Peace in Afghanistan seems to be a far off dream, so too even the slightest veneer of it. On Friday, a suicide bombing at a French restaurant in the Afghan capital of Kabul sent residents reeling. One child was killed and a dozen or so people injured. No doubt, the restaurant was a soft target; it was one of those last remaining places that was frequented by foreigners and was thought of as relatively safer than most other places in the city, and in the country. That image was not to be. The attack comes almost two years after a similar attack at a Lebanese restaurant in Kabul, a much deadlier strike that killed as many as 21 people and injured many more. Many foreign organisations’ staff members were called home after that attack and it will not be a surprise if the few that remain, working on different projects — related to aid and development — will be forced to shut up shop and go home.
The Taliban, that formidable foe, has dug its claws into the country and intends to cast its long shadow over it for the long haul. There seems to be no period of relative calm and peace; everything is either a spring offensive, winter war or the like. Giving Taliban attacks such names only implies that there are interim periods of peace but that would not be true. Earlier in the week a Taliban attack near Kabul airport killed one and wounded others while some 10 days ago, six US soldiers were killed near Bagram airbase. Just last month suicide attackers brazenly struck a Spanish embassy guesthouse. All are fodder for the Taliban militants who strike at foreign forces, political officials and civilians alike. The terror game encompasses all manner and type of victim and the Taliban are adept players.
In such circumstances where do we see peace talks with these monsters? Apparently, we are still trying to ‘give peace a chance’ by bringing Taliban officials to the reconciliation table where we can help Kabul chalk out a power-sharing agreement with them. It has long been the practice of militants to bide their time using peace talks as smokescreens, giving them time to regroup and strengthen their strategies. If the Taliban were serious about peace, the group would have stopped initiating a string of attacks at least while efforts were being made to bring peace talks to fruition. This latest suicide attack shows that the Taliban leopard has not changed its spots; we should stop expecting them to. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/04-Jan-2016/kabul-attack
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