Daily Times

“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian” (Pashto proverb).
Afghan rulers have been at war with their own people since 2001. During the war on terror in Afghanistan for the past 13 years, neither international partners tried building a strong and well-equipped armed forces and police, nor did state institutions become corruption-free. Corruption is a major threat to the national security of the state. The state is fragile, incompetent and poor, and now decaying, shattered and shrinking due to ethnic and sectarian divisions, the Taliban insurgency and power games. There is no revenue generation, traditional economy, industry (military and traditional) and no signs of national critical infrastructure to provide services to the citizens. Criminal trade and the narco-market are big challenges. In 2001, after the fall of the Taliban regime, it was expected that Afghanistan would stand on its own two feet as billions of dollars were injected into the war economy by the US, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO member states, but all hopes vanished due to the prevailing culture of corruption, jingoism and confrontational policies of the Karzai government towards its neighbours. The US, as Mr Karzai said, failed to defeat the insurgency.
In 2011, US commanders threatened to withdraw their forces from the country if attacks continued but priorities changed and President Obama announced withdrawing US forces from the country by the end of 2014. In 2012, in a White House meeting, President Obama announced that 2014 was just a date for security and political transition in Afghanistan, and not for a withdrawal. This changing of position by the US raised serious questions about the US’s political and military agendas. Afghans want to know why the US and NATO allies want to remain in their country on account of extending the dates of withdrawal. Do they want to contain China and Russia, or are they wanting to shift the war into Pakistan? The agenda is not clear but the US and its allies are not scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2015; they may possibly leave the country by 2024. On November 6, 2014, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel abruptly arrived in Kabul and said that Washington would keep 1,000 more troops than the originally planned number in the first few months of 2015 in Afghanistan.
Last week, the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting ended with a new chapter defining the relationship with Afghanistan, beginning January 1, 2015. NATO member states want the UN Security Council (UNSC) to adopt a resolution on the deployment of forces beyond 2014. The Afghan unity government welcomed the continuity of its stipendiary from western partners. Dr Abdullah said, “We are fully aware that the end of the combat mission does not mean the war on terror is over.”
On December 4, 2014, the London Conference, co-hosted by the UK and Afghanistan, ended with deep concerns and reservations about institutional corruption and internal turmoil inside the unity government. This conference comes during a critical security situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban intensified attacks against foreign and Afghan forces, which raised serious questions over the Afghan national army’s professional credibility to protect the country from insurgents. President Ashraf Ghani needs to secure a long-term commitment as 85 percent of Afghanistan’s budget depends on foreign aid. He requested world leaders not to abandon his country. No doubt, Mr Ghani impressed the international community with his address and intellectual charm but the fact of the matter is that a few donors will be able to forecast aid flow up to 2017 and beyond, while a majority of them will not continue.
His country is in trouble. To secure the staggering state, he set out on a long tour of the region ranging from Pakistan to China, Saudi Arabia and Nepal in order to seek the cooperation of these states in maintaining stability in Afghanistan. He also wants to talk to the Taliban but the Taliban have refused to talk on the pretext that the unity government signed security agreements with the US wanting to prolong the war in Afghanistan. The trouble deepens. In fact, peace activities in the country do not appear to be successful because the conflict is not ripe for a resolution. The country is the focus of the Taliban seeking to secure some seats in the unity government. In November alone there have been dozens of suicide attacks in Kabul, in which many people were killed. In Paktika province, a suicide bomber killed 57 people and injured hundreds.
These successful attacks raised serious questions about the future of the unity government. The involvement of the Afghan security forces and the intelligence agencies in providing sanctuaries to the Taliban has now become a reality. Two weeks ago, the Afghan senate accused government officials of their nexus with the terrorists. A senator from Jalalabad province, Mr Lutfullah Baba, also accused high-ranking government officials of providing transport to the terrorists to get to their targets. On November 18, 2014, the first vice-president, and war criminal, Abdul Rashid Dostum, warned, “There are insiders who cooperate with the enemy in carrying out such attacks, otherwise how can they come and reach the Darul Aman area and the airport road?”
The security threat has reached a higher level across the country. The Afghan army is not in full control of all provinces. Last week, the Afghan army chief, General Shir Muhammad Karmi, accused the central government of not providing weapons and other facilities to the armed forces in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. According to the Pajhwok news agency report, the army chief severely criticised the government. During 2014 alone, a total of 4,700 Afghan army soldiers and approximately 5,000 civilians were killed by the Taliban insurgents. Reports about the shortage of weapons and ammunition have deeply dismayed soldiers and commanders of the Afghan security forces, and this underlines the precariousness of the crisis. These contradictions within the unity government and institutions might further intensify the crisis.

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