KABUL (PAN): A day after two brazen Taliban attacks in Kabul and Zabul provinces, the Senate chairman on Tuesday asked the government to mount military pressure on the rebels alongside efforts to convince them into peace talks.
Addressing the upper house, Fazl Hadi Muslimyar condemned Monday’s attacks on the Kabul International Airport and the provincial council office in Qalat.
The brazen assault on the Kabul airport ended with the killing of all seven attackers who entered an under-construction building near the airport. Security forces fired at their vehicle, causing it to explode.
The same day, six suicide bombers were killed after they stormed the provincial council office in southern Zabul province, leaving 20 people, including two public representatives injured.
Muslimyar believed the insurgents would not come to the negotiating table until they were weakened. “Peace is our need, but it cannot be achieved through begging. The government should prove that we are not begging for peace,” the chairman said.
He suggested the rebels should be dealt with an iron fist in order to compel them into negotiating peace. “We are making calls for peace, but they (insurgents) continue to kill people. They should be shown the power,” he said.
Lawmaker Mohammad Duad Ihsas alleged that senior government officials had hand in yesterday’s suicide attacks, but he did not name anyone.  “They (insurgents) cannot reach their targets if they have no support.”
A Kuchi tribe representative, Farid Kuchi, also claimed some government officials had links with the Taliban.  He also accused Pakistan and Iran of having hand in the attacks as the two neighbouring countries were opposed to peace in Afghanistan.
But a legislator from central Bamyan province, Hidayatullah Rehai, said the government could not prevent suicide attacks due to some problems. He did not explain the problems, but accused Pakistani army of maneuvering behind the scene.
“The civilian government in Pakistan cannot help Afghanistan because their army controls all affairs,” he said, alleging Iran’s revolutionary guards were distributing arms to the people in parts of Afghanistan.