Saturday August 4, 2018
Kabul (BNA) Afghan security officials by rejecting recent report of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) that said Afghan security forces were struggling to fight Taliban insurgents, saying Afghan defense and security forces have full capabilities to provide security and particular programs are underway to reduce casualties of Afghan troops and foil attacks of armed insurgent groups in the country. SIGAR in its new report said that Afghan security forces avoid capturing further territory from the Taliban group and were fighting the group to a stalemate.
The government in Kabul aims to win control or influence territory where 80 percent of the country’s population lives by the end of next year. As of mid-May, 65 percent of Afghans lived in such areas, SIGAR said. The report also highlighted continuing manning shortfalls in the government’s security forces. “According to Afghan-reported force-strength data, (Afghan forces) may have increased in size since last quarter to 314,242 personnel, but the force has lost 8,500 personnel since April 2017, and 5,353 since April 2016,” SIGAR said, adding that Afghan forces were only 89.3 percent of their goal strength. Although Afghan military and political experts believe on capabilities of Afghan defense and security forces, they consider lack of coordination between defense and security organs as key causes of casualties of Afghan troops and fall of some areas in the country.
Meanwhile, Lower House of parliament by praising Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) for their efforts towards maintaining security in the country are asking NATO and US for continued support and cooperation with Afghanistan in equipping, advising and further training of ANDSF in particular Afghan air forces so they can successfully provide security to the people of Afghanistan.
They believe that Afghan defense and security forces are now able to lonely lead and plan most of military operations in the country and suppress armed insurgent groups. Military and political experts believe that for ending war, maintaining security and addressing issues in Afghanistan, a grand regional conference should be held and international partners of Afghanistan should further exert further political pressures on countries that are interfering in internal affairs of Afghanistan.
“Unfortunately, foreign hands that are involved in increasing of insecurities and deteriorating the situation in Afghanistan want continuation of ongoing war in the country so they can reach their goals,” an Afghan researcher and writer Sahib Nazar Muradi told. He says currently capabilities of Afghan security forces are increasing day by day and are fighting with high morale in battlefields against armed opponent groups. Muradi stressed that the only option that could prevent from casualties of Afghan troops was to end the ongoing war and maintain peace in the country. Another Afghan military expert Gen. Mohammad Saboor believes that terrorism is now threatening the world and Afghanistan is victim of the phenomenon, so the world should honestly help Afghanistan in maintaining peace and stability. It is worth mentioning that efforts are underway towards maintaining peace and starting negotiations between the Taliban and government as for the first time US and Taliban representatives have recently talked and discussed key issues in Doha, capital city of Qatar.
Suraya Raiszada
