Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Wednesday, May 1st, 2024

Taliban’s Strike Increases as U.S Departs

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Taliban’s Strike Increases as U.S Departs

The situation on the ground persists to Detroit as the NATO troops plan to withdraw from Afghanistan. Pentagon reports on increase rate of deadly attacks by Taliban during the Afghan fighting season this year as some U.S. forces withdrew and the transition to a lead role for Afghan security forces are given.

The Taliban seem to be on a rampage. For the last couple of months they have targeted key government officials and killed people who mattered in the war against terrorism or in the war for peace process or settlement with the Taliban in the country.

According to Adnkronos international Craddock, The Taliban had changed its strategy and there was greater growing of insecurity situation in Afghanistan since the security responsibility is transferred to Afghan forces in the deployment of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers.

In this regard, the Pentagon also says that the rise in violence, the key growth was a dramatic increase in insecurity situation in the country's main provinces. Taliban can still carry out deadliest attacks at the same levels as last year and become the greatest threat to progress and stability adds the Taliban.

Their deadliest attacks from the safe heavens in Pakistan remained the chief backup for the insurgents while the limited institutional capacity of the Afghan government and endemic corruption remained another risks to long-term stability and sustainable security situation in the country.

The government remained week in response to their deadliest attacks on key government officials in the last few months. The helplessness of government indicates not a good sign for the nation despite the presence of U.S troops in the region. The pentagon reports says that the training of Afghan military and police forces on track to enable them take the lead for the security role in nationwide does not seem to be working as it was expected.

Reading the current ground reality, it suggests that the strategy pack in which the international forces call for Afghans to take the security lead next year, and full security responsibility by the end of 2014, when most foreign combat forces will depart from Afghanistan, seems a bit heavy for the Afghan forces. The report further adds that about seventy six percent of the population now lives in areas where Afghan police and troops have the lead role for security but people feel great fair from the Taliban.

People say that Taliban militants enter in the village at midnights and force the residents to slaughter goats and ship and prepare their all requirements for one night. They warn the residents to death if anyone ignores or disobeys their order. The threat increases when the planning is under way to transfer additional parts of the country to Afghan security leadership. This will be a great challenge for the Afghan forces to be able to follow good footsteps of their foreign allies after they depart from the region.

In addition to that, a senior U.S defence official while speaking on security condition said that very few Afghan units are fully independent from international forces. While some units are capable of carrying out independent operations, they often have to rely on the NATO-led coalition for air power, intelligence and other specialized skills. There are very few units capable of taking full security responsibility and operate independently at this point of time. It seems that we do not see the complete capability in Afghan forces as we expected to take the lead.

Following the progress towards full independent security responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014, reports do not indicate hopeful statistics that the operations that Afghan forces may have to carry out day to day still will have to face some problems. Very rarely, they may succeed to have successful operation against the insurgents.

The report attributed the rise in Taliban attacks between April and September to the increased pace of combat and to a poor, shortened poppy harvest, which freed low-level insurgents to begin the fighting season early. About one percent of Taliban-launched attacks increased since April and September compared with 2011 while the violence against women, including other local people, mainly in rural areas was one of the top listed ones.

According to a senior defence official, the violence remained higher than it was in 2009, before the United States sent in 33,000 additional troops to try to counter Taliban advances. Those 33,000 troops withdrew over the course of the year and U.S. forces are now backing to the 2009 level of 66,000 and even cannot get out of their bases after the weather gets darker. Several security issues remained challenging for the international forces, especially the increasing number of clashes between the foreign troops and Afghan military.

While recently, the international and Afghan forces were not that able to prevent the Taliban from regaining any territorial control during the war season. The rise in insider attacks had the potential to adversely affect the coalition's political landscape and further progress in security situation overall.

Above all, it is all very difficult to understand what's going on because of the complexity of tribal affiliation. I think what we are seeing here is also due the fact that, when the efforts in the south are effective, they push the insurgency to the west and mostly in the central part of the country. Perhaps, every suicide bombing, every deadly attacks reported will be seen due to insecurity situation and lack of Afghan and foreign forces capability to prevent it.

However, it all goes without saying that the state of Afghanistan has skeletons when it comes to dealing with Jihadists and militants, and the very fact that sections of the establishment come to align themselves with a particular group or ideologue is the bone of contention. Afghanistan is in great trouble with insecurity due to corruption in all government departments and even inside Afghan military forces.

The political leadership has a gigantic task to steer the nation out of crisis, and that too with resilience and foresight. The threat of terrorism cannot be addressed through piecemeal measures. Kabul's focus on eradicating suicide bomber and insecurity with use of Special Forces will have good impact to rescue the nation and prevent their deadliest attacks on innocent people.

Now is the time for the embattled Karzai's government to open up a convenient political dialogue to tackle the issue in a holistic manner without further bloodshed and damages to the nation and country's gains being achieved with much bloodshed and devotion in the last eleven years of war on terror.

Abdul Samad Haidari is the permanent writer of the Daily outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at abdulsamad.haidari96@gmail.com

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