The security situation in Afghanistan does not seem to be improving even after the aggressive Afghan policy adopted by the US leadership. Though insecurity persists in different parts of the country, the rise of insecurity in Kabul, particularly, in those areas that are considered high profile and that are properly guarded show that the security challenges are real and have to be solved through proper planning and honest efforts.
The lethal attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul has once again showed that the insurgents are capable enough to target even the most important of the places. Unfortunately, the attack was huge, lasted for about 17 hours and resulted in the death of around 43 people and injury of dozens of people. Many of the victims included foreigners.
Among the dead were 11 Kam Air employees, mostly foreigners. Ukranian authorities have also confirmed that 6 of their citizens have been killed in the attacks. Moreover, the other victims included the guests in the hotel, the hotel employees, and the security officials.
The attack raised many eyebrows and also many questions regarding the security arrangements that are ensured by the authorities. Ex-Jihadi leader, Mohammad Akbari in a statement said, “This incident indicates that government is weak, it’s incompetent and fragile. Foreigners were also present there (at hotel) and this weakness is evident to other countries as well.” Many leaders also claimed that elements inside government collaborated with insurgents to launch the deadly attack on the hotel. 
Such attacks at times when there are already serious challenges that are being faced by the government regarding political stability further pose the challenges for the Afghan government and the international allies. The political rifts among the different authorities show that Afghan government is ill-prepared to face security challenges and come together for a comprehensive security policy that should be able to pose threats to the enemies. The current US policy in Afghanistan needs to be supported properly by the Afghan government wants to pursue. Otherwise, the policy will not be able to attain the desired results.
The insurgents, both Taliban and Daesh, seem to be taking advantage of the situation and making their strongholds in different parts of the country. The attacks by Daesh, in particular, have now become frequent in Afghanistan, especially in capital Kabul. Only few months earlier, Afghan officials used to deny that Daesh had stronghold in Afghanistan, but the consecutive and large-scale attacks by Daesh insurgents clearly depict that those denials were based on no authentic information. Now, the officials are not even in the position to deny the fact that Daesh is getting stronger in Afghanistan and that points towards a very bleak future as far as security and stability are concerned.
The facts and figures clearly show that the nature of insecurity would be threatening for Afghan government and security forces this year as well. Taliban and Daesh, among other insurgents, have already increased their activities. There are fears among the people in Afghanistan that their lives would once again be influenced badly by the waves of terrorism and insurgency. After the downfall of Taliban, Afghan people hoped that their lives would change and the circumstances would lead towards a better and peaceful future, but the security situation has worsen during the last years.
The response of the government in the face of the rising insecurity is really lethargic. It has been largely influenced by the differences that prevail within the ranks of National Unity Government (NUG) regarding the approach that has to be adopted to address the situation duly. The members of NUG see the issue with different perspectives and are not ready to cooperate with each other in developing and applying a comprehensive and unanimous policy to tackle the situation. This has led to misunderstandings and ambiguities in the war against terrorism on operational level as well.
Afghan government, therefore, has to get united and strive to control the situation properly. It needs to understand that as a result of decades of instability and socio-economic and political problems, the Afghan people have been suffering from myriads of problems. Coupled with the issue of insecurity, there are some very concerning issues that exist in our society and threaten the lives of the common people of Afghanistan.
Afghan government must therefore make a decisive decision to tackle the issue of the insecurity and strive to protect valuable human resources. ANDSF are vital for the peace and tranquility of the country. Though their profession requires them to be on the forefront of the war, proper strategic planning and policy making by the government officials can support them in achieving peace without having to lose many valuable lives. Moreover, proper strategies can assist the government in building its legitimacy and gaining support among the people, who otherwise seem to have lost their hopes about a tranquil and prosperous future.