The first ground attack into Pakistan territory by NATO troops in Afghanistan may have prompted the attack on Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s motorcade on Wednesday but sources said it is only the start of a stepped-up effort to strike at the “roots” of growing insurgency in Afghanistan.

Reason: The security situation in Afghanistan is assessed to be the worst ever since the Taliban’s ouster in 2001. UN official reports state that Taliban is now effective in 36 of the 376 districts which the Afghan Government cannot access. The average number of incidents per month increased to 566 in 2007 compared to 425 in 2006.

Over the last two months, alarm bells have been ringing across world capitals about the Taliban resurgence, especially in provinces around Kabul like Logar and Wardak. The last report with the UN Security Council in July admits that the “highest number of security incidents since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001 was in May 2008”. It is learnt that the numbers have grown to around 800 in July-August.

According to assessments shared with India, violence is up by 40 per cent across Afghanistan and by 70 per cent in its southern and eastern parts. Provinces such as Kandahar and Nimroz that were in the “high-risk” security category have now been moved into a new category called “extreme risk/hostile environment.”

A worried United States is holding frantic consultations with regional partners, including India. The security situation in Afghanistan figures high on the agenda of Defence Minister A K Antony’s visit to US next week. He will be holding meetings with US counterpart Robert Gates, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

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