And the blame game continues...
Suicide bombers have tried to kill Afghanistan’s Senate leader, Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, in an attack in which four people died. A suicide car bomb in Kabul Sunday rammed into the convoy of Mujaddedi, injuring him and killing four other people. Mujaddedi escaped with burns to his hands and face but two bystanders, a girl on her way to school and a man on a motorbike, were killed. Two attackers who drove the explosives-laden station wagon into the convoy also died, while five others were hurt. Former president Mujaddedi currently chairs the upper house of the new parliament and heads a commission working to encourage Taliban insurgents to surrender. He was obviously a high profile target because of his anti-Taliban stance – heading a commission trying to wean back the Taliban and being a member of the Karzai regime. There are contradictory claims about who is responsible for the Mujaddedi attack. Some reports say that no one has claimed responsibility, while other reports say that the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack on Mujaddedi.
On the other hand, the blame game between Afghanistan and Pakistan continues. Mujaddedi has accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of being behind the attack, a claim Islamabad dismissed. He said Afghanistan had information that six people had entered the country to assassinate him, though he did not offer any proof. “What is my fault? My fault is that I am working for the peace and prosperity of Afghanistan,” he said in a news conference hours after the attack, accusing President Pervez Musharraf of not wanting “Afghanistan to be safe and secure.” The ratcheting up of accusations directly reflects the increasing effectiveness of the Afghan resistance. Afghanistan and the US Command in Kabul have been saying for quite some time now that Pakistan, despite its deployment of 80,000 men in the FATA areas for controlling the insurgents, has turned a blind eye to or is complicit in the attacks carried out by the insurgents. Pakistan has started to make counter-accusations by blaming the Afghan regime for stirring up trouble in Balochistan. The information is scanty on either side and it is difficult to judge the issue impartially. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has taken a cautious stand and said that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
In another instance, a roadside bomb exploded the same day as a US armoured vehicle drove by in eastern Afghanistan, killing four American service members. The two bombings were the latest in a series of militant attacks that appear to be gathering intensity four years after the ouster of the hardline Taliban regime by a US-led invasion.
It appears as though despite the presence of coalition forces and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the resistance is far from being over. In fact this resistance seems to be following in the footsteps of the Iraq resistance as the use of suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices seems to be on the rise. The failure to crush this extremist movement would exact a very high cost. If the resistance turns stronger, it would have vast implications for Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region as a whole. Obviously, what is needed is to stop the two forces from bickering and blaming each other, and instead they need to come together with an effective strategy along with the US forces to defeat the resistance. This region cannot afford the return of the Taliban as it would have serious repercussions not only for the region, but the whole world.
On the other hand, the blame game between Afghanistan and Pakistan continues. Mujaddedi has accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of being behind the attack, a claim Islamabad dismissed. He said Afghanistan had information that six people had entered the country to assassinate him, though he did not offer any proof. “What is my fault? My fault is that I am working for the peace and prosperity of Afghanistan,” he said in a news conference hours after the attack, accusing President Pervez Musharraf of not wanting “Afghanistan to be safe and secure.” The ratcheting up of accusations directly reflects the increasing effectiveness of the Afghan resistance. Afghanistan and the US Command in Kabul have been saying for quite some time now that Pakistan, despite its deployment of 80,000 men in the FATA areas for controlling the insurgents, has turned a blind eye to or is complicit in the attacks carried out by the insurgents. Pakistan has started to make counter-accusations by blaming the Afghan regime for stirring up trouble in Balochistan. The information is scanty on either side and it is difficult to judge the issue impartially. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has taken a cautious stand and said that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
In another instance, a roadside bomb exploded the same day as a US armoured vehicle drove by in eastern Afghanistan, killing four American service members. The two bombings were the latest in a series of militant attacks that appear to be gathering intensity four years after the ouster of the hardline Taliban regime by a US-led invasion.
It appears as though despite the presence of coalition forces and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the resistance is far from being over. In fact this resistance seems to be following in the footsteps of the Iraq resistance as the use of suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices seems to be on the rise. The failure to crush this extremist movement would exact a very high cost. If the resistance turns stronger, it would have vast implications for Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region as a whole. Obviously, what is needed is to stop the two forces from bickering and blaming each other, and instead they need to come together with an effective strategy along with the US forces to defeat the resistance. This region cannot afford the return of the Taliban as it would have serious repercussions not only for the region, but the whole world.
Comments