Afghanistan:The Taliban has a permanent presence in 54 per cent of Afghanistan and the country is in serious danger of falling into Taliban hands, according to a report by an independent think tank with long experience in the area.
Despite tens of thousands of Nato-led troops and billions of dollars in aid poured into the country, the insurgents, driven out by the American invasion in 2001, now control "vast swaths of unchallenged territory, including rural areas, some district centres, and important road arteries", the Senlis Council says in a report released yesterday.
It says the territory controlled by the Taliban has increased and the frontline is getting closer to Kabul. "It is a sad indictment of the current state of Afghanistan", the report says, "that the question now appears to be not if the Taliban will return to Kabul, but when . . . and in what form. - (Guardian service)