Dear editor,

At a time when things are going from bad to worse in Afghanistan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is preparing its exit strategy from the country. In other shocking news, a leading U.S. newspaper revealed that a man claiming to be a leading Taliban negotiator in secret talks with Afghan officials was actually a fake and received a lot of money from the Karzai government.

Last month former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev warned that victory in Afghanistan is an uphill task and not possible. He warned that due to geographical difficulties and very different Afghan cultural values, victory is not possible in Afghanistan.

Gorbachev’s prediction came when the number of killed NATO forces increased to 600 this year which exceeded the total number of NATO casualties last year. Now attacks at NATO bases, government facilities, incidents of roadside bombing and suicide bombing have become a daily routine in the country.

The allies are still paying millions of dollars to secure a NATO supply route from possible attacks. After huge military spending and high war casualties the allies are facilitating negotiations between different militants groups and the U.S.-backed Karzai government in Afghanistan. Pakistan recently released key Taliban personality Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar for negotiations with the government.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was arrested in Karachi several months ago. Unfortunately after nine years of war, the U.S. and its allies are still not able to win the hearts and minds of the ordinary Afghan people. Killings of innocent people in U.S. air strikes and drone strikes are creating more militants in the region. According to U.N. estimates, incidents of ordinary people being killed jumped 43 percent this year.

After nine years of war, Afghanistan is still considered the world’s poorest country. Selfish war lords are still controlling most of the country and ordinary people are paying a high price. The U.S. and its allies have made big promises regarding the reconstruction of Afghanistan but provide nothing. Economic conditions are going from bad to worse.

People don’t have jobs, education or proper medical facilities, due to the continuous war. The infrastructure of the country has already been destroyed and no reconstruction has taken place so far. This is the main reason that after nine years of war the situation is going to deteriorate in Afghanistan and victory is still very far from imaginable.

Khawaja Umer Farooq