Situation is challenging for Kabul and the world
The recent violence that witnessed the killing of six Red Cross workers in northern Afghanistan and 20 people near the Supreme Court of the country, signals an uptick in attacks by militants there. Both the strikes are suspected to be carried out either by the Islamic State or by the Taliban. But it's a more than enough provocation and assertion of strength by militants against the US-led forces fighting the Taliban in the war-torn country since 2001. As hostile narratives are gaining resonance in Washington under the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Taliban is asking him to “help end what it denounced as futile and unwinnable American war in Afghanistan”. In an open letter to Trump, the insurgents blamed “the United States for starting the Afghan war 15 years ago” and called the presence of foreign invading forces in the country, “the principal cause for the continued human and material losses being suffered by both the sides”. And, against this background, the new President has apparently vowed to continue with the military campaign until victory. What does all this meanIJ looking at the ferocity of the mujahideens, who are ever ready to flag their ego and power through incredible land battles, the Trump Administration needs to be cautious, so to say. As per the US military assessments, only two-thirds of the population is under the control of the Unity Government of Ashraf Ghani, and roughly 10 per cent with the Taliban. The rest of the territories is still contested, shifting hands from one tribal and ethnic war lord to another. Ghani is forthright in pointing fingers at Pakistan as the latter is controlling both the levers of power and the leadership of the Taliban. Unless the Pakistan Army prepares to disown the Taliban and to see a sustainable peace dialogue starts, the fractured battles in Afghanistan will never come to an end. The Taliban must realise that the land, the people and most importantly, the organisation for which they are relentlessly fighting, should not be allowed to be decided by others — whether it is Pakistan or America. But then, it should come out for an open dialogue with the Government and bring an end to the bloodshed. It will not, because it’s destructionist.
The Afghan and international coalition officials have expressed serious concern that the Taliban offensive will rise in future. Once the snow melts, Provinces like those of Helmand and many others, could slip into the hands of the militants, as that will help them in their physical movements and, more importantly, help get easy access to arms and ammunition. Is the Government ready for a new bout of strikes from the deadly insurgentsIJ What could Ghani do to bring the outfit back to the negotiation tableIJ Will he get support from the neighbouring Pakistan, which literally holds the key to the Taliban leadershipIJ Sensing the resolve and consistency put forwarded by the Islamists, even in the peak of the winter, Ghani can only expect worse.