Whether the Taliban will manage to garner world support and establish a credible, accepted, and respected government?
By Faisal Ahmed khan siyasat.net
15th August 2021, when India was celebrating its independence, neighboring Afghanistan was witnessing one of the turbulent times of its history. Chaos and turbulence are not new for Kabul; it has witnessed many scenes like this before. Few important episodes in the history of Afghanistan are noteworthy to mention here. When many countries in the region were busy in nation-building and marching towards prosperity after getting independence from colonial British rule, Afghanistan unfortunately, came under the occupation of the Soviet Union famously known as the USSR.
The occupation of Afghanistan by the USSR was a part of a muscle-flexing exercise during the cold war era to checkmate Pakistan which was the USA’s favorite buddy at that time. USSR was not content with the advent of Afghanistan and wanted to move further in the territories of Pakistan which were bordering Afghanistan. However, the USA and Pakistan didn’t allow that to happen through the active involvement of the US CIA and a strong approach by General Zia.
Furthermore, the struggled to free Afghanistan by Mujahedeen was fuelled by the USA and Pakistan. At that time, the Northern Alliance was at the forefront of the battle with the USSR headed by Pashtun leader Ahmed Shah Masood and Gulbeden Hikmatyar, Tajik leader Burhanuddin Rabbani and Uzbek Commander General Rasheed Dostum. Surprising, by this time the Taliban Movement was not in the picture. However, the leaders of the Taliban were part of this struggle against the USSR along with the Mujahedeen forces.
By the start of the 90s, the world has seen the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany and an even greater fall of the mighty empire of the USSR which failed to keep its hold of Afghanistan and withdrew from its territory in a humiliating defeat. Afghanistan got its independence but the in-fight between the waring faction of Mujahedeen continued. This power struggle and lusty blood bath resulted in the rise of the Taliban Movement which acquired power in 1996 defeating the Northern alliance. But their rule continued for only five years and the US attack Afghanistan to get hold of Osama Bin Laden and declaring the war on terrorism.
Thereafter, the US-backed Afghan government was controlling Kabul for almost twenty years. But the constant presence of alien forces on their land triggered another struggle by the Taliban which came to an abrupt conclusion amidst the withdrawal of forces by the US. Taliban got hold of Kabul again and President Ashraf Ghani fled to the country leaving power in the hands of the Taliban.
Now, the testing time for the Taliban has started, it was easy to find faults in the functioning of other governments but difficult to perform. Taliban have constantly blamed the past governments for the failures in every sphere. They fought bitterly, aroused public sentiments against the present regime, and occupied the hot seat of power. They are at the focal point again and the world is watching them and the onus of proving their administrative and governance skill lies squarely on them. The utmost urgent matter where the performance of an effective government is judged includes following:
1. Effective enforcement of law and order: What makes the distinction between jungle rule and a civilized society is the effective enforcement of the law and order. The law of the land should not only be accepted, respected but should be implemented, enforced, and followed. Furthermore, the enforcement of the law should be impartial without any element of discrimination and selective application. The lives, properties, and interests of all individuals should be protected at any cost. The authorities need to be held accountable for the failure in doing so.
2. Equality in Treatment of all citizen: Taliban should treat all the citizen equally irrespective of their caste, creed and ethnic background. Afghanistan has got diversified cultures, languages, and ethnicity which include Pashtun, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Hazaras. If all ethnicity and minority groups are not treated well they are bound to start resistance and struggle again jeopardizing the stability of the country. Hence, an inclusive approach in government formation, listening to all factions, and giving them equal opportunity and dignified treatment will ensure long-term peace and prosperity of the country.
3. Relationship with other countries: Taliban has spoken about maintaining normal relations with all countries. However, strong confidence-building measures should be taken by them to garner the trust of the other countries and world bodies like UNO, etc. Maintaining diplomatic relations and bilateral trade with other countries will boost the economy of the country resulting in peace and prosperity for its people.
Whether the Taliban will manage to garner world support and establish a credible, accepted, and respected government? Whether the wounds of the affected people will heal? Will Afghanistan resume a long deserving peace, prosperity, and stability? The answer lies in the near future and all anxious eyes looking for it.
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