By Sirdar M. Mubarik Ali Khan Khosa
After the sudden departure of the gurus, the pandits, the astrologers, the US troops and the NATO forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban forces took over the country’s affairs in August, 2021.
The protracted Afghanistan conflict abruptly gave way to an accelerating human rights and humanitarian crisis. The Taliban immediately rolled back women’s rights and media freedom amongst the foremost advancements of the post-2001 reconstruction effort.
Most secondary schools for girls were closed, and women were prohibited from working in most public and private sectors and many other fields. The Taliban assaulted and detained journalists therefore many media houses and TV channels shut down or drastically scaled back their operations, mainly because many journalists had fled the country.
The new Taliban cabinet included no women, no minorities and no ministers from outside the Taliban’s own ranks and files. In many cities, the Taliban searched for, threatened, and sometimes detained or executed former members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), officials of the former government, and at times their family members.
As the Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, thousands of people tried to flee the country, but chaos and violence at the airport impeded the evacuation of many at-risk Afghans. The United Nations reported that Taliban forces were responsible for nearly forty percent of civilian deaths and injuries in the first six months of 2021.
Although, many incidents were not claimed by the Talib’s or other forces, nearly half the civilian casualties comprised of innocent women and children. Another factor was the attacks carried out by the “ISKP” which included assassinations of important personnel and a number of deadly bombings in Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat and other cities across Afgahnistan creating a further mess. Taliban forces in several provinces carried out retaliatory killings of dozens of former officials and security force’s personnel.
The circumstances remain the same for the Afghans but the focus has shifted to the “Russo-Ukraine” war. The war has taken over the media, social media, as well as the newspapers globally and left the Afghan people to rot.
Today, Afghanistan has the fourth-highest crime rate in the world ,so says the (Afghanistan Crime Rate & Statistics – Historical Data) and also produces and supplies 85% of the opium to the world .Lack of sustainable economic development and social conditions has created unemployment amongst a large portion of the population and absence of rudimentary basic services are major factors behind the crime.
The situation worsened after the Taliban’s took control over the government of Afghanistan. This has also led to disagreements with other states in the region. As of November 1st 2021 Russia, Turkey, and Iran stated they would not acknowledge a Taliban-led government until they formed an “inclusive” administration.
Throughout the year, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan was repeatedly seen by the UN special procedures, treaty bodies, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United Nations should not only acknowledge the Taliban regime in Afghanistan but also and take into account the deteriorating humanitarian and conditions otherwise and play its role but should also urge leading nations across the globe to try and bring stability in Afghanistan as it is not only effecting Afghanistan and its people but also the neighbouring countries,the region, their people and their economy. Pakistan is certainly on the top of that list.
