Q&A: “Taliban Back Due to Karzai’s Poor Strategic Vision”

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Interview with Abdullah Abdullah

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, Apr 20 2007 (IPS) - Former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah warns that the government of President Hamid Karzai suffers from “shortcomings in strategic vision” that are contributing to a deteriorating security situation in an ethnically diverse country.

Former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah warns that the government of President Hamid Karzai suffers from “shortcomings in strategic vision” that are contributing to a deteriorating security situation in an ethnically diverse country.

In an interview with IPS writer Peyman Pejman, on the sidelines of the annual Eurasia Media Forum underway here, Abdullah who was minister from 1998 to 2004 said lack of attention on the part of the Karzai government to several economically deprived provinces has made it possible for the Taliban to return.

IPS: How far has Afghanistan progressed over these past five years?

AA: The country could have been – should have been – in a much better state after five years. We have come a long way but security and the issues of governance and economic development are still serious issues.

IPS: What exactly went wrong?

IPS: What do you mean by a lack of strategic vision?

AA: I mean governance issues related to lack of clear vision about where the country should go and how to get the people involved. The government has not implemented any strategic vision. There are a lot of questions about government operations and people are not satisfied with the performance and the programmes.

IPS: What is the missing factor?

AA: Coordination is lacking. Even between the foreign allies and their Afghan partners coordination has been inadequate. I think everyone involved, Afghans and the international community, should review the situation and level of progress. Based on the lessons of the past five years new strategies should be defined to get the people involved in every sense.

IPS: The Karzai government must have done some things right?

AA: I would credit the government with one thing – getting the people and former warlords to enter the political process instead of settling scores on the battlefield. But, even here, popular participation in the process has been low.

IPS: What is the big challenge for Afghanistan at this point?

AA: One of the biggest challenges that the Karzai government has failed to deal with adequately is security. In recent months, security in several parts of Afghanistan has deteriorated and the Taliban and al-Qaeda have stepped up their attacks on the NATO-led forces. It is still a main problem that the core security in the country (lies in the) presence of foreign forces, with the exception of some Afghan police and troops that have been trained.

IPS: How serious is the threat posed by Taliban resurgence?

AA: In some parts of the country, the Taliban have complete control of the districts. Although the number of these districts is still small, the mere return of the old foes should ring a much louder alarm bell.

IPS: Would you, like Karzai, lay blame for the Taliban’s resurgence at Pakistan’s door?

AA: Many of the leaders are in Pakistan. There have been sustained reports that Karzai’s government has been in back-channel contacts with the Taliban to bring them into the government and the political process. But these efforts as a whole will fail because of Taliban’s stance on many issues. The Taliban as a military and political organisation has an agenda which, in many parts, is contrary to the principles of the democratic system and runs counter to the articles of the Afghan constitution.