Afghan Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi on Tuesday said that the lack of knowledge of Afghan culture among the Nato-led foreign soldiers is a key cause of “insider attacks” in Afghanistan.
Speaking to the Afghan Parliament, the newly-appointed minister said that the burning of the Quran and abuse of Islamic values clearly caused insecurity to escalate.
“Today in the morning, I talked with US Joint Chief of Staff… I told him to respect our culture – the things you are doing not only incites the enemy but also incites me and my soldiers and the president,” Mohammadi told the lawmakers.
“The enemy has only 20 percent infiltration inside our forces – the remaining 80 percent is the cause of disrespect to our culture and religion,” he added.
As many as 51 foreign soldiers have died this year in insider attacks, so called because a Nato troop is killed or wounded by a member of the Afghan security forces deliberately turning a weapon against them.
The Defence Minister was summoned to Parliament, along with the Interior Minister and the chief of the National Directorate of Security, to answer questions on the increase of insecurity in the country.
Mohammadi also told the MPs that insurgents are trying to cause unrest in the north of the country by hiding into the eastern regions of Afghanistan. He added that while the situation in Kunar and Nuristan is not so bad, the routes headed east are insecure because of the infiltration of Jahish Mohammad, Lashkare Taiba and Nefaz Sharyat terrorist networks.
Meanwhile, the new Interior Minister Mujtaba Patang stressed to the MPs that insurgents are being sent to Afghanistan from other countries.
“As far as the international terrorism is concerned, the insurgents are sent to Afghanistan from one of the neighboring countries and they are being fed by the narcotics money. They are a threat to the region,” Patang said.
Head of Afghanistan’s spy agency the NDS Asadullah Khalid believes that terrorist safe havens should be targeted and their plans should be neutralised within.
“I believe that the conspiracies should be neutralised from within, as you know where their bases are,” Khalid said.
He welcomed the local uprisings against the Taliban and insurgents in several district of the country, saying that they are not influenced by Hezb-e-Islami or any other groups.
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Tags: Attacks, foreign, Ignorance, Inside, Insider, MOD, r Attacks, Triggers
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