At the present scenario Afghanistan is standing at a juncture that leads to different ways – the two main of them being the ‘peace and tranquility’ and ‘instability and chaos’. There is no doubt that Afghanistan needs to follow the path that leads to peace and tranquility; however, the path to such a destiny is full of hardships. The government, leaders, authorities, civil society members and the people of Afghanistan will be really tested through this path.

There are concerns that if the mentioned people are careless regarding playing their roles, there are possibilities that the country may lead towards instability and chaos. However, let’s not be pessimistic and try our level best to achieve the better option. At the same time, let’s not forget that while being optimistic we must also be realistic enough to see the growing challenges and prepare ourselves accordingly.

It is unfortunate that through most part of modern Afghan history there have been many problems and troubles. These problems and troubles have not only influenced the lives of the individuals but have hampered the way to social development, as well.

Therefore, the society as a whole has remained backward and human capacities have suffered to a great extent. Nonetheless, the ongoing scenario in Afghanistan has within itself the opportunity for betterment – an opportunity to face and challenge the problems that have been haunting it for many years.

Presently among the issues that are being faced by Afghan society, the reconciliation process, the transition period and the training of Afghan soldiers, the inconsiderate attitude regarding the withdrawal of international troops, the controversies regarding the change in political setup, the issues of ill governance, corruption and narcotics are only a few.

Making its place in this lengthy list, the issue of infiltration of Taliban within Afghan forces seems to be on the rise. Mostly, taking advantage of the widening gap between the foreign and Afghan troops, Taliban are really making the war very tough for their enemies. This is also making the involved troops to consider withdrawing earlier and is earning a very notorious reputation for the war against terrorism.

The issue of infiltration of Taliban within the Afghan security forces seems to be getting very serious. In the recent few months there have been many incidents which have witnessed the killing of foreign officers by their Afghan counterparts or juniors or even insurgents in the police or army uniforms. In the last week alone, seven International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops have been killed by individuals in Afghan uniforms in different incidents.

According to the reports six ISAF troops were killed on Friday alone – three American soldiers were shot by an Afghan policeman who invited them to a meal and three other troops were killed by an Afghan civilian employed on a NATO base, military and Afghan officials said. The incidents have taken place in the south of the country. Two of the major incidents took place in Sangin and Garmser districts of Helmand province. In the ongoing year, according to the numbers suggested from NATO, around 34 ISAF soldiers have been killed in 21 different attacks.

ISAF as a response to these attacks have reiterated their commitment to their cause and have ensured that these individual incidents would never shake their will to defeat the enemy. International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz said in a press briefing in Kabul, "What we identified was that most of them were caused by personal grievances and stress situations... Those isolated incidents don't reflect the overall security situation in Afghanistan. As we speak 500,000 soldiers and policemen are working together to contribute to a more secure and stable Afghanistan… We are confident that the morale (among international troops) is still good and those incidents will not affect our transition process."

He also pointed towards the measures being taken to curb the situation. He said, "We are jointly working with Afghan forces to prevent such incidents. As a result, positive changes have been brought to the recruitment process for Afghan soldiers.''

Afghan authorities have claimed that Taliban through such attacks want to widen the gap between Afghan and NATO-led forces. The Helmand Police Chief, Col. Abdul Nabi Ilham told the reporters in Lashkargah, “The insurgents, wearing Afghan army uniforms, had lately stepped up attacks on foreign troops in an effort to disturb coordination between international and local forces.” However, he promised that all-out efforts would be made to prevent the attacks that have fuelled concerns among several world capitals.

Taliban, on the other hand claimed the responsibility for the attacks. They even claimed that they had killed seven US soldiers, including two advisors, through a policeman loyal to the Taliban. Though it is not clear yet whether the attackers in the incidents were Afghan forces or they were insurgents disguised as Afghan forces, but there are clear indications that Taliban have been able to penetrate within international and Afghan society both ideologically and physically. International and Afghan forces, therefore, need to enhance and improve their arrangements so as to avoid such incidents as much as possible for they would further push the future of peace and tranquility towards uncertainty and ambiguity.

It is really important that Afghan government as a response to the issue of growing infiltration of Taliban and insurgency within the Afghan forces must take very solemn steps. The basic step, that is very much recommendable as per the circumstances, is to make the process of recruitment of the forces very much thorough.

The soldiers who are recruited must not only be recruited so as to fill in the required numbers; rather they should be passed through a scrutinizing process wherein their backgrounds and their intentions must be gauged as much as possible. On the other hand, it is really important for Afghan security arrangements to strengthen its information channels and must have the capability to acquire timely clues about such ill-intended plots and serious security threats. Moreover, there should be concrete steps so as to bridge the widening gap between the foreign troops and Afghan forces.

International troops in this regard, must also play its role and try to deal with the controversies appropriately. They have to make sure that they hold their troops accountable if they carry out certain misdeeds, which may widen the gap between the foreign and Afghan forces and punish them as per the law.