Daily Times

After three days of fierce fighting with the Taliban, the Afghan forces have recaptured the central parts of Kunduz. Clashes are going on while the Taliban have preferred to retreat to the outskirts of the city. The fact that the Taliban can actually get control of a strategically important city and hold it for a couple of days, sends a signal to the government and the international community that they are capable of striking back. The situation has not improved despite the presence of the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan for more than 14 years. These are the usual negative effects of foreign invasion and occupation. Unless the government in Afghanistan gets stronger, such chaos will not end. There were reports that the Taliban had encircled Kunduz for months, but the Afghan forces never paid attention to this looming threat. The Afghan government has enough forces equipped with weapons to attack the Taliban but no action was taken to pre-empt the attack on Kunduz. In fact, the absence of will to fight caused the Kunduz debacle. It was really hard for the Taliban to capture the city for a long time. Their main purpose was to create chaos, unrest and test the capability of the Afghan forces. Although the Afghan forces still need a lot of improvement, yet their counter-attack has proved effective.

After the Kunduz attack, the government of Afghanistan is facing severe criticism from its critics. The weak government set-up is causing negative effects on the military policies and strategies. The reputation of the government has been tarnished due to this attack. If the government is not stabilised, it will lead to more chaos in the country. The government needs to take several measures to improve the country’s security, including getting the military organised. Afghan soldiers are able to fight, but they need good leadership.

It has become obvious that the US is not ready to send its troops to Afghanistan again. Before coming to power, Barack Obama had promised to end the wars launched by his predecessor but after coming to power, he waged new wars. It was a strategic mistake for the US to have invaded Afghanistan. Now, the US needs to compensate for whatever suffering it has brought to the Afghan nation. If the US is not ready to send forces again, at least it should equip the existing Afghan forces with all the necessary military capability so that they could resist militant attacks. It needs to extend all kinds of financial, military and advisory aid to the Afghan government. It is also the responsibility of the Afghan government to review its weaknesses and plan how to remove them. Neighbouring countries like Pakistan should play a constructive role in this fight against terrorism and not indulge in proxy wars. All the countries of the region should sit together and find a common strategy to eliminate the Taliban or convince them for negotiations. *