Afghan security

The state of the Afghan polity is far from stable. The recent attack on the British Council compound in Kabul casts further doubt on whether the US has been right in starting the pull-out of its forces out of the country although in a phased manner. Evidently, Afghan Security Forces are not strong enough and capable of defending themselves, let alone the country. The attack was in three stages. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near an intersection guarded by the police. A little later, a suicide car-bomber blew up the vehicle opposite the British Council gate, pulling down a wall. And finally, gunmen poured in through the breached wall and engaged in a gun-battle for hours. Apart from the Kamakaze militants, a number of Afghan policemen were killed. It seems a cultural centre like the British Council is also on the Taliban hit-list.

The Taliban are out to strike wherever they choose and are changing tactics from time to time. President Hamid Karzai’s government is in a quandary. The Taliban have carried out a number of assassinations and prominent leaders like Jan Mohammed Khan and Ahmed Khan Karzai were among them. The militants have made it clear that such attacks will intensify. Rogue security personnel are sneaking into the security forces, showing the apparent flaws in the recruiting mechanism. NATO should quit only when the Afghan government can take on the ruthless Taliban. Pressure should be mounted adequately on the Taliban to make them participate in the peace talks. Unless the Karzai government can fill the bill, there can be no political stability in the country. India is more than marginally involved in the reconstruction process in the rough terrain.