Win tribal areas to defeat Taliban

The initiative by Afghan forces to take over the security details of Kabul is a step in the right direction. It suggests that the military and police force are growing in confidence and numbers.

This year may have witnessed a rise in the Taliban's insurgent activities but, conversely, the security of Kabul has also been strengthened.

However, the core area of Afghanistan's problem still lies in its rural and tribal areas, particularly those bordering Pakistan. It is here that the seeds of violence and mayhem are being sown and often with disastrous results and loss of innocent lives.

While the US and Nato forces insist that they are engaging the Taliban effectively, there is still a very high toll being exacted on civilian life.

Added to this is the fact that current tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are at fever pitch, following allegations that the latter is harbouring militants apparently in home-grown terror centres.

President Hamid Karzai must, therefore, apply the same formula as the one in Kabul. The Afghan security forces should try to reinstate the confidence of the people in the tribal areas. It is the only way to weed out the root cause of the problem.