The Taliban suicide bomb blasts have rocked Kabul with several explosions one after the other, hitting British diplomatic convoy, NGO office and guest house and a female member of Afghan parliament.
In the last couple of weeks there have been around eleven attacks in the capital Kabul and there are fears that security situation would deteriorate as Taliban insurgents have claimed that they are responding to the signing of security agreement with the US under which about 12,500 foreign troops would remain in the country after the NATO combat mission ends, to fight the Taliban, train and support the Afghan army and police.
Fear are growing that Afghanistan could once again fall into a cycle of violence, as the NATO military presence declines with the national security forces already suffering high battlefield casualties. Afghanistan suffered its deadliest attack of 2014 on Sunday when a suicide bomber struck at a volleyball match in the eastern province of Paktika, killing 57 people and hundreds of other were injured.
The attack on a high-profile British target appears to send another strong political message in a bid to show that they have still much potential to challenge the government and its alliances who contribute to the stability of the state. It comes a few days before a major conference on Afghanistan on 4 December in London, which is co-hosted by the UK and Afghan governments. According to Downing Street, the conference to be attended by international donors who will provide a platform for the government of Afghanistan to set out its vision for reform and implement them for a real change. It will also give the international community an opportunity to illustrate its continuing contributions to Afghanistan, as the majority of foreign combat troops withdraw after 13 years of war against the so-called Islamist Taliban and their terrorist allies.
The threat level of terrorist attacks in Kabul has reached to a higher level ever before over the past days. In this regard, the Kabul Intelligence officials are warning against an increased kidnapping threat against foreigners in the capital and in some eastern provinces. The attack underlines the challenge facing the country’s new president, Ashraf Ghani, in tackling an insurgency that has flared up over the past few months. The Taliban have long sought to use violence in Kabul itself to undermine confidence in the Afghan government and its foreign supporters, as well as to sap backing for continued involvement in the country in the west.
While Afghanistan’s military and police remain in control of all 34 provincial capitals, violence has risen in the last year and the rate of casualties suffered by local security forces has been described by the U.S military as unsustainable.
About 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed already in 2014, more than 6% higher than the same period of 2013. This year has also been one of the bloodiest years for Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations, which recorded nearly 5,000 deaths and injuries of civilians in the first half of the year.
The current critical situation also suggests that there is still strong need for the presence of international troops in the country, particularly in the battlefield to cooperate with the Afghan security forces to defeat these terrorist groups. In the absence of foreign troops in the battlefield, Taliban militants have intensified assaults on government troops, particularly in provinces in the east and south while the capital suffers huge casualties.
The insurgent attacks have been complex and unpredictable over the years, but many attacks have been planned to send a specific message to a specific audience. One audience is of course the local people, government personnel and its foreign supporters. The attack underlines that the Afghan government is unable to ensure security for its citizens. If offices can be attacked in the safest and diplomatic area, then no ordinary person is safe either.
It is the Taliban’s cruel farewell to the International Security Assistance Force mission. The NATO and its alliance brought little changes in the life of civilians to the extend they could afford but could not succeed completely in the battlefield to establish permanent peace in the region which is the most wanted demands of the Afghan people.
The political parties in the region must expend their efforts to the extent possible in response to the ground security challenges. Of course, the security agencies play an import role in providing good security at least to the capital residents including other major provinces with little security tighten in their schedules. Their sincere and devoted efforts may change the fate of their people to some good extend.
Reading the ground realities, it seems that the Taliban are not interested in peaceful settlement. Their brutal attacks on civilians and foreigners are in a bid to show their hatred. Of those past negotiations with the Taliban, none of them bared reasonable achievement.
In response to their escalation in their brutal attacks against civilians and foreign alliance, the world must re-concern over the challenges that Afghanistan is steeped in. It is certain that the Afghan government cannot overcome the current and future political challenges alone. The lessons learned suggest that there is still fear and possibilities that Afghanistan may fall in the hands of its enemies if the international community cuts support in the fight to counterterrorism.