The Afghan president on Monday blamed the American troops’ speedy pullout for the worsening violence in his country and said his administration would now specialize in protecting provincial capitals and major urban areas within the face of the rapidly advancing Taliban.
Ashraf Ghani also urged lawmakers to back a national mobilization drive against the Taliban amid an intensifying war between the Taliban and Afghan government forces over the past few months as US and Nato troops complete their pullout from the war-torn country.
An imported, hasty social process — regard to Washington’s push for negotiations between Kabul and therefore the Taliban — not only did not bring peace but created doubt and ambiguity among Afghans, Ghani said in his address to parliament.
The Afghan president arrived by helicopter for the extraordinary session of the house, called due to the dire situation on the bottom. Ghani touched down at the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul and inspected an honor guard before heading inside.
“The Taliban don’t believe in lasting or simply peace,” Ghani said. He predicted a transformation on the battlefield within the next six months that might push the Taliban back, without elaborating.
He claimed that Afghan forces are up to the task and have the capacity to defeat the insurgents. But in past weeks, Afghan forces have struggled against the Taliban onslaught, and have often been left without reinforcements and resupplies.
On Sunday, the Afghan soldier’s spokesman, Gen Ajmal Omar Shinwari, said three provinces in southern and western Afghanistan face critical security situations. Southern Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban also as Helmand and Herat provinces has witnessed several attacks.
Helmand provincial council chief Attaullah Afghan said the Taliban also are advancing within the capital of Lashkar Gah, and now have control of the city’s seventh district. On Monday, elite Afghan commando units were dispatched to Lashkar Gah to assist defend the town.
Back in Kabul, Ghani claimed his government has the financial and political support of the US and therefore the international community to show the tide whilst he urged the insurgents to rejoin peace talks.
“We either sit knee to knee at the important negotiating table or break their (Taliban) knees on the battleground,” Ghani said.
