KABUL – Afghanistan has seen a sharp increase in violence after U.S.President Donald Trump’s statement on New Year’s day criticising Pakistan,the former Afghanistan President, Hamid Karzai, has said.
He called for pressure on “Pakistan’s military and intelligence” after thelatest bombing in Kabul on Saturday in which more than 100 people werekilled.
“We have only seen a statement from President Trump, which is anaffirmation of our stand for the past 15 years [on involvement of Pakistanbased groups]. Now, they have to take action, which means stopping thePakistani military and intelligence from doing what they are doing,” Mr.Karzai told *The Hindu *here, drawing a link between three attacks in aweek.
Next move
Taliban terrorists laid siege to the Kabul Hotel Intercontinental onJanuary 21. An international children’s NGO in Jalalabad was attacked bysuspected an IS-affiliated group on January 23. The spate of attacks hasled to a greater focus on the next move of the U.S.
After a tweet by President Trump on January 1 accusing Pakistan of “liesand deceit” and giving a “safe haven” to terrorists and deciding to freezemilitary aid to the country, the U.S. government promised further action ifit did not act against Taliban-affiliated groups. The U.S. carried out adrone strike along the Afghan-Pakistan border on January 24, killing threemilitants of the Haqqani group.
However, Mr. Karzai said drone strikes would not serve as an answer, asthey would be “counter-productive”.
“If the U.S. is genuine about addressing the issue, they should address itin the Pakistan military and intelligence, bring pressure on them, andtogether with the rest of the region, raise a voice against the Pakistaniestablishment … the way forward is not to hurt the civilians of Pakistan,but to nip this in the bud, which is the Pakistani establishment,” Mr.Karzai said.