A.Rafay
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WASHINGTON: A Pentagon report presented to Congress has blamed Pakistan as one of the greatest obstacles to stability in Afghanistan.
The report highlights three main issues that Afghanistan faces and that hinder its progress. The issues include corruption, limited Afghan capability and safe havens in Pakistan. The report titled Progress towards Security and Stability in Afghanistan, made public on Monday, claims that Pakistan remains a problem, though there is some progress on that front.
The insurgency and al-Qaeda continue to face US counterterrorism pressure within the safe havens, the report says. US relations with Pakistan have begun to improve following the re-opening of Pakistani ground lines of communication, and there has been nascent improvement with respect to cross-border cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The report further states that there has been some cooperation on both sides of the border in coordinating counter-terror offensives.According to the report, the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies can launch a few flashy attacks, the terror groups capabilities have waned. It compares the first year of the surge 2010 with April through September of this year, noting that enemy-initiated attacks have declined by 12 percent. Detonations of improvised explosive devices declined 9 percent. The percentage of civilian casualties caused by Nato forces declined 28 percent. Direct-fire attacks have dropped by 9 percent, and indirect-fire attacks are down by 24 percent. However, civilian casualties caused by enemy attacks are up 11 percent, according to the report.
The report also points out that the Afghanistan-Pakistan border remains a hot zone. Pakistani-based sanctuary for insurgents, such as the Haqqani Taliban Network in North Waziristan, as well as the financial and operational support that insurgents receive from various sources, keeps the security situation along the border with Pakistan in Regional Command East volatile, the report says. While enemy attacks in the region declined slightly, eastern Afghanistan accounted for almost a third of all insurgent attacks throughout the country.
The Taliban-led insurgency remains adaptive and determined, and retains the capability to emplace substantial numbers of IEDs and to conduct isolated high-profile attacks, the report says.
The report claims that the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) has increased. The ANSF has grown by 88,464 personnel, and the areas of the country influenced by the insurgents and the ability of the insurgency to attack the population have been significantly diminished.
The report to Congress highlights the improvement in security of populated areas. Security dramatically improved in most of Afghanistans five most populous districts, with in the first nine months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 dropping 22 percent in Kabul, 62 percent in Kandahar, 13 percent in Herat, 88 percent in Mazar-e-Sharif, and rising 2 percent in Kunduz, the report says.
Insurgent attacks are taking place away from these populated centres, the report says, noting that the majority of Afghanistans 405 districts now experience very low levels of enemy attacks. Eighty percent of attacks occur in districts encompassing only 20 percent of the population, and nearly half of all attacks in Afghanistan occur in just 17 districts that contain only 5 percent of the population, the report states.
Pentagon points fingers at Pakistan - thenews.com.pk
The report highlights three main issues that Afghanistan faces and that hinder its progress. The issues include corruption, limited Afghan capability and safe havens in Pakistan. The report titled Progress towards Security and Stability in Afghanistan, made public on Monday, claims that Pakistan remains a problem, though there is some progress on that front.
The insurgency and al-Qaeda continue to face US counterterrorism pressure within the safe havens, the report says. US relations with Pakistan have begun to improve following the re-opening of Pakistani ground lines of communication, and there has been nascent improvement with respect to cross-border cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The report further states that there has been some cooperation on both sides of the border in coordinating counter-terror offensives.According to the report, the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies can launch a few flashy attacks, the terror groups capabilities have waned. It compares the first year of the surge 2010 with April through September of this year, noting that enemy-initiated attacks have declined by 12 percent. Detonations of improvised explosive devices declined 9 percent. The percentage of civilian casualties caused by Nato forces declined 28 percent. Direct-fire attacks have dropped by 9 percent, and indirect-fire attacks are down by 24 percent. However, civilian casualties caused by enemy attacks are up 11 percent, according to the report.
The report also points out that the Afghanistan-Pakistan border remains a hot zone. Pakistani-based sanctuary for insurgents, such as the Haqqani Taliban Network in North Waziristan, as well as the financial and operational support that insurgents receive from various sources, keeps the security situation along the border with Pakistan in Regional Command East volatile, the report says. While enemy attacks in the region declined slightly, eastern Afghanistan accounted for almost a third of all insurgent attacks throughout the country.
The Taliban-led insurgency remains adaptive and determined, and retains the capability to emplace substantial numbers of IEDs and to conduct isolated high-profile attacks, the report says.
The report claims that the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) has increased. The ANSF has grown by 88,464 personnel, and the areas of the country influenced by the insurgents and the ability of the insurgency to attack the population have been significantly diminished.
The report to Congress highlights the improvement in security of populated areas. Security dramatically improved in most of Afghanistans five most populous districts, with in the first nine months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 dropping 22 percent in Kabul, 62 percent in Kandahar, 13 percent in Herat, 88 percent in Mazar-e-Sharif, and rising 2 percent in Kunduz, the report says.
Insurgent attacks are taking place away from these populated centres, the report says, noting that the majority of Afghanistans 405 districts now experience very low levels of enemy attacks. Eighty percent of attacks occur in districts encompassing only 20 percent of the population, and nearly half of all attacks in Afghanistan occur in just 17 districts that contain only 5 percent of the population, the report states.
Pentagon points fingers at Pakistan - thenews.com.pk
