SWABI:
Taliban have captured Kabul in a relatively non-violent fashion¬ — something that analysts had predicted otherwise. The US has put the blame for the fiasco on the Afghan security forces for their lack will and determination to pose any significant resistance to the Taliban’s march toward Kabul.
Now that the insurgents have taken over, their journey ahead may not be a bed of roses. Running a government requires an appropriate state machinery consisting of a bureaucratic setup, administrative experts, medical staff, economist etc. During the 20-year campaign against the US invasion and the Kabul government, the Taliban have only produced in their ranks men capable of fighting on the battlefield while they are now in desperate need of a cluster of men capable of shaping and executing administrative policies and tasks, managing medical facilities, educational institutes, and running banks and economy. These “odd” jobs can’t be performed efficiently if one does not have the required knowledge and experience. According to the UN World Food Programme, one-third of the Afghan population is already starving due to high levels of food insecurity. The crisis has further been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Adding fuel to the fire is that those Afghans who were competent enough to perform in the administrative sphere are fleeing the country amid the atmosphere of fear and reprisal.
Beside these mounting challenges, a stand-off with militant Islamic State is also a grave concern for the Taliban. The former has claimed responsibility for the attack on Kabul’s airport which killed 13 US personnel and nearly 60 Afghan civilians. The death toll in a single incident is the highest since the US signed a peace deal with the insurgents in Doha last year. Afghanistan’s society is diverse and complex in nature, how will the Taliban govern this multi-ethnic society is yet to be seen.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2021.
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