The resignation of Rahmatullah Nabil follows a series of setbacks in recent months including the fall of the northern city of Kunduz to the Taliban and a raid on Kandahar airport in the south on Tuesday in which 50 civilians, police and security personnel were killed.
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The attack will likely renew concerns about the capabilities of the Afghan security forces, who have been stretched by a stubborn insurgency since the global military coalition withdrew most of its troops and turned over responsibility for the country’s security to Afghan forces at the end of a year ago.
The attack on one of the largest air bases in Afghanistan coincided with a regional peace conference in Pakistan where President Ashraf Ghani asked Pakistan to help restart peace talks with the Taliban that were broken off earlier this year.
“Fifty of our innocent countrymen, including 10 soldiers, two policemen and 38 civilians, were martyred in the attack”, the defense ministry said in a statement.
The Taliban, fighting to re-establish hard-line Islamist rule after U.S.-led military intervention ousted them from power in 2001, have been struggling to settle a leadership dispute which has seen scores killed in fighting between factions.
In a statement, they said that their operation in Kandahar sent the government “a message that the Mujahideen are able to reach the most secure enemy locations undetected”.
The insurgents are regularly known to exaggerate battlefield claims. The Taliban often makes claims about the results of their attacks that are not true. “Whenever there is talk about peace talks, the Taliban launch big attacks”, Kabul-based military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhil told AFP. But the talks stalled when the Taliban belatedly confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar.
Further, UNAMA reiterated that worldwide humanitarian law, which applies to all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, prohibits attacks against civilians at any time and in any place, which additionally includes families of Afghan security forces and other civilians not participating in the conduct of hostilities.
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Ties between Ghani and Nabil have been strained since the Taliban’s three-day capture of Kunduz city in September, which marked their biggest success in 14 years of war.
