ALMOST half way through his term as head of the interim administration in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai does not have much reason to be pleased with the way the situation has been developing in his country.

True, the Taliban government has been ousted from Kabul and the administration that has replaced it is apparently backed by the consensus of the various factions of Afghan people. Substantial funds have also been pledged by the developed nations for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. But stability which is the sine qua non for any future progress continues to remain elusive.

This would be the outlook confronting former King Zahir Shah when he returns home after about 30 years of being in exile since his deposition in a coup. His sense of outrage at the way things are shaping up in Afghanistan was evident from his call, a few days ago, that the Americans must put an end to “this stupid war.” The US which takes pride in having liberated Afghanistan from a reign of terror has apparently paid no heed to his call.

Afghanistan is virtually under the US occupation. American planes continue to relentless bombard certain parts of the eastern Paktia province bordering Pakistan, killing people indiscriminately. Remnants of Taliban and Al Qaeda forces are holding out in this area and putting up a stiff resistance. According to one account, the Afghan resistance fighters occupying the high ground in Arma mountains of Paktia could be heard laughing when the Americans were frustrated in their attempts to fire at them hoping to dislodge them.

The Americans make no secret of their intention to stay in Afghanistan and even to use it as a launching pad for assaults on some other countries of the region, if that became necessary in the course of their so-called war against terror. Even their sophisticated bomb which can penetrate to considerable depth and suffocate to death whoever is holed up there has not yet put an end to the resistance. Osama bin Laden, who is regarded as the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks carried out in the US in September last year, is believed to have perfected the technique of building underground shelters for conducting his operations.

Sooner or later, the Americans and their allies will be able to liquidate the remnants of the Taliban and the Al Qaeda who are holding out in pockets around Arma mountains. US military spokesmen claimed on March 6 that their forces had already killed some 400 guerillas and were determined to kill many more if the resistance continued. American ground forces have also joined the fighting in the Paktia region but until the time of