Afghan defense Ministry claimed its soldiers would be strong enough in four years time to secure its geographical boundaries and sovereignty. This means that the Afghan security forces will be able to maintain law and order alone in the coming four years.

The officials of this Ministry, however, cautioned that this would only be possible if the international community fulfilled its promises and responsibilities by providing the necessary equipments for the slowly growing Afghan National Army.

Currently over 200,000 Afghan soldiers and about 100,000 foreign soldiers are busy tackling the Taliban militants and Al-Qaeda outfits across the country and maintaining security in big cities. Most of these foreign forces are concentrated in the south of the country where they are in direct battle with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in their strongholds.

Afghan government has always demanded of the international community to focus on training of Afghan security forces and investing in the slowly growing National Army rather than increasing soldiers from foreign lands. According to Afghan officials increasing and training the Afghan security forces mean securing the country in the long term and it also needs less money.

International Community has committed to train and equip 200,000 Afghan National Army Personnel and 400,000 other security personnel. If these commitments are fulfilled, the Afghan Defense Ministry believes it would be possible for the Afghan security men to ensure prevalence of security all over the country.

This is the first time Afghan Defense Ministry has issued a timetable for the attainment of such a target. This also could mean pressurizing the international forces to decide within this time frame to find a graceful exit. In addition, due to the rise in the deaths of International soldiers in Afghanistan, the contributing countries have come under huge pressure from their public to consider withdrawal from this abandoned land. Japan, for example, is ending its logistic assistance to US forces. It has rather announced a five billion dollar aid package for Afghanistan in the coming five years.

This also comes in a time when it’s feared that Taliban are a constant serious threat to the national security of the country and that they control large areas in the south.