The unmitigated violence and bloodshed have inflicted heavy casualties upon our nation and the Taliban’s spring offensive increased the death toll over the past year. The warring factions flagrantly violated the humanitarian law through spilling the blood of civilians, including women and children, and killing the Wounded In Action (WIA). Reportedly, the security situation deteriorated in the country since mid 2015. As a result, there were 11,002 civilian casualties in 2015 including 3,545 deaths, the UN said in its annual report on civilians in armed conflict, a four per cent rise over the previous high in 2014. One in every four casualties was a child, with the report documenting a 14 per cent increase in child casualties over the year.
Similarly, a number of Afghan men and women were killed mysteriously on the grounds of their race and color for which no party claimed the responsibility. Since sectarian violence was stoked with the emergence of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the public believed that members of ISIL group were behind the scenes. It is self-explanatory that the emergence of ISIL group will further muddy the water and pose greater threat to the nation. Therefore, there is a sense of fear and despair in the air and rumors say that the ISIL fighters will stage heavy attacks in the country.
Meanwhile, the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) seeks to bring the Taliban outfits to the negotiating table and Afghan officials urged all warring parties to join the peace process. To their unmitigated chagrin, the Taliban still continue their militancy. Afghans believe that war and terror will only lead to further destruction, violate their fundamental rights – that is to say the rights to life, liberty and property – and increase the graph of casualties in the country. Hence, all Afghans dream for peace and prosperity.
The protracted war revealed the fact that it is not a panacea for the problems and Afghanistan and Taliban have to reach an amicable agreement through negotiation – it seems a necessary evil, though. The victim families simmer with a sense of indescribable pain and anguish. “The pain is still there, it never ebbs. They say time heals a wound but I disagree. It merely covers the open wound with a thin scab which, when peeled away, reveals the flesh anew, exposed, lacerated and oozing with pain. I look at other mothers with their children, holding them close, protecting them as they pass me, my eyes well up and the emptiness returns. How lucky are those women who can put their hands through their children’s hair and feel each strand falling between their fingers.”
Afghans believed that they will heave a sigh of relief with the establishment of democratic government via holding election and approving constitution. The nation dreamed of a society void of violence and bloodshed in which human rights and dignity were valued on a large scale and in which one’s blood would not be spilled on the basis of his/her color, sex, race and beliefs. In other words, as it is said that every cloud has a silver lining, our nation deemed that it would be the bright side after years of pain and suffering. But their dream did not come true and the nascent democracy was not a panacea for the bleeding wounds of war-weary nation. The insurgent groups victimized people to put pressure on the government. Their freedoms were curtailed and their rights were widely trampled upon. The terrorist groups resurfaced with greater strength, after the fall of the Taliban’s regime, and triggered terror and instability across the country. Their insurgency was intensified in recent months and led to further casualties.
With the Taliban’s heavy inroads and emergence of the ISIL group, people’s life and liberty are still at stake. The interminable militancy continues taking toll of civilians. Similarly, Afghan women and children are susceptible to terrorist attacks and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and the country turned into unlucky place for them. For instance, the lifeless bodies of women and children in suicide bombing cases is a slap on the face of humanity and such a gory picture will fill one with a sense of hatred and revenge. Thus, there will be no room left for a peaceful and prosperous life.
The irony is that people suffer painfully under a democratic government. It is said, “There isn’t a single Afghan family that hasn’t been affected by the daily acts of brutal and deadly terrorism carried out across cities, towns, and villages. Children – girls and boys – are attacked on their way to school and mosques and public spaces are blown up all in the name of a noble religion, which in reality stands for peace and peaceful coexistence.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan assigned responsibility for 62 per cent of total civilian casualties in 2015 to anti-government elements. However, the report also noted a surge in casualties caused by pro-government forces, including the international troops. In a nutshell, one’s rights and dignity are threatened in one way or another and men, women and children are killed in cold blood in suicide bombings and terrorist attacks. Therefore, a large number of people take refuge to foreign countries and it is a real tragedy for the country.