Raising concern that Afghanistan could revert to being a safe haven for international terrorists who might target European countries after the Taliban takeover, the European Union (EU) prepared an action plan to deal with the threat.
Federico Giuliani, writing in Insideover said that the EU action plan calls on EU intelligence networks "to monitor the impact of the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan on the global Islamist extremist and jihadist propaganda scene, including the Afghan diaspora and Muslims in Europe".
The briefing, titled "Security situation in Afghanistan implications for Europe", says, "In response to events in Afghanistan, the Council published a counter-terrorism action plan on Afghanistan in September, setting out four clear objectives, and making 22 recommendations for action, said Giuliani.
The EU proposes and is implementing, screening Afghan nationals and others evacuated from Afghanistan. Another critical recommendation suggests taking a military manual to tackle terrorism, said Giuliani.
"The plan also recommends improvements in information-sharing, so that updated 'battlefield information' collected in Afghanistan - such as 'fingerprints found on explosive devices or biometric data of fighters detained in Afghan prisons and who have been released by the Taliban' - is available to the competent national authorities and Europol.
The EU action plan highlights the importance of "assessing the presence and activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and their financing, and of monitoring terrorists' travel between the EU and Afghanistan".
The EU will be setting up an EU-level "pool of security-vetted specialists in Afghan languages, including Pashtu, Dari, Urdu and Farsi to monitor social networks and to promote counterterrorism dialogues with countries in the region, reported Insideover.
The EU is also mooting the idea of cutting off two sources of Taliban funding: the drugs trade and arms trafficking.
The plan also draws attention to the "risk that weaponry seized by the Taliban after the withdrawal of US and allied troops, and taken from Afghan security forces, may be sold."
In this context, the EU is implementing the 2020-2025 EU action plan on "firearms trafficking, particularly with respect to the western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine," said Giuliani.
( With inputs from ANI )
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