Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has reiterated that Afghanistan is a ‘shared and collective responsibility’, just before leaving for China to attend the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries. While this may be one way of looking at Afghanistan and addressing the many issues faced by the troubled nation, there is one fundamental element missing from the equation: Afghanistan helping itself by realizing and accepting its own set of responsibilities to move forward. As a precursor to tomorrow’s meeting in China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dropped in on the Taliban regime at Kabul when returning home after visiting Pakistan for his special presence at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting, and to attend the Pakistan Day Parade. During his visit, Mr Wang gave the Taliban a familiar message: that if there is any hope of their country joining the international community, winning general recognition from other countries, it must conform to the standards set by the international community, which include allowing women to obtain an education, and protecting civil rights. The Taliban administration has done nothing along these lines and has in fact, just a day after the visit, made matters worse by banning air travel for female passengers unless they were accompanied by a male relative.
Regional security is a major concern for all stakeholders and even in this respect, the Taliban have left much to be desired. Increased terrorist activity in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover can be directly correlated with groups like the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan and the Islamic State-Khorasan being able to operate more freely without any intervention by the new regime in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is currently in dire need of economic assistance and that hefty level of investment can only come from countries like China and perhaps even Russia. The longer this investment is delayed, the more damage will be inflicted upon an already collapsed Afghan economy and add to the general degradation of social fabric. It is entirely up to the Taliban now to reassess their strategy, make good on promises made, let go of the old ways and create space for themselves in the international community and prosper as a result. Anything short of this; the 20-year struggle for independence from US occupation would be in vain.
