THE rag tag army of the Afghan Taliban swept into Kabul in August 2021 to establish the rule of the obscurantist, fundamentalist and archaic group of religious fanatics once again in the unfortunate country of Afghanistan. The Taliban regime took control of the country and assured the world community that they will follow a foreign policy of neutrality, respect human rights and give equal rights to women and Afghanistan this time will be a hub of trade and commerce with its neighbors. The promises of the Taliban leaders were taken with a pinch of salt by the community of nations and no country in the world agreed to recognize the Taliban Govt. Imran Khan of Pakistan was the only world leader who rejoiced at the Taliban victory and welcomed the new Taliban regime in Kabul.
Now almost three years after taking control the Taliban Govt. still has no diplomatic relations with any country of the world and has not been accorded recognition by any country even Saudi Arabia, UAE or Pakistan. All the promises of the Taliban leaders proved false and today the Afghan women are denied all rights such as the right to education and employment, there is scant regard for human rightsand there is no sign of building a democratic tolerant society in that country. The Afghan Govt. was in a position to develop cross border railways, gas pipelines, cross border trade and many joint ventures with its friendly neighbor Pakistan but due to its hosting of the TTP on Afghan soil and frequent cross border raids launched by them such ventures remain a pipe dream.
Due to the ugly reputation of the Taliban and their adherence to an obsolete archaic political philosophy the new rulers of Afghanistan find themselves in political isolation and they just cannot move forward with the help and assistance of the world community. As of today the Afghan rulers face unsurmountable challenges in finding a role for their country in world affairs or some form of security and a prosperous economic future. This state of affairs is due entirely to the rigid and uncompromising attitude of the Taliban leaders. In the early days of their rule the Taliban regime was not even acknowledged by any country or world organization without first asking for guarantees about women rights and human rights. This just attitude of the world community enraged and annoyed the hardliner Taliban leaders in fact a division in the Taliban leadership became visible. The Kabul based leaders wanted trade and relations with the western world and the extremist elements in Kandahar led by Hibatullah Akhunzada were against any contact with the democratic countries because they insisted that their political philosophy based on Islamic Sharia is the right one to follow and the Afghan Govt. should not accept the demands of the outside world.
Regional states bordering Afghanistan including Pakistan and Iran although critical of the anti-women policies and human rights violations of the Taliban regime continued to interact with the Kabul Govt. even with some diplomatic presence in Kabul and the decided to keep away from the western nations policy of complete isolation of the Taliban but even so such contacts have not materialized into diplomatic recognition and the Taliban govt. remains unrecognized by the world community to this date. The Taliban govt. is composed of members from Taliban areas and they do not agree to have any representation of non-Taliban areas and they continue to negate their earlier promise of a broader based govt.
The countries of the region are also very apprehensive of the Taliban policy of providing shelter and support to extremist Jihadi groups like the TTP, Hizbut Tahrir, IS-KP, Lashkar-i-Taiba and many other terrorist organizations. Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns and demanded that the TTP should not be allowed to operate from Afghan soil and launch attacks on Pakistan with impunity. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had been totally exterminated after the launch of an aggressive operation by the Pakistan army but the Taliban takeover in Kabul gave them a new lease on life.
During the Taliban victory in Afghanistan thousands of militants of the TTP were set free from various jails and they resumed their armed struggle and attacks on Pakistan from the safety of their base in Afghanistan. In spite of repeated requests from Pakistan the Taliban Govt. has so far refused to take any action against the TTP and Pakistan had no option but to launch artillery and Arial attacks against Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban are in desperate need of trade, aid and economic cooperation with the world. The Afghan economy is in shambles over seventy percent of the population lives below the poverty line and the common man is suffering severe hardships yet the self-created problems of the Taliban regime are an impediment for economic collaboration between Kabul and the world community and the sanctions imposed by the western world will not allow any form of foreign direct investments in that impoverished country.
The country lacks a basic frame work of Justice and all laws are based on the Islamic Sharia that coupled with the severe restrictions on women and the discrimination against non-Muslim minorities including the Shia community has frightened away all the western donors with their huge budgets of humanitarian aid. The Taliban regime need the cooperation and goodwill of the regional countries to free themselves from the quagmire of poverty but some of the Taliban projects like building dams without approval of the downstream countries have resulted in severe tensions with Iran and Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan is a landlocked country and all trade depends on the use of Pakistani sea ports but the Taliban attitude could force Pakistan to deny this facility to Afghanistan. The Taliban regime can be recognized by the world only and only if they value human rights and recognize the rights of the Afghan women but until they come to their senses Afghanistan will be ruled by an unrecognized Govt. for many years to come. The people of Afghanistan are today held hostage to the extremist fanatical and unbending attitude of the Taliban rulers and resultantly millions are destitute and hungry. The Taliban leaders should realize the gravity of the situation and listen to the sane advice of the world community.
.—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
Email: tariq.aqil@headstart.edu.pk
