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Paktika disaster

After a long pause, the Taleban-dominated southern province has seen such a big disaster, and it is quite surprising that none has claimed responsibility for the attack. A suicide bomber who blew himself up reportedly drove the car in a busy market place buzzing with people shopping for their Iftar. This is tragic and its aftermath will be felt for a long time.

The point that it has coincided with another attack in Kabul wherein President Hamid Karzai’s media advisers were targetted points to the revenge trend in the making. Apart from Taleban there are other contenders of power in the region and the most notable of them is the Haqqani network. The fact that many of their leaders and mercenaries have now been driven out of Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan agency, where an army operation is under way, hints at terrorists making their presence felt across the Durand Line. This is a dangerous trend and is fraught with concerns for the future of the war-torn and instable country.

At the twilight of his career, Karzai has to take a holistic look at the security situation and leave behind a legacy that should help Afghans live in peace and harmony. A political patch-up with militias in the south had always been indispensable, and it is high time Karzai initiates the move so that his successor can rebuild on it. Inaction is no solution to the problems faced by the West-Asian country.