Its own, and Afghanistan’s, worst enemy

Over 95% of Afghans do not get enough food to eat, with that figure rising to 100% in female-headed households, the UN says

One year after the Taliban stormed to power in Afghanistan, it failed and indeed refused, to transform itself into a responsible and inclusive government. Not only does the regime continue to be all-male, Pashtun and hardline in composition but also it has persisted in denying women and girls basic rights, including access to education and healthcare. When it captured power, rights activists had feared that the regime would seek to take revenge against officials and supporters of the erstwhile Ashraf Ghani government. The Taliban’s actions over the past year have proved them right; there has been no let-up in the execution of former political, police and military officials. Taliban governance has been disastrous; on every social and health indicator without exception, Afghanistan’s performance has slid over the past year.

Over 95 per cent of Afghans do not get enough food to eat, with that figure rising to 100 per cent in female-headed households, the UN says. While decades of drought and civil war have contributed to the situation, it is the Taliban that must bear primary responsibility. Several countries, including India, are supplying millions of tons of food and other aid for the Afghan people, but what happens to the aid material is determined by the Taliban’s stubborn refusal to give up misogyny and medieval mindsets. If the regime were to heed the appeals to provide inclusive governance, more aid would flow in to address Afghans’ food crisis. It is the Taliban’s determination to perpetuate various forms of violence, overt as well as structural and cultural, that has fuelled the Afghan people’s suffering over the past year.

Although the number of governments engaging the regime has grown over the past year, diplomatic recognition remains elusive. The Taliban’s continuing ties with jihadist and terror outfits, which were laid bare by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s residence in Kabul, will make such recognition more difficult. The Taliban has only itself to blame. While the regime has tightened its grip over the Afghan people, its control over territory is not complete. The Islamic State-Khorasan Province has expanded its influence from eastern Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan to districts bordering Central Asian countries. Resistance to Taliban rule from Afghanistan’s religious and ethnic minority groups to has not subsided.

The Taliban has been touting the lull in fighting since they captured power as the first period of peace in Afghanistan in decades. Indeed, the incessant fighting that had come to characterise the country has ended. Yet the calm on the street is uneasy, even eerie. It has been achieved through pacification. And pacification is not peace.