The pullout of the international forces from Afghanistan is a turning point inciting a pendulum of instability and having its oscillating impact felt , both nationally and internationally. The experiences of Afghanistan as a country bear a lot of understanding of the politics, strategies of state construction, and humanitarian issues. The volatile situation in Afghanistan is a source of concern for neighbouring countries like Pakistan, which has been in support of Afghanistan during thick and thin of times. A peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interest and thus Pakistan remains ready to support peace and stability initiatives in Afghanistan. The following op-ed examines the historical background of Afghanistan, the influence and consequences of the foreign intrusions, the current state of Afghanistan as a humanitarian crisis, the significance on the global stage, and ways to navigate the future course with such challenges.
Historical Legacy of Conflict:
Afghanistan has experienced a continuous war in its Post War history, starting from the Soviet Union invasion in 1979 that lasted 10 years, bringing the destruction in civil structure and causing millions of refugees. The emergence of this political structure was followed by the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989, leaving Afghanistan devoid of any strong central authority, hence leading to an even gruesome civil war between different warring groups. That is when the local Taliban organization in the mid-1990s took power and added more instability, due to their interpretation of Sharia law and authoritarianism.
The Double-Edged Sword of Foreign Interventions
The new century saw Afghanistan back in the limelight internationally, due to the September 11, attacks whereby USA led a campaign in 2001 to topple the Taliban and eliminate Al Qaeda networks. At first, praised as a mission of democratization, protection of human rights, and stability in the region, the intervention formed the start of a long military campaign that while temporarily effective in ousting the Taliban, began to meet additional difficulties in the establishment of peace and stability. The rising anti-foreigner sentiments within Afghanistan clearly attracted a more proactive international presence. While the international coalition sought to foster democracy and reconstruct the damaged physical infrastructure, problems of corruption and poor governance capacity, combined with a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency, made the attainments of sustainable states of order and progression a real challenge.
The Resurgence of Taliban:
The haphazard withdrawal of the international troops in 2021, led to a surge, and rather a fast comeback of the Taliban group and consequent capturing of power. The recent downfall of Afghan Government and security forces has exposed the core problems of corruption, and leadership vacuum. It has also highlighted that from nation building point of view, the efforts had failed whereas from a strategic point of view there were many loopholes in both domestic as well as foreign policies.
However, the new Taliban’s regime raises numerous questions to the present reality of Afghanistan as the group regained the power seat. This impacts human rights in the country, especially women’s and minorities’rights, who are concerned about possible losses of rights achieved during the last two decades. International opinion to the Taliban’s resurgence has been varied with issues of human aid, recognition of the new Government, and strategies for relations with Afghanistan.
Humanitarian Crisis:
The aforementioned factors alongside other pre-existing socio-economic factors, put into motion a humanitarian crisis of a calamitous proportion by the sudden rise to power of the Taliban militias. Due to this the level of food security has been compromised, health care services equally put under pressure, further leading to a large number of migrations and displacement within the country.
Humanitarian efforts have also been limited by operational issues, political instability, and the Taliban preventing humanitarian assistance and the rights of women. When it comes to donor nations and the establishment of relationships with the new Taliban Government, as well as the means of delivering aid, it can be said that there is a conflict between the humanitarian need for assistance in Afghanistan and geopolitical calculations which have to be taken into consideration by the members of the international community and the immediate neighbors.
Global Implications:
Thus, Afghanistan’s experience has significant lessons for global politics and the effects of international engagement and external state-building in the contemporary world. The withdrawal of Western forces has led to policy and academic debate while posing fundamental queries regarding the effectiveness of coercion, liberalism’s capabilities of building states and the morality of intervening in internationally sovereign states. The case of Afghanistan also serves as an example of how difficult it is to find the right balance between security and protection of the states and nations’ sovereignty on the one hand, and their desire for change and progress on the other.
Conclusion
With Afghanistan continuing to transition through Taliban leadership, the global community now has a critical opportunity to influence positive change in the country. In this regard, attention must be paid to such directions as ensuring the inclusion of the government, human rights, and meeting the humanitarian needs of Afghan citizens forced to flee due to conflict and poverty. The strategies focusing on diplomacy, dialogue, and various identity constructs, alongside the engagement with the relevant stakeholders within Afghan civil society, should inform the practice of conflict transformation and statecraft as learned from the Afghanistan experience. Humanitarian aid, stability, and development initiatives are best served by international cooperation and collaboration to ensure that Afghans have the support they need to create a safe and sustainable future for their nation.
Alina Fayaz
Alina Fayaz is a student of MA IR from Liverpool John Moores University and is currently working as a researcher and content creator at certain platforms.
