AFGHANISTAN President Mr. Ashraf Ghani has put up a brave face amid serious onslaught by Taliban militants on the national forces. In the given situation, where Taliban are running amok in the country on the eve of withdrawal of US and NATO forces, it was expected of Mr. Ghani to send an assuring message to the anxious population. Yet, the truth behind those words is known to the larger Afghan society as also the world community which is fearing a total collapse of governance in the war-torn country in the next two months. As the US troops reduce their numbers in Afghanistan, the Taliban are on a ground-capturing spree even as key provinces are falling like nine pins. The challenge for Mr. Ghani to translate his words into reality is absolutely mighty. The fact of the matter is the Afghan national defence forces are woefully ill-equipped to take on the militant groups without the help of foreign forces. Mr. Ghani, too, is aware of the reality but he has no choice than to put up a brave front in face of severe adversity. The present situation is Afghanistan is another reminder to the world community to rethink their strategy before the Taliban threat becomes a thorn in flesh.

 

 

DESPITE the reverses heaped upon him by destiny in the course of his majestic journey on the green grass of Wimbledon, Roger Federer never looked a desolate person in all these years. For once, the master was made to look like one, unsure of his abilities and abandoned by his mind. That it came against a newbie, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, was the biggest surprise for all the loyal Federer fans. Losing is one thing but surrender is absolutely another thing that never existed in Federer’s play book. However one may want to view the Swiss maestro’s loss in the quarter-final to the 24-year-old fan of his, the fact that Federer was actually bageled leaves a pricking thought in mind. Is this the end of the road for the modern-day tennis great? Circumstances and the three-set shellacking he received from Hurkacz do give rise to the suspicion that the haloed courts of Wimbledon might have seen the last of Federer. Of course, such talks have had their own rounds in the last many years when Federer could not measure up to his fans’ expectations. Yet, this time the inevitable seems just round the corner. One only expects the great man to bagel the thought and serve another ace.