Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: Problems and Prospects
A Brief history of the Islamic Emirate
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was created in 2004 ended a year before in August 2021 and Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was restored once again. The first Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established in September 1996 after the period of civil war and fall of Kabul in the hands of Taliban. The civil war had started in 1992 amongst various mujahideen armies after the end of the rule of President Muhammad Najibullah (a Soviet supported communist) who was later on tortured to death by the Taliban in 1996. The rule of Taliban in this period is also referred to as the first Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. It is believed that at its peak the Taliban government controlled about 90 % of the country. However, after the declaration of a “War on Terror” by the U.S 2001 due to the September 11 attacks ‘The Islamic Emirate’ ceased to exist. This time Northern Alliance played an important role with the support of the U.S. It was a military alliance of groups that operated between1996 to 2001. It however, controlled only less than 10% of the country and was cornered in the north-east region only. Later on the Taliban were marginalized due to U.S and western presence and Northern Alliance was also dissolved. Its members and followers supported the new Afghan Interim Administration and some of them even became part of the Karzai administration. In 2004 The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan came into existence which continued till 15th August 2021. The dramatic collapse of The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has forced the people of different parts of the world to understand the phenomenon of change in Afghanistan in a more systemic way in order to come to any conclusion. Taliban takeover again in Afghanistan on 15th August 2021 is therefore, also termed as Taliban 2.0 by political observers.
Why did the Islamic Republic Collapse?
People have various views about the collapse of the Islamic Republic in 2021. The question arises whether the collapse was the result of one sided approach of the U.S or the western forces in order to perpetuate their dominance or was it due to lack of enough support and lack of balanced thinking for the future along with mismanagement and corruption in the system?
Afghanistan has been facing extraordinary external and internal disturbances right from the time of Soviet invasion in 1979. After the Soviet invasion it passed through a phase of intense civil war in which various groups of mujahideens became active with their different interests and approaches. Later the due to the 9/11 attacks the U.S and other western forces entered into Afghanistan and tried to control Afghanistan and regulate them as per their suitability. All these forces had no clear strategy in order to build a better Afghanistan. They were guided by the immediate goal of defeating terrorism which had really posed a big challenge before mankind. In the meantime there was countless flow of money in the country from foreign powers to control and defeat terrorism. The billions of dollars which came in the country in the name of aid created a lot of corruption which made the state vulnerable. The government could not create a sense of responsibility in the state administration and common citizens. Consequently the country suffered severely. Today, when the U.S and other foreign powers have left Afghanistan and Taliban has come to power, people are facing endless problems. The administration is not able to meet the challenges of various types.
Democracy and good governance has not been a priority in the contemporary Afghanistan. Most of the time Afghanistan has witnessed violence in this period. Both the people and security forces of Afghanistan were tired of the violence of the past. The government therefore, had lost the legitimacy of their populace. Some people who were trained in the recent past with the idea of democracy or those who realised the importance of democratic values, could not get opportunity to develop themselves in Afghanistan. It was the reason, why thousands of Afghan people wanted to leave Afghanistan after the takeover by Taliban and the end of Islamic Republic in August 2021.
Taliban Takeover and its impact
Taking over by Taliban in Afghanistan was actually not abrupt. It could be possible because there was no other alternative in Afghan society. Most of its leaders such as Habatullah Akhundzada, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar or Mullah Hassan Akhund etc have been active in Afghanistan politics since a long time. The U.S leaders had understood the nature of Afghan society where democracy does not have much appeal amongst the common people and it cannot function as like in a liberal society. Therefore, most of its leaders knew that it is better to leave Afghanistan with dignity. Barak Obama had initiated informal negotiations with the Taliban to find a political solution and he had already promised to begin withdrawing troops in 2011. Donald Trumph and his administration engaged the Taliban in formal negotiation, culminating in the February 2020 Doha agreement that called for all American forces to leave Afghanistan by May 2021. President Biden later extended the deadline according to which the U.S had a plan to withdraw fully from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The U.S forces however, left Afghanistan fully on 15th August and the Afghan government collapsed before the deadline of withdrawal.
After the Taliban’s takeover in 2021many people are forced to face dangerous challenges such as threats of violence, migration and targeted killings. Women are particularly forced to live a suppressed life. Economic condition of Afghanistan is extremely vulnerable. The country which was based on foreign aid since more than 20 years, now does not get enough aid as most of the countries in the world do not have normal relations with the insurgent Taliban. Even the World Bank and IMF have halted Afghanistan access to its fund. Apart from all this, the country is facing natural calamities. Droughts and earthquakes have further complicated the situation and damaged the life of people. The world community must take into the account the sufferings of the Afghan people and come forward to help more liberally and humanly.
