News Analysis |
Melancholy surrounds upcoming parliamentary elections, which are already late by 3 years, in Afghanistan as a new wave of violence erupts all over the country. Kabul, which has been repeatedly targeted by Taliban and ISIS insurgents, once again came under attack as a suicide bomber detonated himself at a voter registration center situated at the western side of the capital. The place was jam-packed with people at the time of blast resulting in the death of 57 people which include 25 men, 22 women, and 8 children.
Two bodies are not identifiable whereas 119 people are injured said Afghan Health ministry’s spokesperson Wahidullah Majrooh. Taliban denied involvement in the attack, leading the suspicions to ISIS which later took the responsibility via its online news agency, Amaq. The constant threat of violence along with the purported massive rigging in the election has led people to remain apathetic about the coming elections.
The ideology which ISIS has been pursuing in Middle East and now exporting to South East Asia, ruthless beheadings, mutilation of bodies and declaring everyone as “infidel” who dares to question their brand of Islam, leaves no room for negotiations.
A rocket attack was witnessed on Friday on a voter registration office in the northeastern province of Baghis which was believed to have been carried out by Taliban. One police officer lost his life and another was severely injured. Out of total 7,355 polling stations in Afghanistan, 1000 are declared by security officials to be completely out of control of Afghan administration whereas nearly 2000 are considered to be lying between the domains of medium to the high-security threat.
Read more: Yet another attack in heavily militarized Kabul kills 26 people
The attack on Kabul is specifically orchestrated in order to put a feeling of dejection in the minds of the general public about the government. And the objective is apparently achieved as soon after the attack slogans like “Death to the government” and “Death to the Taliban” were chanted by the angry mob. Though the security of the capital has been the top priority of both Afghan and NATO troops but still due to the porous terrain of the city, insurgents keep hitting their targets with exceptional precision.
General John Nicholson has already stated on record while talking to Tolo News that security establishment in Afghanistan, both domestic and international, are expecting more frequent suicide attacks in the wake of upcoming parliamentary elections. Afghan presidential elections are scheduled to be held in the year 2019. Current legislative elections are seen as a litmus test in terms of turnout and security for the election of next Afghan head of the state.
Two bodies are not identifiable whereas 119 people are injured said Afghan Health ministry’s spokesperson Wahidullah Majrooh. Taliban denied involvement in the attack, leading the suspicions to ISIS which later took the responsibility via its online news agency, Amaq.
Parliamentary elections in Afghanistan were delayed by 3 years as leaders of the coalition government, chief executive of Afghan government Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani, agreed to build a framework which will prevent the rigging in the elections, which marred the credibility of previous ones. A part of the agreement included the nullification of millions of outdated voter IDs which could have been used in the rigging of coming election.
Read more: Taliban claims deadly car bomb attack in Kabul
Now the registration scheme needs an eligible voter to visit nearest registration center along with original Identity card and register oneself. Despite the voter pool of 14 million, only 190,000 have registered themselves so far raising concerns of a yet another election with low turnout.
Though the security of the capital has been the top priority of both Afghan and NATO troops but still due to the porous terrain of the city, insurgents keep hitting their targets with exceptional precision.
President Ashraf Ghani offered Taliban a place at the negotiations table earlier this year which was rejected, as anticipated. However, the emerging threat of ISIS seems to be getting out of hand. ISIS has been subjected to heavy airstrikes and Special Forces operations but given the intensity of today’s attack, the group still seems to have the power to establish itself as a significant stakeholder in the security paradigm of the country. The ideology which ISIS has been pursuing in Middle East and now exporting to South East Asia, ruthless beheadings, mutilation of bodies and declaring everyone as “infidel” who dares to question their brand of Islam, leaves no room for negotiations.
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It is precisely the reason why no one is suggesting to offer them a stake in the dialogue as “peace making” has never been part of their dogma. As far as ISIS is concerned, there exists a consensus among global powers that organization must be annihilated, particularly in Afghanistan, without further ado for sustaining peace in the adjoining states of Pakistan, China, Iran and Central Asian states which eventually link to Russia.