(AKI) - A prominent European MP said on Tuesday the situation in Afghanistan was out of control and security efforts could not continue at the current half-hearted rate.German MP Elmar Brok was commenting soon after the European Parliament called for the European Union to play a much greater political role in conflict-wracked Afghanistan.
The lawmakers overwhelmingly endorsed a report urging far greater coordination among institutions involved in reconstructing the war-torn country. 'Until we can establish a secure environment, the population will remain indifferent and it will be very difficult to stabilise the country and help it to develop,' Brok said.
He said the security situation was alarming. 'Today there are possible attacks that were unthinkable a year ago, like the one during the military parade with President Hamid Karzai or the last one in front of the Indian embassy.' Forty people died and another 141 were injured on Monday in a devastating attack on the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul (photo). The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack.
Brok is also worried about the spread of opium and the 'great flow of money' that the Taliban receives from abroad. 'A great deal of money is arriving from al-Qaeda but there are also likely to be other sources,' he said.
The German MP did not point to Pakistan. 'I do not believe that it is involved in directly supporting the Taliban, rather I believe that it cannot control the border region with Afghanistan, and foreign troops cannot either. That's not surprising given the particularly mountainous region.'