and courts, with no communal disputes. The Al Qaeda effort is clearly an invasion into India’s domestic affairs for nefarious purposes, and it calls for a reinvigorated operation to annihilate the Islamist terror organization. In the video, the alleged terror organization commander, Al-Zawahiri, attempts to claim that the handling of the ‘hijab’ event is a parody of democracy. He attempts to attract Indian Muslims into his poisonous vortex by praising the schoolgirl, penning a poem about her, and referring to the occurrence as a ‘tool’ to oppress Muslims.
The Islamist terrorist uses the video to sow discord among people of different religions in South Asia and Africa, using religious instruments to incite insurrection. Notably, the terrorist claims that the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh do not ‘protect us,’ but rather ‘support the exact enemy they have authorized to fight against us.’
This statement reveals the terrorist’s deep concern that his organization is unable to extend its area of operations and, as a result, is attempting to destabilize the region by similar stunts. According to UN Security Council sources, the terrorist and his organization are based in some of Afghanistan’s mountain regions and have patronizing ties to the country’s ruling Taliban. Their ongoing battle with the Islamic State of Khorasan has crippled Al Qaeda, which has been frantically attempting to expand into South Asia and Africa in recent years.
According to the Print, an Indian news website: ‘Al-most Zawahiri’s recent India-focused video was published in 2014, to proclaim the foundation of the Jamaat qaidat al-jihad fi’shibhi al-qarratal-Hindiya or Organization of the Jihad Base in the Indian Subcontinent. Asim Umer, an Uttar Pradesh-born, Deoband-educated seminarian who had fled to Pakistan in 1995, commanded the organization. Umer is thought to have been killed in a US military operation near Musa Qala, Afghanistan, in 2019.’
In the 2014 video, the terrorist commander discusses his ambitions to establish a South Asian arm of his organization. Previously, the terrorist attempted to incite Muslim groups against India. As The Print points out: ‘Despite al-attempts, Zawahiri’s al Qaeda had limited success in developing operational capabilities in India’. However, this summer, UN sanctions monitors stated that al-South Qaeda’s Asia arm remained functioning in Afghanistan, with Taliban support. According to the Security Council, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has between 200 and 400 militants.
‘(Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) has a presence in Afghanistan, particularly the provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimruz, Paktika, and Zabul, where the organization fought with the Taliban against the overthrown government.’ According to the report, the terrorist group has made inroads into western Africa but has largely failed to infiltrate South Asia or East Asia. ‘Both Indonesia and the Philippines reported significant gains in countering threats from ISIL and Al Qaeda affiliates in the South-East Asia region, leading to an overall decline in terrorist activity and some optimism that the groups’ operational capability may be significantly degraded,’ the report says.
In 2020, the Middle East Institute issued a research paper titled ‘Afghanistan’s Terrorism Challenge: The Political Trajectories of Al Qaeda, The Afghan Taliban, and the Islamic State” by international terrorism specialist Asfandyar Mir. According to the article, Al Qaeda may exploit this potential for regional operations against India and China. The main goal of AQIS is to target US interests and persons in South Asia. AQIS also works closely with TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) in Afghanistan,’ it claims.
The study adds of India, ‘Al Qaeda in general, and AQIS in particular, spend significant emphasis on promoting purported Indian atrocities in Kashmir.’ The study asserts unequivocally that ‘Al Qaeda may explore exploiting Afghanistan for its Kashmir ambitions, most likely independently, but maybe in collaboration with Pakistan-aligned jihadist groups like .’
With the terrorist leader attempting to entice India once more into his terror scheme, the international community’s attention returns to Afghanistan, specifically the Taliban’s assurance to keep terror groups like Al Qaeda at bay and not allow them to use Afghanistan as a base for operations against other countries. According to many UN assessments, the Taliban has set no time period for delivering on its commitments since taking control in Afghanistan last year. The recent Al Qaeda video is unequivocal evidence that the terror group is working smoothly from within Afghanistan, which puts the Taliban fully in charge of the terror group’s hazardous actions.
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