Security continues to be a major issue of concern among Afghans: Survey

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Kabul, Nov.18: Security continues to be a major issue of concern among Afghans, a recent poll has revealed, even while acknowledging that there has been progress on several fronts.

An annual survey of the Afghan people conducted by the Asia Foundation, a Washington-based organization focused on US-Asia relations, and according to the Christian Science Monitor (CSM), it came up with the following findings:

. More Afghans than not say their country is moving in the right direction, but the number who say that a decade into a Western-led war Afghanistan is headed in the wrong direction is increasing – now to more than one-third of the population.

. A large majority of Afghans say that one of the things that frightens them most in their daily life is the prospect of crossing paths with foreign troops.

. More Afghans have expressed optimism over improvements in the availability of services such as health care, education, and water.

. Today more than 2.4 million Afghan girls are enrolled in school, compared with 5,000 just before the Taliban government’s fall in 2001.

. The survey also found dwindling sympathy for the country’s militants.

. A majority of Afghans support initiatives to engage in a dialogue with militant groups and ultimately to make peace with them.

The Asia Foundation surveyed 6,348 Afghans in all 34 Afghan provinces between July 2 and Aug. 1 this year.

The survey was released this week, as President Karzai holds a loya jirga, or grand council, in Kabul to consider the terms of an eventual strategic partnership with the US. (ANI)