Daily Times

It seems to be a consequence of a desire for revenge wherein a day after the Taliban killed more than 100 people including soldiers, civilians and policemen, and beheaded at least 12 people, the residents of a local village in Ajrestan district, Ghazni province, Afghanistan, hanged four captured militants from a tree. Among other similar mounting series of attacks in different provinces, the recent offensive by the Taliban against the Afghan National Army (ANA) and police forces in Ajrestan district, launched a week ago, have managed to capture some parts of the province. Afghan forces are still fighting to recapture this lost ground and many militants were taken captive during the retaliatory strike. Although the authorities claim that it is not clear who handed those captives to the residents but these hangings clearly demonstrate the anger that has boiled up in the public. The Taliban with an unusual concentration, using as many as 700 fighters, must have some long-term intentions as this massive attack is different from their guerrilla mode of warfare. Afghan army commando reinforcements, with the assistance of airstrikes, have so far helped the government forces to prevent the Taliban’s advance. Ghazni province geographically falls between Kabul and Kandahar, a strategic point that acts as a bridge between the capital and the south, therefore capturing this part means disrupting and disconnecting Kabul from the entire south.

While Afghan government forces remain in control of provincial centres, many districts across the country are falling under Taliban control. The picture is clear that with the gradual retreat of US and NATO forces from the country, the Taliban wish to reclaim their hegemony and these successes against the ANA testify to their capability of carrying out such massive attacks. The responsibility however now hangs on the shoulders of the Afghan forces whose capability will be tested. Once the NATO forces leave they will be left on their own. Meanwhile, in district Paktia that is under Taliban control, three alleged kidnappers were publicly hanged and their bodies left to dangle from trees for three days to send a message to the community. These incidents suggest that if law and order under the Afghan government is not in place, similar patterns of barbarism will be replicated both by civilians and by the Taliban. There is clearly a need for a bigger push by the Afghan forces to deter the advances of these militants and ensure the country’s stability as that directly determines not only regional but global stability. *