Tehran, February 28: Iran’s Parliament Speaker, concerned by the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, has criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for shirking its duties in the war-beaten country.
Citing the growing rates of insecurity, the increased presence of the Taliban, and the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), said Saturday that NATO forces are not doing their part nearly as well as they ought to.
Larijani, who was speaking upon returning from a five-day trip to Tokyo, added that Japanese officials are willing to cooperate with Iran on the construction of the Afghan infrastructure, which has been battered and shattered after the US-led invasion in 2001 and the ensuing occupation of the country.
Since the US invasion of Afghanistan nine years ago, situation in the land-locked country has steadily sunk into an all-out crisis, in which the US and its NATO allies are fighting a losing battle to restore security and stability.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in January that Afghanistan “has slipped to an unmanageable situation” and therefore world powers should re-evaluate the strategy with which they are dealing with post-war Afghanistan.
In his most recent report to the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan, Ban painted a gloomy picture of security conditions in the Asian nation.
According to the report, an average of 1,244 incidents per month occurred in the third quarter of 2009, a 65-percent increase over 2008, the majority of which involve armed clashes, stand-off attacks, and improvised explosive devices.
Additionally, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has recorded a 12-percent increase in 784 conflict-related civilian casualties between August and October this year.
Militant elements have been responsible for 78 percent of the total, of whom 54 percent were victims of bomber attacks and improvised explosive device attacks, shows the report published by the UNAMA.
——–Agencies