According to statement of defense ministry, more than a thousand Afghan soldiers were killed in the war against militants this year which is the highest number in comparison to previous years. Gen. Zaheer Azimi, the defense ministry spokesman, on Sunday, December 30, told journalists that the number shows a high increase in military death toll. He added that just within past nine months, 905 soldiers were killed and overall in 2012, 1054 soldiers lost lives and over 75 percent in road side bombings.

Seemingly, he is of the view that the main reason behind was security responsibility handover. He also noticed that Afghan National Army (ANA) faces serious challenges as lack of equipment and required skills.
No doubt, roadside bombing has proved to be a deadly tactic of Taliban-led militants who often after exploding the Afghan and foreign military vehicles ambush them too. Though NATO soldiers have developed technology to track explosives from far away, but we have been eye witness to incidents that show that the technology has not worked well.

According to a news report, a taxi driver who claimed to be from Wardak province and Cheshm-e-Salar area, where NATO and public cargos hardly pass without any incident, said that Taliban militants told him that they are using a kind of gas to misguide the bomb-tracking technology. What is noteworthy here is that remote control bombs and roadside bombs have proved deadly for Afghan and foreign security forces to a large extent.

Another issue which defense ministry spokesman pointed out was the number of security forces. The number of ANA has reached to planned quantity, 195 thousand. NATO wants to train 350 thousand police and army till the end of 2014. But the level of attrition is high, and lack of willingness to join security forces add to challenges.

Apart from some small issues, Afghan forces have been doing well with the given opportunities and resources. Their sacrifices for the safeguard of the nation must be fully realized and they should be appreciated as much as possible. At the same time, it is also important that the issues that are affecting the capabilities and potential of Afghan forces should be tackled with great attention and it should be ensured that they are fully ready to shoulder the responsibility of the security of the entire nation after the withdrawal of international forces.