The illegal occupation of Afghanistan is in its seventh year, and resistance to the occupation has not abated. The US and UK puppet regime of Hamid Karzai exerts control over no more than 30 per cent of the country. Senior US commanders in Afghanistan have requested at least 10,000 more troops and the UK has about 8000 in Helmand Province alone to deal with increasing violence and attacks. It’s almost seven years after the fall of Taliban and thousands of innocent lives lost but the Mayor of Kabul (Karzai) is hardly able to go out of the Kabul city. Afghanistan continues to struggle as a state due to the many contending ethnic, religious and regional rivalries. Regional commanders, the illegal drug trade and the continuing Taliban insurgency hamper the rule of law, development and aid efforts. Taliban are ever stronger than before, not only in their stronghold but in other parts of Afghanistan too. Hekmatyar the former good friend of the American and British is a strong force in the east of Afghanistan and Karzai is secretly trying to negotiate with him. Afghan and British relation is at its lowest. Mr. Karzai blamed the British for all the problems in Helmand Province, which is true.  
 

The British were secretly dealing with low level Taliban and provided them with weapons and gave them 200,000 pounds in the recent past and in return the Taliban will not have to attack the British, but sadly the British plan was exposed and the Mayor of Kabul (Hamid Karzai) expelled two high ranking officers from Afghanistan. 
 

Afghanistan will never be secured and stable until the British and American change their policies. Look at their stupid and crazy policies in Afghanistan for example one of the Warlords, Abdul Rashid Doustom become Chief of Staff to Karzai and the other one, Hekmatyar is labeled as a terrorist whilst the latter one commands more support in Afghanistan. The British and American have to give up their pick and choose policies.  
 

Warlords and drug lords who are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity are part of the Afghan government and are given prominent posts. Corruption and drug trafficking is at it highest and it includes ministers, security commanders and the brother of Hamid Karzai who is heavily involved. Corruption among police and local authorities is worst where the British forces are based and where the drug profits are highest. Despite his repeated public denials, Karzai’s half-brother Wali, head of Kandahar’s provincial council, continues to be accused by senior government sources, as well as foreign analysts and officials, as having a key role in orchestrating the movement of heroin from Kandahar eastward through Helmand and out across the Iranian border.

The lawmen say they categories Afghanistan’s 34 provinces as A, B or C states. ‘A’ denotes those with the highest potential profits for drug-running; ‘C’ states are the least remunerative. The bribes to buy a position in an A-grade province can be vast, up to $300,000. The rewards are even bigger. One of the police commanders in the eastern part of Afghanistan was estimated by counter-narcotic officials to take home $400,000 a month from heroin smuggling. Even the lowlier posts in provinces free of poppy traffic have a price. “To buy a position as a detective in any province you pay $10, 000, you have to pay your superior a cut of the money you make through bribes or trafficking. I do not know if the British public knows this that; the district appointments in Helmand Province where British soldiers are dying are there just to protect drug routes. Mayor (Karzai) is regarded by most of the Afghans and outside world a weak, isolated and a disabled figure. The American spent more than 110 billion dollars in Afghanistan and the British are spending around two billions pounds a year in Helmand Province alone. The British claimed to have achieved success but trust me they have done very little or nothing at all. The British so far have not built a single factory or re-constructed a road or a hospital. All they are doing is to kill and lose young British soldiers who are there for no reason and the soldiers are deceived by the MOD. The British and NATO have killed more innocent Afghans in the South of Afghanistan than the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The Paris donor’s conference is taking place at a time when the Afghan government is increasingly unpopular because of abuses, corruption and lack of security. Afghanistan is no better off. In reading the 2007 Afghanistan Human Development Report we can see some catastrophic development indicators: access to water is at 31 per cent of households; life expectancy is 43.1 years; adult literacy is 23.5 per cent; 50 per cent of Afghan children under five are malnourished; while 6.6 million Afghans do not meet their minimum daily food requirements. Poverty is the real problem in Afghanistan where one particular woman sold her two children for 250 dollars only and on the other hand government ministers, warlords and drug lords are filling their foreign accounts with billions from aid money which supposed to help the ordinary Afghans but sadly it is not reaching ordinary Afghans and Mr. Karzai is part of the gang who are robbing the poor citizens of the country.

Infant (IMR) and maternal mortality rates (MMR) have worsened since 2001. IMR is 135 per 1,000 live births; MMR is estimated at 1,600 per 100,000 live births, while in the remote rural area of Badakshtan MMR is 6,500 per 100,000 live births. 100,000 children are disabled and otherwise severely affected physically due to prolonged conflict in the country.

To bring real peace, stability and security to Afghanistan the British should allow Mr. Karzai to negotiate with the Taliban and with Mr. Hekmatyar. Both of them are a force to be recognized and it will be very difficult to have security in the country unless big changes in Afghan policies can happen. I do not understand why the British are in Afghanistan. According to Mr. Karzai the British are part of the problem and not the solution. Mr. Karzai repeatedly said that the South of Afghanistan is destabilized because of the secret dealing between the British and the Taliban. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are freely allowed to move around thanks to the British he said.

The most expensive Mayor of the world (Karzai) is too weak and, it is about time to remove him and leave Afghanistan to Afghans to decide their future. The British and American must and should leave Afghanistan and leave the Afghans alone to decide for them selves and choose their own future. America and Britain are part of the problems and 90 percent of the Afghans want them to leave immediately. More than 80 percent of the population wants the brutal Taliban back in power because of the failure of the west and its alliance. They believe that during the Taliban, corruption was not existed, Drug trafficking was almost Zero and they brought some sort of security to the country. Afghans are fed up with current corrupt regime, war criminals and the drug lords. Like the Afghans who do not tell you how to run your country, and how to live and lead your life, you should also not interfere in the life of Afghans and leave their country to them to run their own affairs. Terrorism was never existed in Afghanistan until you guys brought Bin Laden and his friends to Afghanistan and gave them billions in cash and latest weapons including Stinger Missiles, because they were fighting your war and you called them the Holly Warriors but now you call them terrorist and we all know why. Whatever money in aid goes to Afghanistan it will end up in the pockets of Karzai and his co and the poor will remain poor and Afghanistan will be more insecure, unstable and you guys will kill more innocent Afghans and of course more young British soldiers will lose their lives. So please the British Tax payers force the disabled man (Mr. Gordon Brown) to leave Afghanistan and stop killing my brothers and sisters.

Mohammad N Asif

Exile Journalist and President of Scottish Afghan Society (447779573331)