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Witnesses tell House panel ISIS‑K, Taliban links and regional instability heighten terror risk in South and Central Asia
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Summary
Experts testified to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee that ISIS‑K’s growth, persistent Taliban–Al Qaeda ties, and instability across South and Central Asia increase the risk of attacks beyond the region and underscore the need for sustained U.S. engagement across security, development and information channels.
Chairman Huizenga convened the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia to hear testimony on the evolving terrorist threat across South and Central Asia and options for renewed U.S. engagement.
The subcommittee heard from Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director of the Indo‑Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security and a former National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia, and Brianna Todd, professor of the practice of Central Asian Studies at the National Defense University.
Curtis told the committee that “the Taliban can never be viewed as a counterterrorism partner,” citing continued links between the Taliban and Al Qaeda and UN reporting that Al Qaeda has new training camps inside Afghanistan. Curtis said those developments, together with ISIS‑K’s activity, make Afghanistan “a hotbed for terrorists looking for safe harbor” and argue for targeted U.S. engagement to limit external threats.
Todd described an “inflection point” for Central Asia, where ISIS‑K has increased recruitment and operational reach. She warned that ISIS‑K is exploiting encrypted messaging, cryptocurrency and AI‑generated content to recruit and direct attacks and that political repression, economic opportunity gaps, and migration-driven community fragmentation are creating exploitable grievances.
Both witnesses highlighted cross‑border dynamics. Curtis noted the April attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, and the subsequent India–Pakistan military exchanges that briefly escalated between two nuclear-armed states; she credited U.S. engagement with helping broker a ceasefire. Curtis and Todd also urged differentiated approaches: deeper counterterrorism cooperation with India, calibrated engagement with Pakistan on mutual threats while pressing it to crack down on groups that attack India, and targeted cooperation with Central Asian states such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to blunt recruitment and transit.
Committee members emphasized tools beyond kinetic measures. Ranking Member Kamlager‑Dove said counterterrorism “is not a Republican or a Democratic issue,” and described programs addressing root causes — education, development and public diplomacy — as central to long‑term prevention. Witnesses warned that recent policy choices and proposed budget cuts risk removing many of those tools.
The hearing also considered great‑power influence in the region. Todd flagged China’s growing security cooperation with Central Asian states and warned that, absent sustained U.S. engagement, partners may turn to Beijing or Moscow for capacity building.
The session was discussion and testimony only; no formal votes or committee decisions were recorded.
Looking ahead, witnesses recommended a multi‑dimensional U.S. strategy combining intelligence and security cooperation, targeted development and educational assistance, exchange and scholarship programs for Afghan women, and robust independent broadcasting to counter violent extremist narratives.
