KABUL (SW): For the past few minutes, the Taliban have made headlines by capturing district after district as foreign military presence shrink and the security responsibility lies on the shoulders of local forces.
The Center for Strategic and Regional Studies (CSRS) has underlined some main reasons behind it.
In clear contrast to the insurgency during the past many years, lately the Taliban over run Chardarah and Dasht-e-Archi districts in northern Kunduz, Kohistanat district in Sar-e-Pul, Jawand in Badges, Nawa in Ghazni, Yamgan in Badakhshan, Nawzad in Helmand and Wand Waygal in Nooristan province.
Similarly, Pasapand, Taywrah and Charsadah districts in Ghor, Sangeen, Kajakee and Musa Qala districts in Helmand, Samkanyo in Paktia, various districts in the eastern belt, Azra, Sarkh and Kharwar in Logar, Dahna Ghori in Baghlan, Deh Merdad in Maidan-Wardag, Khas Uruzgan in Urugzgan and other districts in the neighboring southern province are facing grave threat of fall to the militants.
The CSRS said in its report that internal rift among leaders of the National Unity Government was one of the main reason behind the advancement of the militants.
“The disputes are basically over nomination of ministers but as the time passed these differences are slowly moving towards governmental policies”, it said.
It is important to note that the parliament has rejected two designate-ministers for defense introduced by the President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
It was basically due to their (ALP)’s bad behavior towards the common people and secret deals with the Taliban that led to the fall of various districts, the report noted.
Apart from the bad behavior of the local police, some of their members joined the ranks of Taliban or indirectly helped the militnats in capturing districts.
Before June, 2014, the tribal belt along the Durand Line was a safe heaven for the militants however, when the Pakistan Army launched operation ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ in North Waziristan things started to change.
“Many foreign militants seek refuge in Afghanistan who also wanted to get closer to their native areas in the Central Asia. Consequently, the insurgency in Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, Jozjan, Faryab, and Sar-e-Pul increased”, the report said.
The CSRC claims the Taliban are not happy with the current foreign policy of the Kabul government that has warmed ties with Pakistan. The report said Taliban feel cornered that was why they were insisting for a permanent political office in Qatar.
Among other factors, the CSRC’s weekly report underlines the need for a comprehensive air force to take on the militants with full force. “The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is faced with the shortage of combat aircrafts and proper training”, it said.
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