Despite their recent military gain in Kunduz, the Taliban’s demise has already begun.
![Afghan Taliban militants gather around parts of a US F-16 aircraft that was struck over in Sayid Karam district of eastern Paktia province [AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/b1b54dca87064be092616e17cac47dd5_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Haroun Mir is an Afghan analyst in Kabul and founder of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS). He served as an advisor to late Ahmad Shah Massoud from 1993-99.
Despite their recent military gain in Kunduz, the Taliban’s demise has already begun.
![Afghan Taliban militants gather around parts of a US F-16 aircraft that was struck over in Sayid Karam district of eastern Paktia province [AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/b1b54dca87064be092616e17cac47dd5_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
We will not win the war against religious radicalism and extremism through military means alone.
![A member of the Afghan security force stands in front of a damaged building a day after attacks outside the Afghan parliament in Kabul [REUTERS]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/8a83701416d74b5cab8d0308994edb50_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The formation of a Sunni coalition against Houthis in Yemen could spark sectarian violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Afghan government has little time to prepare itself for the upcoming fighting season.
![Reduction in funding for the Afghan government could negatively impact Afghan security forces, writes Mir [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2014122910851441734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
$7.6 billion later, Afghanistan’s dependency on the opium trade continues to expand.
![Farmers did not receive the right incentives to abandon opium cultivation, writes Mir [EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/20141021134143909734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)