On this day a year ago, the Western-backed government collapsed like a house of cards as its foreign backers hastily left Afghanistan after a 20-year occupation. The Afghan Taliban then rolled into Kabul. The hard-line movement’s evaluation of its first year in power is unimpressive, with many grey areas, few bright spots, and a preponderance of negatives.
When the Taliban imposed mediaeval regulations during their rule from 1996 to 2001, there were real concerns that they would return to their old ways. While the “new” Taliban are quite similar to the “old” Taliban in many aspects, the organisation has exhibited some, if modest, moderation in other areas.
Of course, guaranteeing women’s rights and other fundamental rights is one of the areas where the Taliban rulers have failed appallingly. For instance, the hard-line faction continues to impose limits on women’s freedom of movement while refusing to permit secondary schools for girls to reopen.
Furthermore, the Taliban’s inner circle largely controls the country since the organisation forbids members who hold ideologically opposing views from holding political office. The presence of foreign terrorists in the nation, particularly those from the TTP and the self-declared Islamic State organisation, is undoubtedly the most urgent concern for the international community.
Additionally, the execution of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri by an American drone attack in a wealthy Kabul neighbourhood last month did little to persuade the world that the Taliban are sincere in their resolve to combat terrorism.
The Taliban are a reality – an unpleasant one — that the international community cannot wish away, despite all these gloomy factors. Foreign governments will therefore need to cooperate with the Taliban for the foreseeable future in order to maintain regional security as well as Afghan stability. Furthermore, it is unfair that Western nations impose their demands on the group. It is fiction to think that the hard-line tribal group will transform Afghanistan into a liberal democracy in the Western mould.
Despite all these bleak circumstances, the Taliban remain a realitya disagreeable reality that the international community cannot wish away. As a result, maintaining regional security and Afghan stability will need cooperation from foreign governments with the Taliban for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the group is being subjected to unreasonable demands from Western countries. To imagine that the hard-line tribal group will turn Afghanistan into a liberal democracy after the Western model is just nonsense.
Foreign militants must not be allowed to operate freely in Afghanistan, and the Taliban must reactivate age-old strategies like great jirgas in order to engage more of the nation’s groupings and tribes and eventually transition to democratic rule. The world must communicate with the Taliban in order to stop Afghanistan from descending into fresh chaos. If Afghanistan’s leaders and the international community can agree on a middle ground, then communication will eventually lead to recognition.
