The fallouts of ceding rural areas to Taliban

A deleterious facet of the new US strategy for Afghanistan has begun to unfold about a year after it was unveiled by the Trump administration. The New York Times has learned that the United States has urged Afghan government to withdraw its troops from far-flung areas of the country. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense has acknowledged that they are mobilizing Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) from their unnecessary outposts in rural areas to major population centers and cities. The new US plan for retreat of Afghan forces from rural areas comes as statistics suggest that the majority of Afghan population lives in rural areas.
The move is worrisome and illogical from several aspects. It is first and foremost against the Constitution of Afghanistan. According to the country’s applicable laws, ensuing government rule and balanced development throughout the country is the main function of the central government. If remote areas are ceded to the Taliban, it is discrimination against the residents of those areas, where it then becomes impossible to implement development programs. Likewise, it is also not possible to have an area under Taliban control with all the revenue resources, but expect the government to do the development activities there. The handover of areas to the Taliban violates the principle of balanced development and having one government at a time in the country. Also from a military perspective, it is a wrong decision, because it is impossible to fight a group like the Taliban in cities, which is mostly fighting a guerrilla war. The war against them should be fought in their safe havens and camps than in cities. The pull-out of Afghan forces from rural areas will allow the Taliban to get stronger, which also makes it difficult to protect major cities and population centers from their attacks.
The move is fraught with high peril now, as peace efforts are underway. If parties to the conflict are to enter peace talks from a position of strength, the decision will give the Taliban an opportunity to further consolidate their position– a leverage the militant group will use to impose many of its demands, some of which may be in conflict with the will of Afghan people as well as the achievements of the last two decades, on the opposite side.
Ceding regions to the Taliban is not a solution. Even if Americans plan to pull out of Afghanistan, they should do it responsibly, not in a way that leaves Afghan cities under Taliban siege. Afghanistan has made heavy sacrifices in the US-led war on terror, and their reward should not be the handover of regions to the Taliban.