After more than a decade of war, extravagant expenditure of dollars and valuable sacrifices in the form of human lives, the situation of peace and tranquility is still shaky in Afghanistan. Taliban, who were said to be defeated in the war, seem to be gaining strength once again and they have been threatening the security of the country and the arrangements of the Afghan officials to guarantee peace.

There are fears that after the withdrawal of international security forces in 2014, Taliban may be able to have a strong position within Afghanistan, which may lead to the reversal of the achievements that have been made to modernize or improve Afghan society. For the last few years Taliban have come up with different tactics.

They have adopted to carry out lethal attacks in different parts of country which happen to be important in some way or the other. Their main objective has been to let the Afghan authorities and people know that they still have the potential to target any place they want – even the most guarded places.

On the other hand they have also carried out deadly assaults on VIP's; depicting that no one is safe against them. Though their attacks are not like that of a traditional war and have not helped them gain control of the places they attack, they have been able to cast a lasting impact of terror on people's psychology. Today, it is very difficult to think that there is any secure place in Afghanistan that cannot be targeted by Taliban.

It is important to note the nature of the attacks that are carried out by them in different places. In most of their recent attacks they are able to penetrate through a well-guarded and important place, choose a building, strengthen their position over there and keep on targeting the surroundings that happen to be significant government and international buildings, unless they are shot down by the security forces.

On most of the occasions they have been able to occupy the place and vie for several hours. By the time they are dead they have already initiated a wave of fear that travels throughout the area. It is unfortunate to note that Afghan security forces and intelligence agency have not been able to counter their tactics appropriately. It is correct that Afghan forces have fought well soon after the assaults, but it is really important that such attacks should be figured out before they are carried out and Afghan intelligence agency has to play a dominant role in this regard.

For the last few years, Taliban have also been carrying out their attacks through "Spring Offensives". Spring Offensive is intensification in the assaults carried out by Taliban against the Afghan and international security forces in the spring season as during the cold weather it is difficult to carry out such assaults. In the ongoing year, as the spring has already started, Taliban have also announced their Spring Offensive and they have named it Operation Al Farooq. They initiated it with the attack that was carried out on the foreigners' housing compound in Kabul, which resulted in the death of seven people and injured 17 others.

The attack was carried out few hours after the visit of US President Obama that resulted in the signing of the strategic agreement between Afghanistan and US. Taliban have also made evil commitment that they would continue such attacks on the foreigners and the ones who support them. It is important to see what sort of arrangement is made by Afghan security officials to counter their Spring Offensive.

The Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Monday, May 07, 2012, affirmed that Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were ready to face challenges from the militants. In a statement, the Ministry declared, "The Afghan National Police is stronger now than ever before in our nation's history. We are ready to stand against foreign mercenaries to protect Afghan's lives and property and the country's territorial integrity…

We believe in our ability to defeat attacks by the Taliban, who have changed their tactics to mainly suicide bombings and improvised explosive device (IEDs) attacks that kill and maim innocent people every day." It is important to see that the Afghan security officials are highlighting the change in tactics from Taliban; they, therefore, need to face them with the required preparations. With the changes in the tactics of the militants, it is necessary that there should be changes within the tactics of the security forces to counter them.

The statement by MoI also continued, "They seem to have no concern for human life and dignity but only want to attain power for themselves, no matter what the cost is." However, it is weird to observe that the Afghan President has kept on insisting that Taliban, who have no concern for human life and dignity, are "his brothers". US has also been very much lenient to them currently so as to galvanize them for peace negotiations. In the recent strategic agreement signed between Afghanistan and US, Taliban have not been considered a threat for the security in the country.

There is no doubt that Afghan security force have kept on gaining strength in the last few years. At the same time it is necessary to gauge their capability appropriately and realistically. While praising them for their achievements, it is necessary to highlight their shortcomings as well so that they are able to tackle the situation appropriately. With the changing nature of the war and the growing responsibility on them, it is necessary that they must be prepared and equipped in the same manner so that they fulfill the growing necessities of time. How well the Afghan security forces are trained and they are ready depends on how well they will counter the Taliban's Spring Offensive.

Few days earlier, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, talking about the transition process and the capability of Afghan forces said, "We are on the right course. We have made significant progress. We are making transition. Our troops are doing a great job. The Afghan troops are doing a great job. The country is more secure…

We're transitioning areas to Afghan security and control. Right now as we speak, 50 percent of the Afghan population is under their security and under their control, and I'd say by late summer 75 percent of their population will be under their security and control." However, as he himself mentioned, Let's not kid ourselves. We need to realize the deficiencies and carry out measures to overcome them.