The US might try to regain ground in Afghanistan

Afghan crisis entered into catastrophic and almost half of the Afghan population is under threat. A war-torn country, with almost no infrastructure, no electricity, no fuel is facing a severe shortage of food and medicines. Children and elder people are more vulnerable.

The US is taking revenge for its humiliating defeat from the people of Afghanistan. The sanctions and freezing of Afghan assets have adversely impacted the lives of common people in Afghanistan. The US could not save its face and could not digest the Taliban’s victory. So, it is using economic measures to take its revenge. As a result of the sanction, not only by the US but also its allies, the Afghan situation has worsened as half of the population is starving. It can be termed as genocide or catastrophe. It is a human-made crisis and can be averted. It should have not been imposed initially or must be avoided immediately.

Pakistan is the only country that understands Afghanistan better than any other country, and the only country which suffered most adversely due to unrest and instability in Afghanistan for the last four decades. Pakistan kept on educating the rest of the world on the Afghan crisis and highlighted the need for emergency humanitarian assistance.

Pakistan hosted the 17th extraordinary meeting of the council of foreign ministers of the OIC countries on 19 of December 2021 in Islamabad, to discuss the Afghan situation. The meeting was well attended by the OIC countries, permanent security council members (P-5), EU, UN, and international organizations, etc. It was a unique platform to understand the severe human-made disastrous situation in Afghanistan.

One of the important steps taken by the OIC countries is to set up an emergency relief fund for Afghanistan. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged one billion Saudi Riyals immediately. Many other oil-rich countries have followed too. Almost all OIC countries will donate according to their resources.

The Meeting also urged the US and EU to remove the sanctions and unfreeze their assets to save human lives in Afghanistan. UN has already appealed to the international community to extend humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan on an urgent basis.

Pakistan has been generous toward Afghanistan and offered huge humanitarian assistance according to its resources. But, much more is needed, beyond Pakistan’s capacity. Pakistan is already hosting 3-5 million Afghan refugees, much more than any other country in the world. Since the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, despite strict border measures, yet there is an influx of almost a hundred thousand Afghan refugees. Pakistan has provided land and air route to Afghan aid ad supplies.

In fact, the neighboring nations are extending humanitarian assistance, but, is much short of actual requirements. It is the collective responsibility of the whole world to save human lives, especially, the countries, who created a human-made crisis in Afghanistan, which should bear all the responsibilities. If the US can spend two trillion Dollars to destroy Afghanistan, why not spend a fraction of it to save their lives.

Historically, Germany and Japan have been paying for war compensation. It is the moral duty of the US to pay war compensation to Afghanistan or at least, save their lives.

On the sidelines of the OIC meeting in Islamabad, US special representative meets the Afghan representative. The details of the meeting are not yet disclosed fully. However, it is learned that the US is in communication with the Taliban and trying to re-enter Afghanistan again. It can be in the form of military bases, defense contractors, Defense advisors, or CIA-trained agents in the form of humanitarian assistance, like under cover of the World Food Program (WFP) or any other UN subordinate organization, or NGOs, etc.

It is up to the regional countries, who suffered for decades due to the American occupation of Afghanistan for almost two decades. Would they allow Americans to re-enter? Or American influence regains in the region. Especially, Russia and China, being the big powers in the region, may think seriously. The deteriorating situation of Afghanistan may bow down the Taliban to accept American terms and conditions against humanitarian assistance.

The scholars, intellectuals, and think tanks must be serious about the Afghan crisis and resolve it at the regional level. The West has their interests and might succeed to regain the lost ground in the region and make the whole region suffer again.