August 15 marks Afghanistan’s new Independence Day. Two years ago this day, Kabul plunged into chaos and uncertainty following President Ashraf Ghani’s abrupt departure for Uzbekistan. For several hours the capital had no government, prompting the Taliban – who had been camping on the southern outskirts of Kabul as the transfer of power talks continued – decided to march in. Ironic indeed, an unprecedented return to power of a group that the US-led coalition forces had tried hard for over two decades to defeat.
The Taliban interim regime celebrated the day with vows to continue with the “Islamic System” it had fought for – come what may. No diktat, no interference is acceptable. Nor should the world expect us to abandon the RIGHT PATH that we have chosen for ourselves as a result of decades of struggle.
During the day both Kabul, the political capital, and Kandahar, the real power center, reverberated with the same resolve to the context of a socio-economically uneasy life across Afghanistan. Unemployment is high, inflation has begun pinching the people like never before and large sections of the female population remain confined to homes.
The emirate officials have their own way of explanations for the current situation.
In a meeting at his office in Kandahar, Zabihullah Mujahid , the eloquent spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban government), responded to a number of critical questions I posed to him on subjects such as women’s exclusion from education and work, terrorism and economic connectivity. We must look at things from our socio-political context and not necessarily from the western prism, he underlined.
“By the Grace of Allah we have successfully survived for two years , this Tuesday is the day of triumph of the jihad that the people of Afghanistan that they waged against the United States and its allies.”
“Now that we have demonstrated our resilience and consolidated peace, it is time for the United States and others to formally recognize our government because it is the right of the people of Afghanistan, and withholding it is not a positive step,” Zabihullah Mujahid told me during the interview.
Mujahid shrugged of the “over-emphasis” on the female education as an excuse for invisible motives.
“Women’s education and work is not the issue. These are mere excuses for some hidden agendas,” he said adding that unfortunately, reconciling with the idea of a real Islamic government is difficult for all those Western countries that we defeated in Afghanistan, so they are not ready to recognize us.”
We have made sure to ensure citizens’ life and property, crime is minimal and offenses against women have gone down, Mujahid asserted. There are of course problems, he admitted, but we must keep in mind the years of war and conflict that the society has gone through. Despite heavy odds, Mujahid claimed, that the Islamic Emirate has meanwhile met all the requirements – nationwide peace and security, stabilization of the economy, over the past two years to qualify for becoming part of the global community.
Despite their objections on the women’s issues, almost all the important nations are engaging with us any way , maintain their diplomatic missions in Afghanistan and Doha (Qatar), and trade is fully flowing in and out of Afghanistan with all its key neighbours ( Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Pakistan).
“Most of our relations with several countries are essentially formal in nature. Our visits to and cooperation with them through diplomacy are all formal. Our official business, trade, and exchange of delegations take place with them,” Mujahid said, asking what else should it take us to ask for our legitimate place in places such as the United Nations.
How can the outsiders call us out on human rights when they hold on to our funds ( $9 billion frozen Afghan central bank assets), our sovereignty is being violated with daily drone flights operated by the American CIA, and our senior leaders being denied free travel because of travel restrictions, Mujahid quipped.
The spokesperson, who was relocated from Kabul to Kandahar – presumably to underscore the criticality of this southern city in the current political matrix, recounted that the Taliban had ended illegal opium poppy cultivation as well as its trafficking, ensured women’s rights to inheritance, and engaged in commercial activities in line with Sharia. These are big outcomes that call for removal of sanctions on our trade and banking to help us develop and further consolidate gains of our jihad, Mujahid said.
He also reiterated his country’s commitment to counter terrorism, saying Taliban supreme leader Mawlavi Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered security forces through a diktat to ensure no one uses Afghan soil to threaten America or any other country. The diktat literally declares cross-border attacks repugnant to the Islamic tenets, the first major written assurance given to Afghanistan’s neighbours, say regional diplomats.
Mujahid claimed that Taliban counterterrorism operations had almost eliminated Daesh and its hideouts in Afghanistan. Daesh is the local name for Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group.
“If any one, including Afghans, found guilty of violating the diktat, legal action will be taken against him in accordance with our justice system,” Mujahid sad, emphasizing that “the Islamic Emirate does in any way condone attacks on the interests of our neighbors because that will eventually hurt us
No shelter, no support and no expression of sympathy or solidarity with those attacking our neighbours, so runs the new line of welcome argument since Pakistan, too , has had its reservations on reported TTP sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. We will take care of them, Pakistan should take care of the problem inside its territory, officials say.
