Civilian killings have been increasing year by year since the ouster of Taliban regime. The War in Afghanistan (2001–present) has caused the deaths of thousands of Afghan civilians directly from insurgent and foreign military action, as well as the deaths of possibly tens of thousands of Afghan civilians indirectly as a consequence of displacement, starvation, disease, exposure, lack of medical treatment, crime and lawlessness resulting from the war.
The West-backed Hamid Karzai's administration admits to the fact that it has failed to provide security to life of the people of Afghanistan. Life of innocent people has been at the mercy of Taliban's insurgency. Killing of civilians in the hands of insurgents is another story.
Even the 130,000 strong NATO force, that has been deployed in Afghanistan for countering terrorists, has exhibited recklessness towards ensuring safety of civilians' in their operations. In the last ten years, the Afghans have witnessed loss of scores of innocent people including women and children in strikes launched by NATO. After such incidents the NATO authorities come up with apologies, promises of investigating the case or simply saying, 'It was due to misleading intelligence report.' With the passage of time, everyone forgets the incidents, except the families of the victims.
A recent NATO airstrike launched on Saturday night in eastern Paktia province resulted in the death of Muhammad Shafi, his wife and six children. Provincial authorities have confirmed that Mr. Shafi had no links with any insurgent group. Meanwhile, the ISAF authorities verify the strike and say it will investigate the incident. President Hamid Karzai's office, as always, has also ordered investigation into the incident.
The coalition forces have been 'repeatedly' involved in killing Afghan civilians since the fall of Taliban in 2001. Regretfully, all the preventive measures taken by NATO authorities have proved to be symbolic and ineffective. Such incidents make a point for Taliban insurgents and pointing fingers at them would be difficult.
For winning the Afghan war, the US and allies have to win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan. Incidents, such as that of Saturday, leave serious negative impact over the image of Western countries.