Interview with Ms Shinkai Karokhail on the present situation in

Afghanistan

Peace for Asia spoke to Ms Shinkai Karokhail, Member of Afghan National Assembly
and Chairperson, Women Parliamentary Caucus. The sudden exit of American and
allied forces from Bagram base, accompanied by growing clashed between the Afghan
forces and the Taliban have been distressing both from security and Human Rights
perspective. Through this conversational interview, Ms Karokhail gave us a clearer
picture of the present situation in Afghanistan.
The international community is beginning to ignore Afghanistan. The US-led forces
came to Afghanistan for Counter Terrorism purposes in the aftermath of the 9/11
attacks. Besides security considerations, Afghanistan desperately needed international
support for nation-building and reconstruction and indeed we had to begin from
scratch. The US and they did pour funds into the country but not to the extent we
required. Whatever major allocations Afghanistan got were marred by opaque
procedures, thus evading accountability.
Besides the shortcomings in the developmental sector, the defence sector is yet to
acquire independent capabilities. Afghan forces, the nation’s frontline defenders, have
remained both undertrained and underequipped. Afghan forces were more or less
trained in conventional combat; but they were not trained to deal with sub-conventional
tactics deployed by the Taliban. To enlist a combat soldier, the American module
consists of only few weeks’ worth training. While we admit that our special forces and
the commandos are among the finest soldiers, but the Afghan forces at large remain
undertrained. In addition, the general policy of posting soldiers to distant areas has
affected the morale as they remain away from their families for a long time.
On top of it, the irresponsible exit of the NATO forces has been demoralizing for both
people and institutions. The sudden exit of the forces from the Bagram base without any
formal handover has left Afghans in shock.
To know more: https://peaceforasia.org/interview-with-ms-shinkai-
karokhail-on-the-present-situation-in-afghanistan/