Taliban in Afghanistan: Is History repeating itself?

After years of sacrifice and violence, the Taliban successfully gained control over all the districts of Afghanistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan has declared that the war is over and victorious Taliban military persons are roaming freely now. They patrolled the streets of the capital city with their white Taliban flag. However, millions of Afghan civilians are trying to find a way out of this deadly situation. Sadly, the Afghan government has collapsed and there is nobody to stop the Taliban in Afghanistan now.

Taliban in Afghanistan

In a major breakthrough of events, the Taliban has taken control over 90% of the districts including Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. Scared of the Taliban and violence, former President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. This allowed the Taliban officials to easily enter the country and gain power. Moreover, they now have full control over the presidential palace. Most of all, the civilians are afraid to death and trying to find an escape from these destructive times.

Fearing the havoc of the Taliban, a dozen Afghan pilots have fled the country in Afghanistan’s aircraft.  Thousands of Afghan civilians have escaped to the bordering countries in order to save their lives. However, the situation in the neighbouring countries is crazy. Most of all, their focus has shifted from administering their country to trying their best to deal with the situation.

What do we know about the Taliban?

The Taliban means “students” in the Pashto language. It is a popular terrorist group that emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan. It happened about the same time when the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan. The famous Pashtun movement initially took place in religious seminaries and it preached about a hardline form of Sunni Islam. Moreover, it received financial aid from Saudi Arabia for many years.

They took control over some Pashtun areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. They made a promise to restore peace and security in these areas and enforce Islamic law, once they gain power.

Now in a statement, the Taliban said, “Our rapid gains show that we have popular acceptance by the Afghan people. We reassure both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe. The Islamic Emirate (as the Taliban calls itself) will, as always, protect their life, property and honour, and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation. Also, the diplomats and aid workers would face no problems.

What does the UN Security Council have to say?

The UN Security Council called for a meeting of the 15 member nations to discuss Afghanistan. Their suggestion is the idea of establishing a new government in Afghanistan, “united, inclusive and representative, including with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women”.

In addition to that, the 15-member body also called for an immediate end to hostilities and human rights abuses. All parties allowed immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

Coming for a rescue, many countries have come together to safeguard the departure of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country. The US State Department released a joint statement regarding the same on Sunday.

“Afghans and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so; roads, airports and border crossing must remain open, and calm must be maintained. Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility — and accountability — for the protection of human life and property, and for the immediate restoration of security and civil order,” the statement read.

Where will the Aghan Civilians go?

Though the Afghan civilians want to escape the country, most of them have nowhere to go. They are just as helpless as they are fearful in panic. Everybody is running to protect their families and save their lives, even if it takes leaving all behind. They all are in a devastating mood. This situation in Afghanistan is, in all terms, a humanitarian crisis.

The Departments of State and Defense announced that US forces will take over air traffic control at Kabul airport and expand security there. They released a joint statement informing about the same.

“Tomorrow and over the coming days, we will be transferring out of the country thousands of American citizens who have been resident in Afghanistan, as well as locally employed staff of the U.S. mission in Kabul and their families and other particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals. And we will accelerate the evacuation of thousands of Afghans eligible for U.S. Special Immigrant Visas, nearly 2,000 of whom have already arrived in the United States over the past two weeks,” the statement said. “For all categories, Afghans who have cleared security screening will continue to be transferred directly to the United States. And we will find additional locations for those yet to be screened,” the statement said.

Will the Taliban in Afghanistan form a government?

As a matter of fact, Taliban spokesperson Sohail Shaheen in a video interview said, “A new Taliban government will include non-Taliban Afghans. Though it would be “premature” right now to name who the officials will be, we are trying to have some “well-known figures” to be part of the government.”

“When we are saying an Afghan inclusive Islamic government, that means that other Afghans also have participation in the government. All those handing over their weapons and joining Taliban forces will be granted amnesty, and that their lives and property would be secure. Their names are in a registry and they would be used as a “reserve” force and called upon as needed,” he added.

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