ONE YEAR OF TALIBAN RULE OVER AFGHANISTAN

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban seized control of Kabul's presidential palace, and that had been one year ago.

On the one hand, the governments are working together to discourage investment in the country, as you can see and read in the media pieces that claim Afghanistan is on the verge of collapsing this year. You will discover that many international links are not publicized.

Since the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan in mid-August of last year, the United States and other Western nations have summoned their embassy employees and stopped diplomatic relations. But Iran, Russia, China, and Pakistan's embassies were open and conducting business as usual.

The position of the Taliban government, which has been in charge of Afghanistan for a year, needs to be examined from as many perspectives as possible without being biased.

History of the Taliban (1994–2022)

‣September 1994: The Taliban, also known as "Students" or "Freedom Seekers," are founded in Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, with 50 members in Islamic educational institutions.

‣April 3, 1996, to December 17, 2001 (the "1996-2001" period): The Taliban formed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan), which was a government for the first time up until the Taliban's withdrawal from Tora Bora.

‣2002–2021: During the US military invasion of Afghanistan, US-backed administrations classified the Taliban as insurgents or rebels.

‣May 28, 2019-the organization in Russia is run by Mullah Abbas Dughani Barada, the political leader of the Taliban. To talk, go to Moscow.

‣February 29, 2020- The Taliban in Qatar and the United States. They committed to removing US troops from Afghanistan within 14 months when they inked a deal in Doha. The Agreement for Peace in Afghanistan is the name of the agreement.

‣On July 28, 2021, Taliban political head Mullah Abdul Ghani Barada and nine representatives visit China. In Tianjin, he met with Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister.

‣August 2021: Afghanistan's Taliban retook 90 provinces on July 9. and 104 prefectures on August 6. On August 14, control was reclaimed over practically all of the nation. Ashraf Ghani left office and left the country.

‣On August 15, 2021, the Taliban seized control of Kabul's presidential palace.

‣August 17, 2021: Pakistan, in the Taliban-controlled capital of Kabul. There are active Russian and Chinese embassies in Iran. Western embassies and NATO members depart from Afghanistan.

‣On August 21, 2021-At a press conference in Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabi Bula Mujahid said that Sharia law would rule Afghanistan.

‣On August 26, 2021, American forces invaded and raided Kabul. 13 American soldiers were killed in the Khora Zan (ISIS-K) explosion at Hamid Karzai International Airport by the Islamic State. Over 200 people were hurt, and over 170 Afghan citizens perished.

‣On August 31, 2021, US President Joe Biden declared from the White House that all US soldiers had left Afghanistan entirely.

‣On Friday, September 4, 2021, The Taliban could take control of Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Farah Hameed, the head of Pakistan's intelligence, was the first visitor to arrive in Kabul.

‣On September 6, 2021, the Taliban invaded the rest of Panjab, Afghanistan. Ahmad Masot, the head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), and Amdu Saleh, a former vice president, are in charge of the region.

‣September 7, 2021, finds 33 people in Afghanistan. A caretaker administration was declared in the meantime. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Tax is the head of the government, and his title is Haibartula Akhun Dada.

‣October 20, 2021- Ten countries in the area and representatives from the Taliban government met in Moscow to talk about how to help the people of Afghanistan.

‣In October 2021, Islamic State (IS) bombed targeted mosques in Kandahar and Kunduz, killing more than 120 people.

‣On November 11, 2021, the United States and Pakistan, China, and Russia attended the "Troika Plus" meeting held in Pakistan.

‣On November 14, 2021, the Taliban held a military training event in Kabul. The M1117 armored personnel carriers are atop soldiers carrying M4 assault rifles built in the United States. Military Mi-17 helicopters built in Russia have been featured in international media.

‣On November 18, 2021, Interim Afghan Foreign Minister Ammar Khan Muttaki sent a letter to the US Congress asking to return billions of dollars in assets from the Afghan central bank.

‣Due to the prohibition on all outside help, Afghanistan is in a terrible state of poverty and needs humanitarian assistance.

‣In March 2022, the Taliban reopened the schools and expelled any students still enrolled in middle and high schools. Government employees are required to maintain beards.

‣2022 May: Women and girls must wear a full-body hijab, and wearing a face mask when in public has been ordered. When traveling across great distances, women are not allowed to travel alone.

‣2022 June 22-More than 1,100 people were murdered, and tens of thousands were left homeless due to an earthquake that slammed the country's southeast.

‣The United States declares that a drone attack in Kabul has killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda.

Foreign Nations Connected to the Taliban Government

First, there is a distance between the current Taliban rule and Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Farah Ahmad, Pakistan's intelligence director, arrived in Kabul from Islamabad in September 2021, only days before the Taliban established an interim caretaker government. International affairs experts have also deemed Sir Judin Haqqani's nomination as the Minister of Interior devoid of any Pakistani influence, even though he should be Pakistan's ally in the cabinet. Since the Doha Agreement, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), fighting against the Pakistani army inside the country, has been active. This is even though the Taliban promised not to buy land in Afghanistan and turn it into a haven for terrorists from other countries.

Pakistan feels that the Taliban government should have suppressed the TTP insurgents more effectively but failed to do so. The Pakistan Air Force conducted air operations in eastern Afghanistan on April 17, 2022.

According to UNICEF, at least 40 people in Afghanistan were killed, including 20 children. Pakistan did not confirm the attack, but two days later, the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan issued a harsh warning to the Taliban to take action to stop militants from sheltering in Afghanistan.

Once more, solely the TTP was the subject of the two nations' criticisms of one another. However, in December 2021, 56 OIC foreign ministers attended a summit in Islamabad, where the Taliban representatives were invited (OIC ).

Humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan was discussed at the meeting. Early in August 2022, Abdul Wali, also known as Omar Khaliq Korasani, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, was traveling on a highway in southeast Afghanistan when a car bomb struck his car. The TTP groups have said that Pakistan's intelligence services play a role in the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This situation must be watched closely because "a light thread turns into a black thread."

Russia is another nation with connections to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Once the US truly leaves Afghanistan, Russia will welcome any third state to support its policy, according to the logic of its Afghanistan strategy, the "principle of unilateral control and limitation." They believed that the Russian administration would enthusiastically welcome the Chinese engagement. Within a year, that forecast was realized. Russia did not depart Kabul when other nations did in August 2021, and the Russian envoy could keep in touch with the Taliban by opening a regular office. After that, on October 2, 2021, Russia hosted a summit in Moscow to hold negotiations with the new Taliban administration and ten other nations in the area.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the new administration is in charge, "We observe that they have sought to calm the political and military situation and tried to match the strength of a government. On the other hand, South Asia's stability and security have become crucial concerns while Russia is at war with Ukraine.

The People's Republic of China ranks as the third significant nation in the Taliban government's international relations. Looking back in time, the Silk Road trade region included the present-day Afghan border even before the Han era. China existed before the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Wan Yi, the foreign minister, and the Taliban group met in Tianjin around the time of the Doha negotiations. Before the Taliban seized control of Kabul, China was Afghanistan's single largest foreign investor under previous President Ashraf Ghani. During that period, the company "won" a competitive offer worth US $3.5 billion (3,500 million). Middle Eastern Development in the Logar area of Afghanistan, The Enet Copper Mine, will after that be upgraded. The amount of foreign direct investment is the highest ever made in Afghanistan. A 25-year oil exploration contract has also been awarded to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The Chinese embassy in Kabul remained operational when the Taliban took power, maintaining the bilateral ties. The "Five Country Railway" project, part of China's strategic Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will connect the Chinese mainland with Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. This train line will connect to Pakistan via Afghanistan as well. China gave the Taliban administration $7.5 million in humanitarian relief in June 2022 due to a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that killed 1,150 people in southeast Afghanistan. Up to seven sizable Chinese aircraft touched down for drop-off assistance. The Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan gave 18 tons of aid supplies worth $200,000 to the Afghan Red Cross Society.

The United States, which has been attacking Afghanistan for 20 years under the guise of combating terrorism, must be mentioned on the other side of the relationship scenario when discussing the question of diplomatic departure. The United States took $9 billion in assets from Afghanistan after 20 years of arbitrary military deployment and disengagement. The amount was determined in October 2021 as follows: "Four million people times forty million dollars (4 followed by seven zeroes) is 225 US dollars, or nine billion dollars (9 followed by nine zeroes). Afghanistan's current population is represented by the second number and its US-held currency by the first. This number indicates that it is human rights. If liberal democracy is the name,

Hostage Nation

The US Biden administration and the Taliban second-in-command did not take the sensitive handling of bilateral ties seriously, even as President Trump's face-to-face discussions in Doha aimed to shape the future of Afghanistan. Therefore, it was a year when Afghanistan had a significant economic downturn under the Taliban administration, just as the United States had to endure a history of humiliating departures.

First, foreign aid is stopped. The massive development initiatives that have been employed to support civil society over the previous ten years, including military investment, have abruptly come to an end. The government apparatus suffered the most, and the jobless rate increased. In addition to being shut off from the global financial system, the nation's banking sector nearly collapsed due to the US seizing nine billion US dollars in Afghan foreign private money.

These elements worked together to cause poverty during the first year of the Taliban's administration. The unemployment rate rose as more than a million people lost their jobs. There was an intellectual exodus and a decline in optimism for the future.

The Taliban administration should appreciate the international community's volunteer assistance during the past winter when food shortages affected the entire nation. The Afghan people received one billion dollars worth of humanitarian aid from the international community during that time. According to data from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 97 percent of Afghans may be impoverished by the end of 2022. According to the World Bank, 37% of Afghan households did not have enough money to buy food in April 2022, and 33% had no other living expenses. This is due to the country's declining income. Furthermore, Afghanistan's

If we project into the future, we will see that the Taliban administration in Afghanistan will not be able to survive the economic downturn that Western nations are currently experiencing. This catastrophe can be overturned only if the Taliban leadership can successfully implement a practical program addressing the fundamental needs of the Afghan people.

The Good Outweighs the Negative

Despite the economic turmoil, the Taliban regime has made considerable progress over the past year.

The first is that after the Taliban took control, there was a "significant improvement in the security situation in Afghanistan." After NATO troops left Afghanistan, the Taliban formally ended their use of force, and all military opposition forces were given a broad amnesty. He put an end to the violent attacks all across the nation. Every regular citizen across the country felt safer as a result.

It was conceivable to control the armed leaders based on the areas where violence was committed for more than 40 years due to the illegal conduct of a single authority. The concrete blocks that created traffic jams were removed, along with the barriers that had been in place for years to keep people from entering and leaving Kabul and other cities. There are fewer body checks at public gates. These occurrences have boosted Afghan civilians' confidence and demonstrated that normalcy could be preserved. Afghan women and the Hazara people, who are fighters for ISIL, are still the only ones who have benefited from this progress.

A second aspect is a regional context, where the "Taliban has been able to preserve excellent ties with neighboring countries," except for intermittent problems with Pakistan. Despite UN sanctions, China continues to have diplomatic connections with the Taliban. In addition to offering humanitarian aid, he planned investments while still maintaining economic links with the nation. Additionally, Uzbekistan expanded border trade and saw the new Afghan administration as a friend. No country in the region is considering backing a proxy conflict in Afghanistan at the moment.

The Taliban's third thing was Afghanistan's governmental institutions and "the security system of the country as it manages to preserve infrastructure." They kept their employees while maintaining an adequate quality of service, as is the case with all public organizations. The central bank was the most important institution that the Taliban could take control of. The interim bank chairman collaborated closely with local and foreign consultants on the Afghan notes while operating independently under the Taliban administration. Therefore, the letters of the local currency are both local and regional. International currency stability and relative value It was made accessible immediately, and the Polish-printed banknotes fared well in the domestic market. The National Army and National Police each received roughly 100,000 and 180,000 recruits from the Taliban regime. Both new and old Taliban members make up most of the recruits.

As the fourth metric, "we were able to independently develop the country's budget based on the country's income alone," despite the complete absence of international budget help. Afghanistan has emerged from 20 years of corruption thanks to the Taliban administration. Despite the country's economic challenges, the Taliban can still bring in more than $100 million a month in fiscal revenue.

The Taliban's social policies have been enthusiastic, even though some of their accomplishments must be acknowledged. For instance, several autonomous regions restrict the operating hours of numerous local schools, even though middle and high school students are permitted to attend. There were some missing items. Press freedom and the liberty to practice rituals (including music and dancing) are examples of freedoms. Many Afghans are disillusioned with the Taliban administration and suffocated by the laws because they lack political empowerment. Taliban leaders are worried about bilateral and international relations due to these social programs; visits are not allowed to travel to regional conferences, and they are being cut off from other countries.

A One-Year-Long Journey

On August 15, 2022, the Taliban took control of Kabul's presidential palace for a year. This article will be concluded with an interview and a letter.

Al-Jazeera news agency met and questioned Nix Haqqani, one of the Taliban's senior leaders. He is the youngest child of Afghan War Commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, who opposed the Soviet invasion. Sira Judin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani network and the current interior minister of the Taliban provisional government, is his youngest brother.

Success in the first year of the Taliban regime, according to Al-Jazeera. When questioned about the losses, Nix responded, "Our government has brought about significant changes over the past year. There is no justice, and foreigners predominate. We protected our nation from invasion. This nation is governed by outside forces—every community's intense desire for freedom. We are pleased with this, in line with God's will. If you see our nation from the outside, you will notice significant changes in daily life, particularly in terms of safety. It was the first time he could oversee the nation without having any remaining territory. This is a central government without a gap in 40 years. Without any charges or outside help, the central government was able to pay the full wages of all public employees. "There aren't many visible examples," he answered.

The minority Hazara group, which comprises just 9% of Afghanistan's population overall, is another factor. The Hazaras are Taliban combatants and Shia Muslims. This ethnic minority has also been the victim of deliberate attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants. The day Kabul was seized by the Taliban. A Hazara woman gave birth to a child in a Kabul hospital on August 15, 2021. The feelings of a Hazara woman celebrating the birth and survival of her kid, who turned one year old today, It is best to read expectations like a letter.

When the Taliban initially came to power, your father and mother fled from Afghanistan to Iran as young adults. Because the Taliban troops executed Hazara citizens on the street if they were accused. My mum did not know each other at the time. However, our families are unified in their desire to flee extremist control and find safety. When everything was back to normal, my mother came home. We will study their work in the hopes that they will put in much effort to help us establish our nest in the neighborhood. But this time, my heart was broken once more. I ponder whether these castes suffer so powerfully because they are Hazaras. Ensure that when their offspring mature, they become physicians. I was sent to school to become a teacher.

He was murdered due to his Hazara ethnicity while taking a university test prep course. My mother is the gathering place for my people. I have seen them damage our homes, highways, and maternity hospitals. My mother was away in Afghanistan when the baby's first birthday arrived. We still have the Taliban, and things don't seem suitable for us. Mothers consider asking them to leave daily. To organize your departure, to impart knowledge of the world to your children and siblings. I want to make sure I have every option to live my life how I want it to be so that it works. My mother's spirit declined for six months after the baby was born. My mum has since rediscovered her strength. Let's resolve this issue so that I can give birth to your children and siblings. Mom tried her hardest to keep you all safe. I'll take any opportunity to get out of this nation. All my mum wants is a kid to survive and safeguard the little man's sister and siblings."

Reference:

1. Pakistan’s Relations With Taliban Regime Worsen.

2. Foreign relations of Afghanistan.

3. Top Pakistan Taliban leader killed in Afghanistan roadside attack.

4. The Taliban’s year-one report card.

5. Q&A: Anas Haqqani on one year of Taliban rule.

6. Taliban announces new Afghanistan govt: Here’s a full list of acting cabinet ministers.

7. A letter to … a child born the day the Taliban retook Afghanistan.