The Taliban is making a comeback in Afghanistan, increasing its attacks on US forces and on the Afghanistan government operations. After more than 100 persons were killed in two days of fighting between the Taliban fighters and the coalition forces in the southern Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai blamed Pakistan for destabilising his country through the Taliban. Doubts are turning into fact, that the Taliban is staging a comeback in Afghanistan. The hardliners in Pakistan have been instigating the sentiments of Taliban fighters and asking them to fight against Western forces that carried out attacks in Iraq.

Musa Qala in Southern Province of Helmand was the epicentre of fierce combat on 17-18 May since the Taliban's ouster by US-led forces in 2001 and raised new fears about deteriorating security in south Afghanistan. Religious hardliners in Pakistan were sending recruits from madarssas to fight the holy war in Afghanistan, where vast swathes of territory are ruled by the tribes. In madarssas, these young recruits are being told to burn schools and clinics. Some of the clinics and hospitals where Indian doctors are working have already received threats asking them to leave. The militants have destroyed about 150 schools, most of them newly constructed. They say that these schools are non-Islamic and are symbols of western intervention in Afghanistan. Under the Taliban's rule, education was restricted to the teaching of Quran and girls could not go to school.

The Taliban is on the offensive against all that is perceived to be pro-US and pro-Karzai elements, like UN employees, Indian workers and Muslims who refuse to conform to its religious teachings. These young men affiliated with or influenced by the Taliban are linked to Afghan warlords who seek to topple the government of President Karzai.

The Afghan President has gone to the extent of accusing Pakistan of arming these insurgents with weapons and logistics, imparting training and sending them into southern Afghanistan. Karzai even accused the Taliban leadership of coordinating its campaign from western Pakistani city of Quetta. It is even alleged that the Taliban is using Pakistan as its headquarters for launching its offensive on western forces. However, it has been denied by Pakistan. They have asked the allied forces to provide actionable intelligence so that they can take necessary action. The question is: Does Pakistan not know what is happening in their territory?

A large number of Taliban fighters had crossed from Afghanistan into Pakistan's tribal areas after the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001. Taliban leaders were living comfortably in border towns of Quetta and Peshawar and remained in touch with each other through satellite telephones. The top leaders have never been arrested.

NATO is preparing to assume command of southern Afghanistan from the US on 31 July 2006. With the knowledge that NATO may take on more 'peacekeeping' role than offensive operations, the Taliban appear to be moving their insurgency into a new phase, flooding the rural areas of the south with weapons and men. This has given a boost to the insurgents and increased fears in the minds of Afghans.

Large Taliban groups have been seen moving in Zabul, Ghazni, Paktika, Uruzgan, Helmand and Kandahar provinces. They have been intimidating villagers and ambushing vehicles. They have also increased ambushes on Kabul- Kandahar highway and are trying to dominate that road. Kandahar has suffered the worst upheaval, much of it apparently aimed at unbalancing the NATO mission before it can settle down in southern Afghanistan. NATO is planning to increase its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to about 1,600 soldiers in 2006. These troops would probably be dispatched to southern and southwest provinces of Afghanistan.

There have been a string of suicide attacks and roadside bomb blasts. The forces are vulnerable to suicide bombs, which has a severe psychological impact. Afghans believe that suicide is a cowardly act, but the Taliban believes otherwise. Earlier, it was believed that those who had carried out suicide attacks in Afghanistan were all foreigners, but recently such bombers were found to be both Afghan and Taliban.

The probable reasons why Pakistan may have instigated the Taliban to go on the offensive in Afghanistan are as follows: First, Taliban does not want Afghanistan to develop and would like it to remain under its grip; secondly, Pakistan is sensitive to India's presence in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sherif, Herat and Jalalabad - where India has opened its consulates; thirdly, Pakistan may not like India to develop an alternate route to Central Asia through Iran-Afghanistan; and fourthly, to keep the Taliban occupied as otherwise they could pose problems for President Musharraf. He had recently acknowledged that 'Taliban culture' was spreading in northwest province and that the Taliban was involved in spreading extremism in tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. Karzai and the NATO forces need to urgently develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with this Taliban resurgence if peace is to come to the country.