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As a knee-jerk reaction to Maulvi Fayaz and his group’s action, five Afghan employees of the US company Chemonics were killed in Helmand province on May 18, 2005.  Six Afghans transporting a body from an earlier attack to Kabul were ambushed and killed on May 19, 2005, in Zabul on the main road to the capital.  On the same day, an Interior Ministry spokesman identified the kidnapper of Clementina Cantoni, an Italian aid worker, as Timoor Shah, the leader of a criminal gang.  

As violence had escalated in Afghanistan , the life of Maulvi Fayaz, the supporter of Karzai regime and the head of Kandahar ’s Islamic Council, became vulnerable.  On May 29, 2005, suspected Taliban militants shot dead Maulvi Fayaz.  Two armed men riding on a motorbike opened fire on Maulvi Fayaz when he was standing in front of his office.  The Talibans were quick to take the credit for Maulvi Fayaz’s assassination.  In a statement, Mullah Abdul Latif Hakimi [a Taliban leader] said, “Today at 2 in the afternoon Taliban shot and killed Mullah Fayaz in Kandahar city.  He was preaching against the Taliban under the name of Islam and deserved to die.”  It should be pointed out that Talibans have lately started a guerrilla-style insurgency against 18,000 coalition troops, which includes 16,000 American soldiers.

The spate of violence continued after the gunning down of Maulvi Fayaz.  A suicide bomber disguised as an Afghan soldier attacked a crowded mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on June 1, 2005, setting off a massive explosion that killed 19 people and injured more than 50.  The blast occurred while bereaving followers of Maulvi Fayaz gathered in a mosque for a memorial service who was killed only 3 days ago.   

The Karzai Administration spent no times to blame insurgents linked to al-Qaeda or the former Taliban government who were ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001. The police in Kandahar said that the bomber’s facial features and documents found on his body indicated he was an Arab, not an Afghan.  Also, it is very uncommon for Afghanis to perform suicide bombing.  After all, suicide bombing is an alien concept in Afghanistan .  The Talibans are no dummy.  They have read in the newspaper or watched Al-Jazeera TV network news to fathom out that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi-led insurgency had gathered steam in Iraq causing a devastating blow to normalization process in post-Saddam Iraq .  Americans are losing soldiers and so are Iraqi army and police.  Therefore, they also chose suicide bombing to destabilize Karzai’s Afghanistan .  

The escalation of insurgency-led violence in Afghanistan has an objective, which is to derail the process leading up to parliamentary elections slated for September 2005.  The brutal attack came as many residents of Kandahar were still reeling from the assassination of Maulvi Fayaz, leader of the Council of Clerics in Kandahar and a longtime supporter of President Hamid Karzai.  Afghanis are known for taking revenge.  By taking side, Maulvi Fayaz paid the price with his life.  In April and May 2005, U.S.-led forces and units of the Afghan army have mounted a concerted effort to root out the remnants of the Taliban -- killing about 200 insurgents in battles that have often been fiercely fought by both sides.  As a result, the Talibans are now becoming very daring.  So far, they avoided killing civilians.  However, with the killing of Maulvi Fayaz and more civilians in Kandahar , it seems as if they have changed their tactics.  If they attack civilians, then there is this danger that they may become unpopular amongst common people whose support they need so desperately.  In contrast to what the Talibans are doing in southern Afghanistan , the Americans are releasing more detainees in Afghanistan .  Only time could tell if American policy to be lenient with the detainees will bear the fruit.   

In summary, a chain reaction has started in Kandahar , the most populous province in Afghanistan .  The Talibans have launched a vicious insurgency movement in southern part of Afghanistan ; they killed a famous cleric by the name Maulvi Fayaz who lent his support for Karzai while denouncing Mullah Omar.  Talibans are furious because Maulvi Fayaz and other clerics have offered their fatwa against Mullah Omar as they took away the grand title of “Amir ul-Mumineen” reserved for the supreme Taliban leader.  The violence continued.  As faithfuls gathered to pay homage to slain cleric, Maulvi Fayaz, suicide bomber struck the meeting.  Consequently, more blood was shed.  It seems as if the Talibans are in offensive mood as they thumb their nose at Karzai after each killing.  What lies ahead for Afghanistan is not known for sure but this much is certain that Talibans will regroup to foil the upcoming parliamentary election.  The group which is silent now is the disgruntled warlords.  If they join the Talibans, then things may turn topsy-turvy for Karzai.  Let us hope that does not happen.    

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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans , USA  

 

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