In "add your comment" of a report released regarding violence break out after last month's Quran burning in Bagram Airfield in a local newspaper, a visitor of the site claimed that he lately joined Taliban militants in order to hold Jihad against the presence of foreign security forces. Without reasoning for the authenticity of the allegation, there is one thing for sure to be heard: Taliban militants dexterously exploited the upheaval that followed Bagram and Panjwayi incidents and improved their public status.
On the both incidents,----Quran burning and shooting of civilians in Kandahar province by an American soldier which left 16 dead, including women and children---Taliban leaders skillfully exploited the anti-western sentiments for their own political objectives and succeeded to increase violence against Afghan government.
In several protests, demonstrators pelted stones and grenade towards Afghan security forces, which could be the signs of mounting anger against government. Soldiers and police injured and civilians paid heavy cost---more than thirty dead and triple of the number wounded.
It is widely believed Taliban militants infiltrated among protestors which led to damages to visible and invisible national revenues. There is not accurate measurement by which the tolerance of the society be judged, but of course such violent demonstration deal severe impacts on social behaviors and public relationship of individuals.
As all experts maintain that it takes a long time that Afghan people forget all about the past and get a fresh start. However, it seems hardly possible for Afghan people to forget about their past and those massacres, suppressions, communal murders and etc, but at least they can leave them all behind and understand that coexistence is far better than animosity and enmity. But last-month like violence can even make the society tense and prolong the time period needed for a kind of social relationship restoration.
The funniest thing about both incidents was the pretension of Taliban leaders in supporting Afghan people. They voiced out that they would revenge desecration and assassination of innocent civilians. They called on Afghan soldiers to turn their arms against foreign forces and hold a holy war against them. Similar claim made after Panjwayi's deadly incident. Militants vowed to target foreign soldiers and retaliate for the deaths of innocent victims. Such frank and tricky allegation likely attracted attention of those who consider the presence of foreign countries "unnecessary evil" as noticed in the comment of an individual I mentioned at the start of this article.
Firstly, let's deal with the claim of Taliban to hold revengeful attacks following Quran burning incident. Do they really care about the desecration? Do they feel sympathy with those innocent religious individuals who were protesting merely to alarm about repeat of such blunt mistakes? Certainly no!
Taliban militants are responsible for burnings of tens of schools across the country. Definitely, there were not students from the rest of country or students with other than Muslims.
Syllabus of students from primary to higher education in the country contains verses of holy Quran and quotations (hadith) from Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and his grand followers. There are no document to show that militants before burning cared much about stationeries and books inside. Yet there are no report alleging that militants in one example brought out books and then set in fire the schools and other educational institutions.
In addition, Quran learning is included in the syllabus for primary and secondary education of the country. Primary and secondary education students have to carry Quran for learning with themselves. And in every school, there are tens of chapters of holy Quran.
The Taliban leaders who make bogus claim to revenge foreign countries for a single incident about which I wrote extensively and explained how unreasonable it is to blame all foreign allies and their soldiers for the action of, perhaps, mentally disordered soldier, what they say about burning of thousands of pieces of holy Quran in schools? Ironically, Afghan civilians have never gone mad against Taliban for burning of schools where definitely copies of holy Quran are kept.
If militants are really sincere, then first and foremost, they should persecute their own operatives responsible for setting schools in fire. And why officials and common people shut their eyes and mouth on the ground reality and do not question the burning of holy Quran? Is there something exceptional? Is there any verse in the holy book to differentiate between holy Quran by a Muslim and non-Muslim?
This is one of the thousands of paradoxical interpretation of Taliban. Many, closely in touch with Taliban, claim that those who are kidnapped by Taliban militants possibly would be raped. And some arrested and later released individuals confess about Taliban's inhuman sexual assaults. But still they propagate as true missioners of Islam and people should do and avoid according their command. How strange!
Certainly if Afghan people showed similar reaction to each school burning where chapters of Quran and many religious book kept against Taliban, Taliban would never have resurged and there was no need of foreign forces to remain here. I can vividly hear the sounds of those injured following Bagram incident emotionally saying that they did not care about their lives; they could not bear insult to Quran. If those people showed similar reaction to blunt and evil activities of Taliban, today we might not had foreign soldiers here.
Furthermore, Taliban claimed to retaliate foreign soldiers for the deaths of innocent women children. How many innocent children and women have been killed since 2001? According to accurate UN's report, Taliban are responsible for over 70 percent of all human tolls in the country. So, what? Do Taliban leaders add another strange interpretation of religion here too, like do not care about thousands killed by their Jihad, instead care about only 16 people shot dead by mentally disordered soldier.
After years of suffering under the rule of Taliban regime and years of sacrificing for peace and stability, they should not endanger all due to bogus claims by Taliban militants.