Quetta Taliban is Never Targeted: Afghan Expert

Afghan military expert Jawid Kohistani said Saturday that insurgents in Quetta have never been directly targeted by Nato or the US when addressing the militant threat, despite clear knowledge that they are based there.

In an interview with TOLOnews, Kohistani said he shared the view of Nato's top commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen, that the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and most of his commanders are planning terrorist attacks against Afghanistan from Quetta.

"The terrorist groups staying in Pakistan's Quetta area have never been targeted, [yet] the Taliban led by Mullah Omar are planning most of their operations from there," Kohistani said.

His comments come after Allen's opinion piece in the US newspaper Washington Post on Friday, where he states that the militant group is being led from Pakistan and using "helpless" people to carry out suicide attacks.

"Omar lives in Pakistan, as do many of his "commanders." From that safe vantage point, they've sent hundreds of young, impressionable, largely spiritual and helpless youths to their deaths and detention in Afghanistan. For this, they must forfeit their honor and any claim to Islamic virtue," Allen wrote.

Allen also emphasised in the article that tougher measures have been implemented to prevent further "green-on-blue" attacks.

"We will not allow our efforts to be derailed by the so-called "green-on-blue" attacks - Afghans shooting coalition troops - that have received so much attention recently. Each instance is a tragedy, and we mourn every loss," Allen said.

"Afghan and international leaders at all levels are devoting unprecedented time and effort to reduce this threat. We have implemented measures to better protect our troops; we have helped build an Afghan force of close to 350,000; and Afghans are leading security operations in three-quarters of the country. This momentum is irreversible."

Since the start of the year, as many as 40 foreign soldiers have been killed in such attacks. The US officials believed that only 10 per cent of such attacks were as a result of enemy infiltration with the other cases a result of disagreements and work pressure.