Karzai leading opposition to longer stay of US forces

PESHAWAR: Former President Hamid Karzai is leading the opposition to the US decision to prolong the presence of its forces in Afghanistan and thus bringing the Afghan unity government under pressure.
In his statements, Karzai has been arguing that the US military presence for the last 14 years led to increase in acts of terrorism instead of making Afghanistan stable.
He remarked that the longer stay of US forces would mean further war and suffering for the Afghan people.
Karzai also criticized the bilateral security agreement between Afghanistan and the US as it failed to serve the interests of the Afghan nation. Karzai had opposed the security agreement, but his successor Ashraf Ghani signed it a day after taking oath as President on September 28 last year. Meanwhile, a member of parliament from Ghazni province created a stir in the Wolesi Jirga recently when he claimed that the new Taliban head Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor had paid a visit to Nawa district in Ghazni to personally lead the planned Taliban assault on Ghazni city.
The lawmaker, Mohammad Arif Rahmani, quoted intelligence agencies as saying that Mansoor had visited Nawa located close to Ghazni city as Taliban had made plans to capture the provincial capital. He argued that the recent move by Taliban fighters to block the Kabul-Ghazni-Kandahar highway was part of their plan to attack Ghazni city.
The Afghan government didn’t officially comment on his claim. Taliban too maintained silence on the issue. However, the claim appears highly unlikely.
It is the first time that Mansoor’s presence in Afghanistan has been reported. The Afghan government and certain independent sources have been claiming that Mansoor has been living in Pakistan in Balochistan province. Earlier, the Afghan defence ministry had said that one of the Taliban objectives to capture Kunduz city was to bring Mansoor there and make it the headquarters of Taliban movement.
In an effort to stop vulnerable district headquarters from falling into the hands of the Taliban, the Afghan government has been shifting the headquarters of a number of districts to more secure places.
This was also done in the remote Farah province in western Afghanistan on the border with Iran. The government shifted the headquarters of Bala Balook and Khak-i-Sufa districts to a secure area as these were vulnerable.
When the Taliban overran the district headquarters of Bala Balook and Khak-i-Sufa in a span of two weeks recently, the government argued that the district headquarters had not fallen as these were shifted elsewhere sometime ago. Taliban are claiming to have captured more than two dozen district headquarters in recent months. Taliban dramatically increased their attacks after capturing Kunduz city on September 28. The government is claiming to have recaptured most of the fallen district towns.
The latest district headquarters to fall to Taliban was Ghormach in Faryab province. Taliban captured Ghormach on October 18, killing 10 cops and soldiers and causing injuries to another 18. Three Taliban fighters were reportedly killed and 11 wounded in the fighting. Later, reports emerged that Taliban had captured 50 policemen including the district police chief Majeed Gulambaf, who was reportedly executed.
On Oct 20, there were reports that Taliban fighters had captured the Babaji locality and advanced on the fourth security zone in Lashkargah, the capital of southwestern Helmand province. Fierce fighting was reported in Lashkargah, Girishk, Nadali and Nawzad districts over the past several days as Taliban made advances on some of the fronts.
However, the government forces in a counter-offensive seem to have recaptured most of these places.
Afghans leaving the country in the hope of reaching Europe are meeting one tragedy after another as they illegally cross borders and are robbed of their savings by human smugglers.
One large group of Afghans who according to Iranian officials illegally entered Iran met a tragedy when their bus collided with a truck in a road accident between Tehran and the holy city of Qom on Oct 19. Afghanistan’s ministry of refugees’ repatriation said 20 Afghan passengers of the bus were killed and 10 others were injured in the accident. The Afghan government quickly announced plans to send a delegation to Iran to monitor the condition of the injured Afghans and take possession of the bodies of the dead.
Iran is often the first port of call for Afghans seeking to reach Europe. From Iran, the Afghans try to enter Iraq and Turkey on their way to Greece or Bulgaria in a bid to reach Germany or UK, the two most favoured destinations for not only Afghans, but also Syrians and other refugees.
Reports from different parts of Afghanistan said relatively affluent and educated Afghans have left in large numbers for Europe and many more are preparing to do so. There are reports that 70,000 to 80,000 Afghans have already left for Europe.