What is the issue?
- A recent IS attack in Kabul and Taliban's new announcement have signalled an increased security challenge for Afghanistan.
- At this juncture, global and regional powers must desist from playing the ‘Great Game’ and build peace.
What is the recent IS attack?
- A bomb attack took place in Kabul at a voter registration centre, killing more than 50.
- It carries a doubly dangerous message from the Islamic State.
- One, it was the group's attack on Afghanistan’s fragile democratic process.
- It implies that elections next year could face more violence.
- Two, a majority of the victims were Shias.
- This highlights the sectarian turn in the conflict.
What is the Taliban threat?
- Taliban has rejected Afghan President Ghani’s offer of talks “without preconditions”.
- Moreover, Taliban has announced its new “spring offensive”.
- It includes the targeting of American forces in Afghanistan.
Have the earlier efforts paid results?
- Last year, the U.S. announced a new ‘South Asia policy’ for Afghanistan. Click here to know more.
- It was officially welcomed by both New Delhi and Kabul.
- It was hailed as a game-changer for the region.
- But now the policy itself seems uncertain.
- The U.S. administration has taken some steps on Pakistani funding of terrorism.
- This is particularly across the Durand Line (border between Pakistan and Afghanistan).
- However, it has clearly not yielded calm on the ground.
- Continuous wave of terrorist violence has lashed Kabul and other cities.
- The Afghan forces control just a little over half the territory today.
- It is down from nearly three-fourths in 2015.
- The U.S. policies guiding Afghanistan are not making much headway.
- This is the same with Kabul’s efforts to protect its own people.
What is the concern with the approach?
- Growing U.S.-Russia tensions are creating space for proxies for both on Afghan soil.
- The attacks by al-Qaeda and IS-related terror groups have their roots in the larger war between Iran and the Arab world.
- Tensions between India and Pakistan cast a shadow over Afghanistan.
- China, to secure itself from Islamist groups, is trying to build a rival military base in Afghanistan.
- Clearly, countries are motivated not only by peace in Afghanistan but by other interests too.
- Efforts have been made for bilateral and multilateral peace talks in recent months.
- But each one has amounted to too piecemeal an effort.
What could possibly be done?
- There is a need to stop the ‘Great Game’ by countries for influence in Afghanistan.
- It is necessary for both US and Afghanistan to take a more hard-headed, realistic view.
- It must be acknowledged that the current situation is a danger to all.
- Defeating terrorism in Afghanistan needs every stakeholder to put aside the differences and build peace.
Source: The Hindu
