A couple of weeks earlier some incidents in Afghanistan clearly showed that the lives of the civilians are in danger and the Taliban are mainly responsible for it. The incidents showed that Taliban have started targeting the civilians directly.

Moreover, the butchery shown in the incidents are really heinous and there have to be serious steps to counter them otherwise they would threaten the lives of the common people to a great extent.
Few days earlier, in a brutal incident in Helmand province 17 innocent civilians were shot and beheaded by Taliban. The most unfortunate and inhuman fact is that the victims included children and women as well. The reports suggest that they were having a party, wherein they were listening music and may be dancing.

The party for them turned into a nightmare and the so-called guardians of Islam cut their throats. Though, Taliban's spokesperson denied that they were involved in the incident, there are great possibilities that they had their involvement, as there are many factions in Taliban and it is suggested by experts that some of them function on their own without any central command or control.

In another dreadful incident in Zherai district of southern Kandahar province, a 12-year-old boy was beheaded maliciously and when his body was found his head was placed near his body. The reports suggest that the boy was a brother of a person who worked with Afghan Local Police; therefore, his murder was a warning to his brother. According to district governor of Zherai Fazil Mohammad, "The brother of the boy is a threat for the Taliban and he was preventing the Taliban's activities in the district".

However, seeking revenge from a person by cutting the throat of his 12-year-old brother is really wicked and clearly deviates from the claims of Taliban which are meant to be people-friendly. Taliban, in this incident as well, denied responsibility for the incident.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi rejected the blame laid on the Taliban for the incident saying, "We reject and we condemn this incident. It's the doing of irresponsible people. We asked all our fighters in Kandahar and none of them were aware of the incident… The boy was innocent," Though there is rejection by Taliban, there are clear indications that they were involved in it and just to build a good reputation within the common people they have denied responsibility.

Yet another ruthless incident took place few days earlier in eastern Kapisa province. This incident was no less horrible. A 6-year-old girl was beheaded and her body was thrown in a garden. No one exactly knew why she was beheaded. According to Kapisa police, "It is unclear whether she was beheaded by her family or the Taliban, but we know the Taliban control the area." This clearly suggests that Taliban were involved in this incident as well.

These incidents come after the incident in Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimroz province, last month, in which three suicide bombers blew themselves up in a busy market that resulted in the death of about 28 people and injury to more than 70. The news reports even disclosed that there were innocent children among the dead and the wounded.

Abdul Karim Barahawi, the provincial governor, commenting on the incident said, "The attackers blew themselves up in crowded markets to target civilians, there was no government installation nearby." Mohd Musa Rasooli, the Nimroz Police Chief, disclosed that there were three policemen among the dead and said that the bombers had attacked not only a bazaar, but also the entrance to the local hospital. The reports clearly show that the targets were the civilians.

Taliban, on various occasions, have claimed that they would not target the civilians directly but the reality about attacks mentioned above is totally against what is claimed by them. Though a recent UN report revealed that there has been a decline in the civilian casualties in the ongoing year as compared to the same period last year, the concerns still remain very much disturbing as the number of civilians being killed as a result of insurgency still remains very high.

The report also disclosed that about 80 percent of the civilian-killings resulted from the attacks of the Taliban insurgents. Civilian killings, therefore, clearly depict that Taliban do not care much about the civilian casualties; what they mostly care about is their threat and dominancy over the security arrangements. Unfortunately, they pursue their objectives through the coward means of targeting the civilians.

The common masses in Afghanistan must bother about the deterioration in security as they are basically the ones who have been suffering and may suffer to a further extent if instability and terrorism prevail in the country. It is really pathetic to see the civilians losing their lives when they have nothing to do with the war.

In the economically unstable and war-torn country like Afghanistan, people have not only suffered the hardships of the poor and miserable lives but also the horrors of war. They have been killed mercilessly as if their lives do not have any value or meaning and it is important to see that the Taliban are mostly behind the demise of the poor civilians. It is really unfortunate to note that they still remain powerful enough to conduct their merciless efforts to target the civilians in addition to the Afghan and international forces.

Different attacks, bombings, shootings and suicide bombings of the vicious guardians of the so-called holy war have only been able to target the children, women and non-military figures. With the presence of such facts, it is weird to find Taliban calling themselves friendly to Afghan people.

They have been trying to develop an image of caring and affectionate body that is trying to liberate the people of Afghanistan from the Western forces. But the fact is just on the contrary. They just want power and for that they will never hesitate to sacrifice the poor Afghan people. If they come to power, it is evident that Afghan people will never have peace, contentment and above all their due rights.

The innocent people of Afghanistan deserve that the Afghan government and the international community must ensure to them a better future. They need to make sure that the post transition period in Afghanistan will be a period that can give poverty stricken Afghan people security and basic requirements of living; provide them better representation and participation in political and social life and make them capable of governing themselves peacefully.