KARACHI: The Taliban have achieved a great military victory which has shocked the whole world. The world is still surprised that around 300,000 well trained Afghan military force has surrendered without any resistance.
One of the major reasons was that the Afghan military was relying a lot on the US military and their sudden withdrawal from the country as well as the internal weaknesses of the Afghan army led the Taliban to occupy Kabul so quickly. It also seems that the Taliban had support from some portion of the Afghan army.
These views were expressed by the former Pakistani Ambassador Dr Shahid Amin during a seminar on ‘the changing political scenario of Afghanistan: impact and options for Pakistan’. The event was jointly organized by the Department of International Relations and Pakistan Study Centre of the University of Karachi.
Dr Shahid Amin informed the audience that Afghanistan’s people were disappointed as their country was at war for the last four long decades and they want durable and long lasting peace in Afghanistan.
He mentioned that the American president’s decision to withdraw US troops was criticized, but he had made a strong decision to pull the United States out of the 20-year war and would be remembered in history.
“The United States has suffered a clear defeat in the war, which caused irreparable damage to its status as a superpower. The Taliban have sent a good message to the world after capturing Kabul.”
He said that the Taliban’s statement in which they announced that women would go to work and get an education while wearing Hijab is welcoming. They have also announced a general amnesty which was a positive sign and they acknowledge the freedom of other religions as well.
Dr Amin expressed that although all these steps were very positive but the announcement of the interim cabinet negates their claims. He recalled that when the Taliban first formed the government, it was not recognized by the Northern Alliance and the non-Pakhtun population which includes Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, and others, as they were not included by the Taliban in the government in the past and once again they were ignored while forming the interim setup and there are fears of another civil war in the country.
He shared that after the Russian withdrawal in the past Northern Alliance and Taliban were fighting with each other and unfortunately despite having lengthy negotiations to form a coalition government, no known faces of other communities and parties could be seen in this interim government.
Meanwhile, the KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said we are talking about the old and new Taliban, the question is whether the world will recognize the current Taliban government or not.
He said that we live in a world that is a global village and no country could be left in political and diplomatic isolation. He mentioned that it is important to see how the Taliban will approach to establish diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi recalled that after the Russian intervention, Pakistan came to the front line in the Afghan war which posed many challenges to Pakistan. The Afghan war gave rise to extremism and Kalashnikov culture in Pakistan and the issue of millions of refugees. Pakistan took a U-turn in its policy after 9/11 and became a frontline ally of the United States against the Taliban government.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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