Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

People in Trouble Require Vision and Strategies

President Hamid Karzai has said that international forces in Afghanistan have failed to شprovide security for the people. This goes without saying because Afghan people in many parts of the country continue to live in fear of insurgent attacks such as suicides and roadside bombings. Afghan people feel this in their day-to-day life as when they get out of home in the morning they are not sure whether they return safe and sound in the evening or not.

President Karzai once again has evaded the responsibility for the corruption and put the blame on international community. It is not the time for informing the people of the obvious realities or putting the blame on others. Afghan people live in the throes of these problems and due to rampant corruption and inefficiency in the government agencies they are not provided with the services they deserve.

People are being let down by the government and international community. They are losing their hope for a better future. It is high time for the president and his government to tell the people how he and his government are going to reverse the situation and how he and his government are going to work with international community to bring security and stability to the country.

Unfortunately, the war is entering into its eleventh year and over the last ten years about ten thousand Afghans have lost their lives as the UN report says. It is not clear how many more Afghan citizens will have to lose their lives to achieve peace.

In the meanwhile, about 2500 foreign soldiers are said to have been killed in what is said to be the longest war the US has had. The Taliban militants and other insurgent groups are yet to lose their momentum and the intricacies of regional interests have become an addition to the difficulty of mission to be accomplished by the US-led NATO forces in the country.

In fact, it is now turning into proxy wars, and in the insurgents that continue to serve as the proxies are controlled by the regional elements. The Taliban militants and other insurgent groups engaged Afghan government for more than a year in a fake and flawed peace process, which only led to squandering of time and resources and killing of some top figures in the country.

President Karzai has now announced the reversal of negotiation with Taliban and instead chosen Pakistan as the party to peace talks. It is not clear how long Pakistan will engage fruitlessly in this effort. President Karzai needs to review and admit his failures and honestly work with his people and international community to chart out a clear vision and ways to reach that vision.