The Taliban on Wednesday celebrated the three-year anniversary of the disastrous Biden-Harris withdrawal that gave them power in Afghanistan, more secure in power than ever despite constant complaints from the international community about their appalling human rights offenses.
Taliban victory parades on Wednesday included the huge amount of American military equipment abandoned to the terrorist regime by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Each former American military vehicle was festooned with the black-and-white flags of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
Biden’s early vows to keep the Taliban regime completely isolated from the world community have given way to a more nuanced “mix of isolation and selective engagement,” as the Crisis Group delicately phrased it on Wednesday:
Western countries, frustrated especially at the Taliban regime’s restrictions on the rights of girls and women, have enforced a raft of sanctions, asset freezes and banking restrictions. At the same time, they have devoted billions of dollars to mitigating poverty and preventing famine, while some have kept in discreet contact with the Taliban about security issues.
Countries nearer to Afghanistan have gone further in dealing with the new regime in Kabul, striking trade agreements and accrediting Taliban ambassadors. They view concerns like security and water sharing as pressing and, in some cases, they are readier to overlook the Taliban’s treatment of girls and women – or at least to believe that outside pressure is unlikely to force a change in tack.
As the Crisis Group noted, the Taliban has been astoundingly successful at imposing crude medieval laws against women, relegating them to the status of mere property or livestock, even as the international community insists the rights of women are among its top issues.
Women have been treated worse by the Taliban with each passing year – banned from schools, banned from jobs with the U.N. and foreign non-governmental organizations, prohibited from accessing public facilities, and even kicked out of beauty salons.
The Taliban have secured total political control of Afghanistan, outlawing all other parties and cowing what remains of independent media into silence. Women are not allowed to be journalists at all. Dissidents have been imprisoned, tortured, and killed.
The United Nations believes that even the hideous amount of documented torture and murder perpetrated by the Taliban is only a fraction of the whole, because dissidents are terrified of being tortured and killed themselves if they report atrocities to the outside world.
Sanctions against the Taliban regime persist, but the Islamic Emirate has largely won its bet that the world community would continue spending lavishly to provide food, shelter, and medicine for Afghan civilians. The economy of Afghanistan remains weak, but it has improved noticeably over the past year. Life got harder for Afghan civilians, but the Taliban has been able to restore a good deal of the government’s income.
Foreign direct investment in Afghanistan declined sharply after the Taliban takeover, but China is eager to exploit the country’s natural resources, and does not care about the Taliban’s human rights horrors at all. Tens of millions of dollars in Chinese investments have increased Afghanistan’s oil output considerably, although not by as much as Beijing anticipated, as the Chinese have learned the Taliban makes for a frustrating, mercurial, and inept business partner.
The rapacious Chinese Communist Party is also eager to exploit Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, including lithium, the crucial element for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. China has billions of dollars in deals on the table to develop Afghanistan’s minerals but, as with oil, these ambitious plans are lagging behind schedule due to the arrogance and ineptitude of the Taliban government. China has no intention of giving up, however, and the Taliban still wants those Chinese billions.
Afghanistan’s independent Tolo News reported the Taliban is increasing its diplomatic reach on the third anniversary of the takeover. No country has officially recognized the Islamic Emirate as a legitimate government, but 39 countries have extended diplomatic credentials to Taliban ambassadors, including China.
The Islamic Emirate has at least partially functioning embassies in the Netherlands, Spain, and India. Taliban emissaries have been received in Qatar, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Taliban officials recently invited Qatar to reopen its diplomatic facilities in Kabul.
Pakistan has spoken of “engaging” with the Taliban regime to “bring peace to this country” and “ensure the prosperity and tranquility of the Afghan people.”
Kazakhstan has delisted the Taliban as a terrorist organization and Russia is hinting at doing so. As Russian President Vladimir Putin put it in June 2023:
There are challenges in Afghanistan that everyone is aware of, but we must establish relations with the current government. The Taliban are the ones governing the country; they hold power in Afghanistan today, and we must follow the realities and establish our relations accordingly.
The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) temporarily lifted travel bans on four Taliban officials last year so they could attend the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Another Tolo News piece on Wednesday quoted the Taliban Interior Ministry stating that “anti-security incidents” have declined by 90 percent over the past year, suggesting the Taliban has consolidated its grip on the country and largely defeated enemies like the Islamic State.
Tolo News itself doubted this rosy estimate, noting that its own reporting showed 130 people were killed or injured in terrorist attacks across the country last year, many of them claimed by ISIS. Even by this count, Tolo News felt it was fair to say the Taliban has made progress against terrorist and insurgent threats.
The Taliban can also claim credit for largely eliminating terrorist attacks launched against other countries from Afghan soil. Every country bordering Afghanistan, plus the United Nations, remains concerned about extremist groups operating across Afghanistan’s borders, but aside from a few Taliban scuffles with Pakistani border guards, few threats have flowed outward from Afghanistan over the past six months.
“There is complete assurance that all of Afghanistan is under the control of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The entire country is secure, and there is no individual or group that is unauthorized, armed, or poses a threat either inside Afghanistan or outside of it,” boasted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Other Taliban officials said their regime no longer faces any significant internal threat, and has fulfilled its promise to bring peace and security to the country. Of course, prior to seizing power after the Biden-Harris withdrawal disaster, the Taliban itself was the major threat to peace and security.
Tolo News found anecdotal evidence that many Afghans believe Taliban control has made the country more secure.
“An Afghan can go from the corners of Kandahar to Pamir Badakhshan and from Pamir Badakhshan to Spin Boldak Kandahar,” one Kabul resident said.
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