After a suicide bomber killed more than 30 people celebrating the Persian New Year near a shrine in Kabul, DW spoke to Afghanistan’s National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar about the country’s strategy to fight extremism.
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DW: The Persian New Year turned deadly after an attack in Kabul. If attacks like these were expected to happen, why didn't your government prevent it from happening?
Hatif Atmar: First of all, I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. It is the most heinous act of terror against civilian people who were celebrating the New Year. It was the most cruel thing to do to people who were celebrating.
Now, there have been many such attacks planned against our people. Most of them have been prevented. Unfortunately, this one, which was carried out by a suicide bomber, fell through the cracks.
Daesh (the Arabic acronym for "Islamic State") has claimed responsibility for the blast. Your government has offered peace to the Taliban. What is the government doing to prevent extremism from growing further?
We have launched two series of strategies. The peace and reconciliation strategy to extend the offer of peace to the Taliban…
Not yet. Officially, they have not yet taken a position – but we are hoping that there will be sound judgement that there will be a decision by their leadership in favor of their country.
At the same time, we have also launched a new phase of a our counter-terrorism strategy, which is mutually reinforcing the peace and reconciliation strategy. This has the exact aim that those who intend to harm our people must be stopped and must be defeated.
Now Germany will most likely deploy more soldiers in Afghanistan. How will this change the situation inside the country?
We have a common threat which is not just against Afghanistan; it is against Afghanistan, the region, Germany, Europe, the United States and by extension the global community. That should be the starting point, that the threats we face in Afghanistan and around Afghanistan are common threats. Defeating those common threats require a common strategy, a common mission.
For this mission, NATO, the United States and Afghanistan are [working] together. Afghanistan has assumed entirely the combat role and Germany, NATO and the rest of our partners have assumed a support role to provide training, advice and support for the Afghan forces as part of their mission.
So the role of Germany with its soldiers is one of the most effective roles in strengthening the Afghan forces to protect, not only Afghanistan, but the region, and by extension the world community against terrorism.
This interview was conducted by Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi.
Endless battle for power in Afghanistan
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
Image: picture alliance/Photoshot
Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
Image: Reuters/M. Ismail
A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Hossaini
Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
Image: Reuters
Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Smialowski
Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Shirzad
Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
Image: DW/H. Hamraz
Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
Image: Reuters/O.Sobhani
An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.