Latest UN statistics continue to reiterate that Taliban and other militants are responsible for larger civilian casualties. The UN Special Representative Jan Kubis talking at a news conference in Kabul said the number of civilian causalities caused by the ISAF troops and Afghanistan National Security Forces has dropped significantly. He said that 579 civilian casualties and 1,216 injuries were reported in the first four months of 2012.
The overall number shows a 21 percent decrease from the same period last year. Only 9 percent of the deaths were resulted by the military operations of ISAF and ANSF. He further said that militants were responsible for 79 percent of the civilian deaths.
Mr. Kubis said, "regrettably, unfortunately the antigovernment forces, they don't show any improvement in protection for civilians. They issue statements about protecting civilians, but in practice they use such indiscriminate destructive weapons."
During the last ten years of current conflict after the US/NATO arrival in Afghanistan, Taliban have been responsible for larger civilian casualties. Whenever a roadside bomb, landmine blast or suicide bomber blow among crowds, its ordinary poor civilian Afghans who suffer the most.
A group of militant ideologues justify such merciless killing of civilians by the pretext a holy war against invaders, while others completely deny they are responsible for civilian casualties.
On the other hand, our outrage has always been selective. Whenever any civilian causality is caused by an ISAF or Afghan National Security Forces operation, strong condemnation follow from Presidential Palace and some of our opportunist political elements, but when it comes to Taliban atrocities, people keep mum or ignore.
Taliban kill civilians every day. People never bother to come out to streets chanting against Taliban when their suicide bombers kill only breadwinners of poor families. They have made hundreds of children orphan and women widow, but the guardians of our national honor never come out of the shell of hypocrisy to condemn such atrocities.
President Karzai 's criticism has been reflective of our overall national phenomenon with selective outrage when it comes to civilian causalities. Even media does not highlighted civilian casualties by militants in the way they reported Panjwai massacre or other incidents of civilian massacre by ISAF and ANSF. If ordinary Afghans show strong street reaction against Taliban atrocities, militants would think twice before sending a suicide bomber and killing civilians. No matter Taliban deny it, but the fact is that they are responsible for over 80 percent of overall civilian casualties.