After 32 years of war and conflict, life in Afghanistan, is still at great stake. None of the three objectives of the international community – defeating insurgents, national building and bringing economic prosperity – has been achieved. Insurgents' planned attacks that include suicide/roadside bombings, target killings, direct clashes with security forces and kidnapping continue.

The most annoying part of the story is that, militancy has become manifold rather than being defeated. The sacrifices of Afghans and the international community, unfortunately, seem to have all gone futile.

There is no doubt that the Taliban and other groups of terrorists are responsible for causing the conflict in Afghanistan to linger but we can, at the same time, point our fingers at the functioning of our government. Seemingly, the Afghan government has stuck into its wrong policies as it has gone repeating its mistakes time and again.

The growing graph of civilian casualties caused majorly by Taliban raids have been a matter of great concern for Afghans. Deaths of innocent people and Afghan and foreign soldiers in the first half of current year signal that this is going to be one of the deadliest year ever for Afghanistan and its international backers in the last decade.

Regretfully, the government of Afghanistan has not been able to take any major steps to counter the continued killings of innocent Afghans – except condemnations. In some parts of the country where Taliban traditional hideouts existed, much improvement is being claimed.

However, the NATO authorities themselves admit that these achievements are all fragile and Taliban can come back. If the momentum of Taliban has been, up to some extent, reversed in southern provinces, they have significantly expanded their operations in the northern and other peaceful provinces of Afghanistan. This automatically negates the successes achieved against Taliban.

At the same time, deep concerns on the reconciliation program with Taliban and withdrawal of international troops are present in the minds of Afghans, although it is maintained by our government and international community that solution to Afghan conflict is political and not military.

The public trust and support are vital for attaining victory in Afghanistan. The government of Afghanistan and West should work to bring betterment in security condition so that they can boost the level of public trust and support.