KABUL (SW): New troops under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense called “local or regional forces” will be created soon; their task will be to provide temporary security to areas under government control.
Gen. Dawlat Waziri, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, told Salam Watandar that the numbers of these troops will be between 15,000 and 20,000. Gen. Dawlat Waziri stressed that these forces will not be militia and that all activities will be under the control of the Ministry of Defense.
The British newspaper Guardian, however, said in its latest report that based on the US strategy; militia forces will emerge in Afghanistan though this new plan has faced stong reactions from the supporting countries.
But officials at the Ministry of Defense considered the global concerns about the creation of local militia to be unfounded and said that the plan will be implement soon.
But, will the creation of local forces affect Afghanistan's security? The experts have different positions in answering this question.
Abdul Ghafar Gardezi, expert on military affairs, said if these forces were really under the control of the Ministry of Defense and controlled by Afghan government officials, it will for sure have a positive impact on the security in Afghanistan.
Atiquallah Amarkheil, another expert on military affairs, however, believed that the creation of local (regional) forces will merely widen the scope of war. According to Amarkheil, it will be difficult to attract about 15,000 troops, so all of which are committed to common national interest.
Officials at the Ministry of Defense believed the creation of local (or regional) forces to be a way to increase the security forces. According to them, supporting countries have promised financial support for the 195,000 troops in Afghanistan and therefore they are obliged to support the creation of local forces to increase the number of troops.
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