Over the past few months, the Afghan capital has witnessed a number of sophisticated attacks from Taliban insurgents, deepening concerns among the masses over the already-looking-gloomy future. The latest Taliban assault on the presidential palace was carefully engineered. Four insurgents used uniforms and vehicle identical to that of foreign troops and were able to cross certain checkpoints showing fake vehicle security passes.

They targeted the Eastern gate of the palace while President Karzai was in by exploding their vehicle and opening fire at the security guards. The clash continued for hours until all the four insurgents were killed. Sources say six security guards of the palace have also been killed in the attack.

Disappointingly, the assault establishes the fact there are people who get their pay from the Afghan government but render services to insurgents. Apparently, such people have deeply penetrated the government entities including the presidential palace. Presence of Taliban sympathizers in the ranks of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), that have led scores insider attacks, is not the only concerning issue now.

Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban’s spokesman said that attack on the palace was carried out with support from inside the government. Taliban spies might hold key position in Karzai’s administration and the administration seems to be cracked from within. Such speculations make the recent statement of Mullah Omar look weightier. He has said that his group can topple the Kabul government within a week after US pull-out. It is high time that President Karzai should start hunting snakes in the sleeve.

Continuation of Taliban’s attack across the country especially in capital Kabul, which is a highly fortified city, also depicts intelligence failure. National Directorate of Security (NDS), which has been one of the main targets of insurgents, has been foiling scores of terror attack over the past few months. Nonetheless, it seems as like a large number of trained suicide bombers have been exported to Afghanistan. NDS needs to go more active.

In words, the Taliban recently said they want to end the 12-year long Afghan conflict through negotiations but in action they still continue to shed blood of the innocent people of Afghanistan. Apart from attack on the presidential palace, on Tuesday, ten civilians were killed in Kandahar province when their car hit a roadside bomb.

Escalation of Taliban’s insurgency and their baseless conditions for negotiations (such as insisting to keep the flag and sign of Emirate of Afghanistan at their recently opened office in Qatar) put even the development Qatar process in serious doubts. Karzai’s soft stance towards Taliban for the purpose of nudging them into meaningful peace negotiation is not working.