In spite of increasing peace demand and ongoing peace talks, at least 10 people were killed and another 33 people were wounded in the explosion after a bomb detonated near Kabul university premises in Afghanistan last Friday. Before this, on Thursday evening, the police headquarter was attacked in Kandahar province. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) through a statement as report quoted said the Kandahar attack was plotted in Chaman Baluchistan, having crossing points with Afghanistan. According to NDS the attackers were ordered and led by an individual named Mullah Agha during the attack. In this respect the NDS has sent to media an audio file which apparently shows a telephonic conversation between the attackers and the masterminds. However, Islamabad rejected the allegations.
Though no militant group claimed responsibility for the latest multiple attacks, especially the attacks on university students and visitors of highly credible and central university of Afghanistan, its disowning seems ironic. It is crystal clear that both the groups i.e. Taliban and the Islamic State extremists, often stage such large-scale bombings in the city. The Taliban and Islamic State generally target Afghan forces and government officials plus civilian areas. Violent acts is a parts and parcels of Afghanistan especially in capital Kabul and southern Kandahar provinces while the peace talks have accelerated more than ever. Violent acts are more frequently occurring in Western and Western-Northern parts of the country. These show that Taliban is not honest in peace talks and play a dual and paradoxical game in Afghanistan.
With launching deadly attacks and dual game, Taliban did not leave any place at the heart of people; many Afghan people say that they can accept any systems other than Islamic Emirate because they showed very unforgettable deeds in Afghanistan. In fact, Taliban have become more hated than ever and even those who, somehow, have sympathy with this group have been shocked by the frequent waves of violence. What is to be learned from all this hatred is that peace with such creatures is impossible. If we impartially and fairly judge about the depth of this issue, then the Taliban’s attack on the innocent university students and dozens of national defense forces are not acceptable or justifiable in any principle.
Indeed, the intensified attacks which come after a few rounds of talks and even mutual agreement to prevent civilian causalities disappointed the public opinion from the ongoing peace process; this shows that the Taliban are not ready to enter into serious negotiations with the Afghan government. Probably the group is pursuing peace talks only for their political intentions. From one hand, they show themselves to the world’s public opinion as a peaceful group that wants to negotiate and peacefully resolve the problems of Afghanistan; on the other hand, they tactically intensify the ongoing violence and killings in Afghanistan to win greater privileges or impose the Islamic Emirate on the people of Afghanistan.
Now, in the wake of increasing violent and terror acts, responsibility rests with national and international organs and US as well to think about ways and means for its countering. As aforementioned, Taliban have agreed during intra-Afghan talks held in Doha, to reduce the civilian casualties to “zero” amid the rising death toll in the war-torn country. The joint statement which was released after the conclusion of the July 7-8 talks pledged to guarantee the security of public institutions, such as educational institutions, religious schools, hospitals, markets, water dams and other working locations. However, since that, Taliban group have intensified their assaults, and claimed responsibilities of a number of deadly incidents across the country.
According to some political experts, the war intensification links to the winning moral of Taliban and shortcoming of defense forces including the United States and its NATO allies as day to day things are getting worse than ever before. According to President Trump, the US has squandered trillions of dollars on military operations in the Middle East over the past two decades without any positive feedback for the US. The recent attacks in Kabul and Kandahar can also show that Taliban supporters do not have any ethical or political commitment to the promising words they state diplomatically.
Based on some analysis, no peace process would reach to fruitful result unless the Taliban suppers are pressurized. Given the next week visit of Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, to Washington it is expected the US President Donald Trump to put pressure on Pakistan during planned meeting between the two leaders. However, “the purpose of this visit is to press for concrete cooperation from Pakistan to advance the Afghanistan peace process... We are asking Pakistan to pressure the Taliban into a permanent ceasefire and participation in inter-Afghan negotiations that will include the Afghan government”, report quoted from the US official last Friday.
The US official added that the US side will also encourage Pakistan to deepen and sustain its recent effort to crack down on militant terrorists within its territory. Moreover, the US official said Trump will communicate to Khan that the United States is ready to repair relations and build a partnership if Pakistan changes its policies to address concerns of militants and terrorists seeking safe haven in their country. The United States will also consider changing its suspension of security assistance to Pakistan if Islamabad meets Washington’s concerns related to Afghanistan, report quoted from the US official.