Decades of war resulted in mass destruction of Afghanistan’s economical infrastructure. The USSR invasion, civil war, and Taliban regime did much to ruin this country. Since the ouster of Taliban from power in 2001, Afghanistan is reconstructing and developing with the support from international community.

Nevertheless, challenges remain solid that do not allow smooth progress in this country. As the foreign troops are packing for home and the international community will reduce its roles, development projects especially those funded by the foreign donors are facing growing obstacles due to the troubled security condition.

Hundreds of development projects have either remained incomplete or merely as plans on papers. Taliban, the main insurgent group poses grave threats to implementation of development projects. They have been involved in abducting and slaughtering people working on projects such as of construction of highways, bridges, schools or hospitals. They do not spare even the laborers. An example is the Kabul-Kandahar highway where almost all bridges have been blown up by planting IEDs. Another example is the Kabul-Bamiyan highway that has remained unconstructed for the last ten years and the government says it is unable to initiate work on it due to severe security threats.

With such troubles being faced by development works and its workers, concerns over the security of life aid workers in Afghanistan has also grown. Aid workers in Afghanistan are increasingly under threat, the United Nations said on Saturday, calling it a worrying trend as most US-led troops prepare to leave the country at the end of next year. “I am extremely concerned with this trend at a time when the country is in the midst of a difficult transition that may lead to increased humanitarian needs,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, Mark Bowden, said in a statement.

Taliban claim to be doing Jihad against foreign invasion in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, over the last 12 years through their so-called Jihad, they have never spared lives of civilians including women and children, aid workers and laborers working on reconstruction projects, projects that are executed to benefit the people of Afghanistan and its development. It has been established that Taliban will go beyond any limit to keep their fight ongoing. The purpose of this fight, unfortunately, is killing of those who think about and work for the good of the country.

Afghans need developmental works to continue even at faster pace and they will also need the crucial services of aid workers. This is the very responsibility of the Afghan government to prioritize security of the people who work here on humanitarian basis and also of the people who work for development and reconstruction projects despite threats.