The Taleban threat is worrying. Reports of their advance in the north and the attempt on June 21 to breach security and enter Parliament have been condemned as the failure of intelligence gathering.
Irfanullah Irfan, deputy secretary of parliament says, “This incident showed the government is weak, and the enemies of the people are very clever – whenever they want they have ability to attack. The attack on Parliament is a clear message that the terrorists don’t want to accept the call of Afghans for peace. They want to say they will never accept peace.”
Naqibullah Faiq, a Member of Parliament (MP) whose photos from inside the smoke-filled parliament building went viral, thinks the attack was planned. “The organisers of the attack had waited weeks for the opportunity,” he says. The blast by a suicide bomber disrupted a full session of Parliament called to ratify the selection of a new defence minister.
“The police headquarters in Kabul and intelligence outfits failed to foil the attackers who must have frequently recced the area and probably stayed in houses in the city for weeks to meticulously plan the incident,” he adds.
The government must identify and arrest all those who have failed to do their duty, says Faiq. He also accuses intelligence agencies in Pakistan of backing the Taleban and interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
Meanwhile, the north, which was once a haven, has been witness to intensifying conflict. The provinces of Kunduz, Baghlan, Badakhshan and Sar-e Pol are everyday witness to fighting between security forces and Taleban fighters.
Hemat Khan is a resident of Baghlan where he has lived for a long time. News of the coming of Taleban has made him very concerned. “Many of my friends are living in fear in the areas that are under control of Taleban,” he says. “Some friends have abandoned what they had and migrated. I also sleep in fear that I’ll see the Taleban in the centre of my province,” he adds.
People in once safe areas are now wary of attacks by the new group Islamic State (ISIS) and others. Hamidullah who is a resident of the ever-green province of Nangarhar talks of how much he enjoyed life. But now reports of the emergence of ISIS and stories of their deeds of cruelty in countries like Syria and Iraq have made him very fearful.
Big game
Political analyst Amin Elmi believes the north of Afghanistan is going to be at the “centre” of conflict. “The north of Afghanistan is becoming the centre of a big game,” he says. “Insurgents want to open the way for transferring the crisis to central Asia. No doubt many hands are working in this case – the insurgents are supplied from abroad and are against the Afghan people and government.”
He says that unless the national unity government can check the crisis that has reached the north, the region is going to be engulfed in tension. The deteriorating security situation has led to the forging of ties between erstwhile rivals – forces loyal to General Rashid Dostum, the first vice president and leader of Junbish-i-Milli Islami, and General Ata Mohammad Noor, the governor of Balkh and member of Jamiat Islami.
The government of national unity has been without a defence minister since September. President Ashraf Ghani’s nominee Masoom Stanekzai who is his third candidate for defence minister has to be approved by Parliament.
“Insecurity is increasing day by day,” says journalist Salim Shafiq. “The Taleban gets more courageous. Kabul’s peace call doesn’t seem to reach the ears of Islamabad.”
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