evidence: Afghanistan’s geography is significant for all three powers. To the north, it borders landlocked Central Asia, where economic dependence drives the former Soviet states into the Russian sphere of influence. Through the north-eastern Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan shares a border with China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang province. And to the east, Afghanistan borders Pakistan, the West’s strategic regional ally since the partition of British India. [...] And for Washington and their Western allies, preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for Salafist jihadist groups is paramount in their policy towards the Taliban. The 2020 Doha Deal prioritised the Taliban’s commitment to prevent "the use of Afghan soil by any international terrorist groups or individuals against the security of the United States and its allies". Two decades after the horror of 9/11, the threat of Salafist terror groups plotting attacks against the West persists; civil war in Afghanistan would be advantageous for this malintent, especially since ISKP is ideologically aligned with al-Qaeda. While the Taliban are desperately trying to contain ISKP attacks, the international community must refrain from endorsing a civil war with the new generation Northern Alliance or remnants of the former Afghan National Army. Though international appetite for a civil war currently remains low, the possibility of renewed conflict cannot be disregarded. The United States is fatigued from two decades in Afghanistan, whereas Russia and China need regional stability to pursue their regional economic ambitions by connecting South and Central Asia.