As the date for the withdrawal of international troops is getting nearer, the concerns regarding the future of stability and a peaceful society are getting serious. In the ongoing year there have been many incidents that have clearly depicted that it is not just the military personnel or the terrorists that are losing their lives; rather the civilians have been influenced and targeted to a large extent as well. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) currently expressed its concerns over the issue and emphasized that the situation must be improved so that civilians should have better life opportunities.

On Monday, October 08, ICRC Country Director Reto Stacker slammed armed groups' behavior with civilians and said the continued conflict put civilian lives at risk and forced them to leave their houses. "Non-combatants also fall prey to roadside bombings", he said.

He also mentioned that the insecure situation within different parts of country is affecting the Afghan people in so many other ways, as well; especially people have been kept away from health facilities. He said, "The civilians' lack of access to health services in conflict-affected areas is a big challenge for the improvement of the health sector. Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) volunteers also face problems in Taliban-controlled areas."

Therefore, he emphasized that the parties to the conflict and Afghan authorities must pay utmost efforts to make sure that the lives of the common people are protected. He said, "We would continue talks with the parties concerned on the protection of defenseless people's rights. We want the Afghan government to pay greater attention to stopping attacks on civilians".

The victimization of the Afghan people because of insecurity in different parts of the country is really a serious matter and must be dealt as a top priority matter. Some of the recent incidents in the country 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.

Last month, 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 suggested 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 suggested 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, after 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 was rejection by Taliban, there were clear indications that they were involved in it and just to build a good reputation within the common people they denied responsibility.

Yet another ruthless incident took place a couple of months 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."

These incidents came after the incident in Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimroz province, a couple of months earlier, 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 showed 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.

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.