HOLDING the heavily guarded centre of Kabul under siege for 20 hours, Tuesday's terrorist attack was the capital's longest sustained incident since the start of the war in 2001 and the third there in less than three months. With heavily armed men able to get close to such fortified buildings as the US embassy and Nato headquarters and launch gunfire and grenades at them, the immediate question the attack raises is that of the ability of Afghan security forces to take over as Isaf troops withdraw. Kabul was handed over to domestic forces this summer, and if an area ensconced in multiple rings of security and checkpoints is still vulnerable to attack, what hope is there for the vast swaths of the country outside Kabul once foreign troops have gone home? And while the nature of this particular attack might have been unusual, figures from around the country indicate that violence is currently at its highest levels since the war began.

The attack also raises serious questions about the behind-the-scenes reconciliation effort that is apparently being conducted with the Taliban, which claimed responsibility. Details of the nature, participants and progress of these talks has always been hazy, but the recent attacks indicate that they are either floundering or that the Taliban — or certain Taliban factions or leaders not involved in them — are continuing to carry out attacks despite the discussions. Recent reports that members of the Afghan government may have leaked the identities of some Taliban interlocutors demonstrated that all stakeholders might not be on board with the way the talks are being conducted. The overall picture, then, is of a reconciliation process that is proceeding very slowly, if not failing altogether.

American officials are blaming the attack on the Haqqani network, the faction of the Afghan Taliban said to be based in North Waziristan that Pakistan has long been asked to act against. So far the evidence seems to be circumstantial, with officials pointing to the method of the attack to support their claim, but pressure for an operation in North Waziristan will likely be applied again. In recent months Pakistan too has been asking for Afghan and Isaf action in north-eastern Afghanistan from where militants who fled Swat and Bajaur have been launching attacks in Pakistani territory. Gen Kayani and Adm Mullen are set to meet at a Nato conference in Spain later this week; now is the time for them to set aside blame games, admit to their respective security failures and chalk out a concrete plan for how both countries can play their part in improving the region's security.