West could face another 9/11 if it abandons Afghanistan again, says Pakistan security adviser
Pakistan’s national security adviser has suggested the West faces another 9/11 if it abandons Afghanistan for a second time.
Dr Moeed Yusuf issued the stark warning as the international coalition struggles to get its remaining troops out of the country, after an ignominious defeat to the Taliban.
Abandoning the country could also cause a mass wave of refugees, Dr Yusuf told Sky News.
Pakistan and Taliban flags are seen on their respective sides at a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan
When the Soviets withdrew in 1989 the West turned its back on the region, he said, and allowed it to become a safe haven for terrorists.
Pakistan has not yet recognised the Taliban but is urging the international community to “engage” to avoid a security vacuum.
Dr Yusuf said now is the time for the world to listen and come together to avoid the mistakes of the past.
“If there’s no money in Afghanistan, if there’s no governance, if ISIS-K and al Qaeda and others take root, what do you think will happen?
Western leaders may have no option but to accept the Taliban as the new leaders of Afghanistan Pic: AP
“And by the way let me also tell you, this will not be constrained to the region. I read somewhere, I think one statement came out, that the migration problem should be limited to the region, it won’t.
“Migrants will flow, terrorism will flow and none of us want that so let’s not make that mistake again.
“The dangers of abandonment, which came about in the 1990s, there was a breakdown of law and order, there was a breakdown of security, there were international terrorists who took route, there was an economic crisis, there was a governance problem and at the end of the day there was 911.”
There hasn’t yet been a huge flood of refugees out of the country, but hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced and the dangers are already there for that humanitarian situation to worsen rapidly.
Afghan refugees arriving in Virginia, US after fleeing their homeland Pic: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Thursday’s horrific attack by ISIS Khorasan at the airport illustrates what is at stake.
Pakistan’s government claims by working with the Taliban rather than isolating them they can maintain security in the country and prevent Afghanistan from descending into civil war as it did in the past.
Islamabad is on the front foot of a PR blitz trying to make its case at a time when many western capitals see it as one of the reasons the nation building project failed over the last 20 years.
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Sky’s Adam Parsons reports from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where thousands of Afghan refugees are waiting to be flown to the US to start new lives
The country stands accused of playing a “double game” – appearing as a staunch ally while at the same time sponsoring the militant group and providing sanctuary and support.
The reason for this duplicity, it’s claimed, is that Pakistan has an interest in seeing Islamist rulers – not a democratic government – in Kabul as a way of increasing strategic depth and influence in its perpetual fight against its powerful neighbour India to the east.
But the Pakistani government claims these accusations are “not based in reality” and it is being used as a “scapegoat” for the failures and miscalculations of others.
The argument it makes is that there was never a military solution to Afghanistan in the first place and such a victory was therefore illusory.
Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in Kabul. Pic: AP
It also claims that after Afghanistan it is the biggest victim of the so called war on terror with as many as 80,000 dead and two million people internally displaced.
And the reality is that the West will most likely have to recognise the new bearded rulers in Kabul.
In microcosm we have already seen that play out with international forces humiliatingly having to coordinate with the group during the airlift.
And then there is the bigger question – engage with the Taliban, or not to stop groups like ISIS from becoming stronger in the region?
Both are extreme Sunni Islamist militants but there is great enmity between them.
Pakistan certainly believes that our enemy of 20 years may, in that fight, turn out to be our friend.
Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.
Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.
Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false.
Follow latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’ and ‘distraction’, says UN agency chief
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Israel challenged on starvation in Gaza
Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.
“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”
In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.
The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.
“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.
“This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
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Gaza: ‘This is man-made starvation’
In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.” He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.
It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.
The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.
MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.
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Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.
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It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.
“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”
The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.
“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”
You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am tomorrow.
World
25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK
A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.
It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.
Pic: Reuters
The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.
MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”
The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the GHF.
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‘Many more deaths unless Israelis allow food in’
In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.
The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”
Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.
‘Humanitarian catastrophe must end’
In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.
The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.
“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”
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Israeli military show aid waiting inside Gaza
Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.
Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.
Read more:
WHO: Gaza faces ‘manmade’ starvation
UN: People in Gaza ‘walking corpses’
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Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.
For now, Sir Keir has rejected calls to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and recognise a Palestinian state – despite more than 220 MPs signing a cross-party letter to demand he takes this step.
The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.
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