Another ‘NATO Quran burning’ like incident by Taliban will be disastrous: Afghan army chief of staff

Islamabad -  The Afghan army chief of staff has warned that a repeat of a similar incident like the burning of the Quran at a NATO base in Afghanistan, which has already advanced the Taliban’s cause, would be disastrous.

The destruction of the holy Quran, which the United States described as unintentional, triggered widespread protests and fatal attacks on US troops by Afghan security forces and heavily strained ties between Kabul and Washington.  

“The enemy (Taliban) will enlarge it and make use of it in such a way to instigate everybody,” the Daily Times quoted General Sher Mohammad Karimi, as saying.

“They took advantage of this incident. They will take advantage,” he added.

Karimi lamented NATO’s failure to grasp the sensitivities regarding Afghanistan’s culture and religion during the United States’ longest war, now in its 11th year.

He said the United States was not expected to hand over the men to Afghanistan, but he called for a trial and insisted that American military leaders ensure that similar incidents never take place again.

“God forbid if this mistake is repeated, there will be a lot of trouble next time,” Karimi added.