The security situation in Kabul has again become unfortunately alarmingly worrisome. Both the terrorist and criminal incidents have become a matter of routine in various parts of the city. Afghan police checkpoints have twice come under attack in the city over the past two days, and the assailants have made good their escape. The first incident took place in Pul-e-Charkhi neighborhood when a security check post came under militant attack that reportedly last two hours, but no reinforcements were deployed the area. As a result, four policemen were killed, and their check post was burned. Meanwhile as dusk fell on Sunday, armed militants raided a security post in the Doghabad area of 7th police district of Kabul city, killing seven policemen while breaking their fast. The Ministry of Interior, however, confirmed that there were only three fatalities in the attack claimed by the Taliban.
The responsibility of the recent bloody wave of insecurity and violence in Kabul rests on the shoulder of the leadership of the Ministry of Interior, particularly the senior deputy interior minister for security. Though it was said that the deputy minister, Khushal Sadat, is a professional general who served and risen through the ranks in the special police units, his appointment not only has not contributed to security improvement, but the situation has also aggravated with each passing day. Like his predecessors, Gen. Sadat, instead of allocating his time and energy to the security of Kabul, is spending most of his time meeting with people who cannot help security.
The latest spate of attacks on police check posts in Kabul city, mainly a result of leadership incompetence besides other factors, is of serious concern. When the police cannot protect themselves from militant attacks in their check posts, how Kabul residents should expect such a police force to protect their lives and property. While insecurity in every corner of the country remains a serious concern, the worsening security in the capital leads to more fragility of the state and erodes public’s trust in the government. If the government seeks pretexts for its failure to secure provinces and rural areas, its failure to provide security in Kabul is on no account justifiable. The government especially the heads of the security apparatus must give top priority to Kabul security, thereby averting further discredit on the regime among the citizens.
