Following revelations made by Afghan National Security Advisor Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta regarding the collaboration of Afghans in Kabul with the Quetta Shura, the leaders of the Afghan Taliban based in Pakistan, condemnations rained down on Monday from Afghans clamoring for punitive action.
On Saturday, Dr. Spanta, while talking to Parliament about the details of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), disclosed that an individual in the Afghan capital had been heard, while having their phone tapped, coordinating anti-BSA efforts with Taliban leaders in Pakistan.
Although he declined to divulge the names of those involved, he did say that they had organized a anti-BSA gathering in Kabul in cooperation with the Taliban and forged a letter to appear to have been written by the Afghan Embassy in the U.S. that called for a rejection of the BSA. The letter was reportedly intended to be publicized in the Afghan press.
"We tapped the conversation of an individual with the spokesman of the Taliban in Quetta, where he stated that he [and his group] will start protests in Kabul and then the Taliban should take a stand against the agreement," Spanta said. "It's unfortunate that I was not allowed to arrest this person and send him to court so he could be tried as a national traitor."
Spanta did not offer any explanation as to why he and law enforcement officials were unable to make any arrests.
The Taliban has openly denounced the security pact, which would ensure close military relations between Afghanistan and the U.S. in the years following the NATO withdraw in 2014. The insurgent group even went so far as to threaten the lives of any participants in the Loya Jirga – set to discuss the accord this week – who voted in favor of it.
On Saturday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a checkpoint blocking a road into the grounds where the Jirga is set to be held in Kabul. The attack resulted in 42 casualties, including men, women and children.
Members of the National Assembly along with civil society activists on Monday condemned the unknown individual's collaboration with the Quetta Shura and called for punishment.
"We can call them a spy, we can label them a traitor...those who betray the country and hand over Afghanistan's future must be punished," MP Naheed Farid said.
"These people must be exposed to the Afghan people so they can hate them and they can be an example for others so no one ever does it again," MP Shirwali Wardak said.
Debate over the BSA, in the lead up to the Loya Jirga's start on Thursday, has been heated.
Many argue the agreement is essential to Afghanistan's future while others say it is a submission to the U.S. that proves the Kabul government is nothing more than an American vassal. There are some in the middle, of course, who simply think the agreement should be accepted if in Afghanistan's best interests and renegotiated if not.
Although it is unconfirmed whether it was the one spoken about over the tapped phone call, a gathering against the BSA was held in Kabul and publicized on social media this week. Reportedly former MP Haji Fareed and political analyst Wahid Muzhda took part.
However, Muzhda denied the gathering was part of any kind of conspiracy with the Taliban and called for the identity of the individual heard on the call to be revealed.