More than anyone else, Afghans are afraid of their undecided future with the strategic mistakes being committed by President Karzai’s government and its international allies. Clearly, the international community is too exhausted to carry on military mission here. Elections and the political campaigns in addition to the financial crises demand the international community to make an immediate pullout.
The mission was aimed at defeating terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan and across the globe. With violence, extremism and terror groups yielding across the region, politicians try to indicate that the mission is close to success. This can help them justify a premature pullout from Afghanistan.
The continued mistake they are perpetrating is the over-diplomatic approach they’ve adopted in fight against enemies of diplomacy. Hundreds of Taliban fighters are released from Afghan and US-run prisons. With this, they are trying to “win hearts and minds” of the potentially good guys on the enemies front. Sorry to say, this is a miserable misconception.
Releasing notorious Taliban commanders remains one of the key offers the government has put forward to catch Taliban leaders. Following a series of risky, and sometimes disastrous, moves by President Karzai administration, reports disclosed secret release of Taliban fighters by the US government. It clearly showed the strategic mistake was practiced in common, however, with variance in causes and purpose.
Following the serial killing of top government officials, Arsala Rahmani, who was targeted by unknown gunmen in Kabul on Sunday, Taliban didn’t take responsibility for the assassination. This time, Mullah Dadullah group has claimed responsibility for the attack. According to intelligence, the group is part of the overall Taliban network and is led by a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, Mullah Abdul Qayoum Zakir.
This is a direct result of the appeasement policies against the extremely ideologist fighters who claim no less than an absolute, Shariah-based Emirate. According to the extremist interpretation of Islamic rulings, people have got nothing to do in a religious government. Sharing power with a West-backed government is, by no means, acceptable for the extremists. To bow down before them will never satisfy their wishes. Releasing prisoners will result in no better outcomes than a stronger militancy. This way, the government and its allies will have to face the music.