Daily Times

The emergence of Islamic State (IS) and its successful attacks against the Afghan security forces is considered a sign of the return of civil war to the country. Despite their drive to work together on national issues, President Ashraf Ghani and his partner Dr Abdullah are locked in an unnecessary battle for control of their war-torn country. There was conflict amongst them regarding the appointments of defence minister, attorney general and the governor of Kabul Bank. The failure of the Afghan intelligence (NDS) to provide reliable information about the Taliban and IS’s military strength has raised serious questions about the credibility of the intelligence mechanism of the unity government and its international partners.
One of the important functions of an intelligence agency is to provide timely warnings of hostile military action in the battlefield. Unfortunately, NDS and the army intelligence corps could not provide immediate information about IS’s recent attack on the Afghan national army camp in Badakhshan province. On April 16, 2015, the governor of Balkh province accused the NDS of doing nothing to stop IS attacks on army posts. In an interview with Tolonews, Atta Muhammad Noor said that the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the National Security Council (NSC) had received information two months prior to the planned attack on the attorney general’s office in Mazar-e-Sharif, in which 19 people were killed, but they failed to take action.
The fate of 31 Hazara men and women kidnapped by IS is still uncertain. The NDS has failed to determine the whereabouts of these people. President Ghani refused to deal with IS authorities regarding the fate of the illegally incarcerated Hazaras. The presence of IS in Afghanistan’s 17 provinces is a challenge for the Afghan army and intelligence agencies. The group operates within a strong intelligence network, which cannot be intercepted by the CIA, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or NDS. It has employed military experts, espionage and geospatial intelligence professionals, and executes its plans and strategies via an efficient professional mechanism. The group uses various types of encryption software in its communications. In January 2015, Afghan army commanders in Ghazni and Paktia provinces warned that terrorists associated with IS had entered eastern Afghanistan posing as refugees. They revealed that more than 800 Arab, Pakistani and Chechen fighters had established recruitment camps in Zabul and Ghazni. On April 19, 2015, Tolonews reported that Paktika Governor Abdul Karim Mateen had said that the National Security Council of Bermal district had donated $ 200,000 displaced families, which ended up in the pockets of IS fighters.
On April 12, 2015, IS forces killed more than 20 Afghan soldiers, beheaded 28 and kidnapped 10 others in Badakhshan province. Local Afghan army officials said that around 250 insurgents, including foreigners, had attacked the outpost. Some members of parliament told Tolonews that they would expose the NDS officials and military generals who had received millions of dollars from IS in Kabul. Sources in Kabul told me that the Badakhshan battalion commander had sold his military post to IS commanders. Thus, IS is now in control of 20 military posts in the region. Defence analyst Javed Kohistani said that more than 70 soldiers had been killed, taken captive or beheaded. He said that “the NDS was told about this a few days ago but, unfortunately, they did not pay attention to it”.
Afghan Army Chief General Karimi blamed the commander of Shaheen Brigade, Azizullah Roufi, for criminal negligence: “Our battalion commander, without informing anyone, was in Kabul when the attack took place and now he is under investigation.” Moreover, the spokesman for the Afghan ministry of defence, Dawlat Waziri, accused local provincial officials for colluding with IS forces in Badakhshan and ultimately contributing to the massacre of Afghan troops. The police chief of Badakhshan also claimed that some local government officials, MPs and members of the provincial council had provided covert support to IS fighters. “One of the Taliban’s commanders, known as Mr Abdullah, was wounded in Jurm district and was transported by a person who serves in the government,” General Baba Jan told Tolonews. Now the story becomes more interesting and it is obvious from the aforementioned argument that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments, and their armies do not have the authority to kill or arrest a single IS fighter within their territories.
On April 19, 2015, a member of the Afghan senate complained that in northern Afghanistan an Afghan army commander had systematically left his post and weapons to the commanders of IS. Since IS is now in control of 20 check posts in Badakhshan, there are speculations that the theft of military equipment by IS fighters, during their attack on the military headquarters, may further destabilise the region. The stolen equipment included eight ranger military vehicles, five armoured vehicles and six heavy weapons, including two DSHK heavy machine guns and two mortars. The spokesman of the Afghan defence ministry said that the Afghan army would never forgive those who killed its soldiers. On April 18, 2015, IS claimed to have carried out a deadly suicide attack in Jalalabad in which 40 people were and 125 injured.
In light of the deteriorating security situation in the country, on April 15, 2015, Afghan lawmakers demanded the resignation of President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Dr Abdullah and Army Chief General Sher Muhammad Karimi. The interior minister and intelligence chief were summoned to parliament to explain the facts of these killings. Because the unity government failed to respond to terrorist attacks against civilians and army units across the country, the former minister of water and power, Mohammad Ismail Khan, warned that if the government does not resolve its own issues, it would face another war — this time with the notorious IS. Khan said that “if the national unity government does not reach an agreement and does not bring stability and learn to tolerate each other, this will be a critical issue to us. We fear that another war with Daesh is looming but we hope that this will not happen.”

The writer is the author of Punjabi Taliban and can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com