Taliban is still strong, National Front says

Afghanistan National Front warned that the Taliban group is still strong and able to threaten Afghanistan’s security.
The National Front Leader, Ahmad Zia Massoud, made the comment at a gathering held in Kabul on the occasion of the anniversary of an uprising by Kabul residents against the Soviet-backed regime.
He warned that the war in Afghanistan may continue if the Taliban remain strong and threaten the lives of the Afghan people.
He also warned that the Afghan people will face a lot of challenges after 2014.
“It will be a long war and we have to be fully prepared to defend ourselves and the national integrity of Afghanistan,” he said.
Afghanistan, he said, needs a strategy to defend itself against neighbours’ interference and also fight against international terrorism.
Meanwhile, Leader of Change and Hope Coalition Dr Abdullah Abdullah told the gathering that no peace talks will be successful if the Afghan people are marginalised.
“No peace plan will lead to any positive result if the Afghan people, political opposition and civil society are not involved in the process,” Dr Abdullah said. “If the United States wants to show that it is doing something for peace, it is welcome.”
One of the speakers, Acting Leader of Jammiat-e-Islami, Salahuddin Rabbani, said that some conspiracies were underway against the Jihad and resistance of the Afghan people.
“There are open and hidden plots being made to destroy the Jihad achievements so that today’s generation forgets about their past history,” Salahuddin Rabbani said.