For harried local Afghans, Taliban, Kabul Conference is just an exercise in futility

LOS ANGELES - While the world’s leaders are meeting in Kabul to chalk out a strategy to rebuild and develop the war tattered country, far outside the conference hall a common Afghan man is hardly concerned over the efforts being made by the international community to ensure a bright future for the country’s future generations.

The ongoing donors conference in Kabul, in which about 60 nations are participating, is the second high-level international gathering on Afghanistan in seven months, following a major conference in London in January.

However, common Afghan people believe that these gatherings of international leaders yield very few tangible results, The Los Angeles Times reports.

“They talk and talk, but my life stays the same. I try to feed my children, and I worry about someone in my family getting killed by a suicider,” the paper quoted Mohammed Azil, who sells vegetables in Kabul, as saying.

Azil’s fears are not uncalled for, as on Sunday a suicide bomber killed three people in a busy market of the capital city despite there being a strict security in place for the conference.

It is not that the nations taking part in the conference are not aware about the dangers of organising such a major event in Kabul, but the head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, described the choice of venue as “a sign of confidence in Afghanistan.”

On the other hand, the Taliban remains undeterred by the events, as it believes that such meetings would not make any difference in the prevailing situation.

When asked about the insurgent group’s view on the conference, the self proclaimed spokesmen for the Taliban in Afghanistan, Zabiullah Mujahid, mocked the event, saying the top international diplomats and leaders would be discussing issues which hardly make any impact on the war against the foreign forces.

“They are mostly discussing issues that make no difference,” Mujahid told the paper over the phone from an undisclosed location.

“The important issues are the occupation of Afghanistan and the presence of foreign forces here in Afghanistan,” he added. (ANI)