Afghan security forces require efficient, timely support to deal with terror threats: Farid Mamundzay

Afghan National Defense and Security Forces require efficient, timely support to deal with existing threats of terrorism, and without a stronger ANDSF, peace and stability in Afghanistan and the broader region will “remain elusive”, the country’s Ambassador-designate to India, Farid Mamundzay, has said.

Addressing a select gathering at an event held late Thursday evening at the Afghan Embassy here to mark the ANDSF Day, Mamundzay thanked India, describing it as “the most reliable regional partner and the largest regional contributor to the development of Afghanistan”.

Charting the formation of the ANDSF, Mamundzay said NATO led the UN-mandated international security assistant forces or ISAF from August 2003 to December 2014 to help raise it.

The ISAF formation was to enable the Afghan authorities build the capacity of the Afghan national security forces to provide effective security and to ensure that Afghanistan “will never become a safe haven for terrorists again”.

“Afghanistan’s story is often told by the media as a culmination of failures, but there is always another side to the coin. A lot of progress and growth that has taken place in the last two decades has been nothing short of a generational transformational, one that has positively impacted the society, particularly the youth and women of our country.

“One particular success story during this period had been the formation of a capable, heroic and effective security and defence forces, a formidable force that has tackled global and regional terrorist networks,” Mamundzay said.

The Ambassador-designate asserted that the ANDSF require “efficient and timely support to deal with existing threats of terrorism”. Without a stronger ANDSF, “peace and stability in Afghanistan and the broader region will remain elusive”, he added.

He also said that the aim of Afghanistan’s international and regional partners “should be to help the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the ANSDF to maintain absolute monopoly over the legitimate use of physical force for the good of Afghanistan, for the good of the region and the good of the world”.

The ANDSF consists of the Afghan National Army, Afghan Air Force, Afghan National Police, and the National Directorate of Security or the NDS, among others, he said, and added that “bravery, capabilities and dedication of the forces are admired by world leaders”.

The ANDSF, since 2014, assuming full security of the country, is fighting not just to protect Afghanistan’s independence, but they are ensuring security of the world, the Afghan Ambassador-designate said.

“From successful operations to eliminate terrorists, they are at the forefront to target global and regional terrorist outlets and their leaders. However, success against these haven’t been easy or free, we have sacrificed many precious lives,” Mamundzay said.

Enemies of Afghanistan must understand that “our defence and security forces are the real sons” of the land, and the entire nation stands with them, he said.

Mamundzay thanked the international community for “consistently supporting” ANDSF in the course of the past 20 years, particularly the US, the UK, France, Germany Italy and others.

“Also, the most reliable regional partner and the largest regional contributor to the development of Afghanistan, we would like to thank the government of India, for providing the much-needed defence and security assistance, by helping us with military hardware to providing the much-needed training opportunities at military academies by some of the finest officers,” he added.

A top official of the Indian Army, senior diplomats and military attaches from various countries were also present on the occasion, a senior official of the embassy said.