On 14 April, 1988, the Geneva Peace Accords were signed, ending the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Pakistan and Afghanistan had negotiated a settlement, guaranteed by the United States of America and the Soviet Union. It was hailed as a great diplomatic victory. The motivation for each party was to safeguard their own interests and, although each actor achieved their goal, no action was taken to ensure the long-term stability of Afghanistan.

With Afghan Mujahidin not being part of the accords, it was crystal clear that, given the contours of Afghan society, the country would face a meltdown. When Soviet support to the government of President Najibullah collapsed in 1991, the central government evaporated, giving rise to warlordism, factional warfare, and ethnic and religious vendettas, ultimately giving rise to the Taliban in 1996.

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With this cataclysmic change, Afghanistan transformed from a fragmented war zone into a protected sanctuary for militant groups. With lax border controls, no state apparatus for controlling terrorist organisations, no legal barriers against training camps, and other contributing factors, a terrorist ecosystem evolved. Thus, from being local, ideologically narrow, and operationally isolated, militant groups mushroomed into networked, international, interoperable, specialised behemoths.

The biggest gain was for Al-Qaeda. It transformed training camps into multinational academies, in which fighters from across the world were imparted training. The ideological messaging became unified, with shared doctrines and tactics. Extensive use of the internet was implemented, through which a very powerful media........

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