The U.S. C-130 military transport plane that crashed in eastern Afghanistan and killed six American soldiers and five others was shot down, said the Taliban in a claim carried by Agence France-Presse.”Our mujahideen have shot down a four-engine US aircraft in Jalalabad,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter. “Based on credible information 15 invading forces and a number of puppet troops were killed.”
NATO has not yet confirmed the cause of Friday’s crash, said AFP, and the Taliban regularly claim to have shot down military aircraft. U.S. Major Tony Wickman told AFP: “With a high degree of confidence I can say that an enemy attack did not contribute to the crash. It is under investigation.” In a related development, Taliban took control of Warduj district in Badakhshan province. These, coupled with short-lived over running of Kunduz by Taliban, are clear indicators that the problem in Afghanistan is not over as Taliban have the capacity and will to fight successfully in any area of the country. Despite fieriest carpet bombingcarried out by the invading forces led by the United States, Taliban are there as a hard reality. Thirty-six countries, equipped in every manner, tried every tactics to crush Taliban through use of brute military force but they have not been able to break the will of valiant Afghans, who want an end to foreign occupation of their country. This raises questions about motives and outcome of the long-drawn conflict in Afghanistan in which thousands of innocent Afghans lost their lives and the country’sinfrastructure was ruined to an unimaginable state. The United States is trying to convey an impression to the outside world that it almost achieved its goals in Afghanistan yet ground realities speak otherwise. This is only because the world was wrongly fed about the real problem and how to address it. If 36 coalition states could not brow-beat Afghans then a few thousand remnant (troops) are not expected to quell the problem. Therefore, the key to Afghan problem is a negotiated settlement in which Pushtoon too are given their due share in power. Until and unless there is permanent end to foreign occupation of the country and Afghans are allowed to manage their own affairs, there can’t be durable peace in that country and the region and the rest of the world would continue to suffer due to instability there.
pk.shafaqna.com
