Security bosses brief Senate on security scenario

KABUL or Senate about the country’s security situation and called the Bilateral Security Agreement (BAS) with the US as a necessity.

Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak and spymaster Masoum Stanekzai appeared before the senators at today’s session after being summoned to brief the lawmakers about the country’s security situation/

Bahrami acknowledged the country’s security situation had deteriorated and said Faryab, Ghazni and Uruzgan provinces faced serious threats.

He said at least 2,270 Taliban militants were killed and 1224 others wounded during last month’s operations by the Afghan National Army (ANA) nationwide.

During this period, he said, around 513 NAA soldiers were also killed and 718 others wounded and 43 others arrested by Taliban militants.

He linked the increase in security forces casualties to night time attacks by insurgents on their posts.

But he said a plan was in place to build security forces’ capacity and ability in various issues.

He said air forces would receive new helicopters from the US for conducting nighttime airstrikes which would help reduce security forces casualties.

The minister said war tactics would be changed soon in order to prevent the enemy from staging nighttime attacks on security check-points.

Bahrami termed the BSA with the US ‘as urgent need’ in the current security situation and said Afghan security forces were daily getting equipment under the agreement.

He termed Daesh and Taliban as the enemy of the countrymen and said there was no difference between the two.

Barmak also expressed his concern over the security situation and said the enemy wanted to reverse the development of the last 17 years.

He said so far 95 percent of the police had been registered in biometric system and the process was underway in order to deal with the issue of imaginary police.

pk/ma