Yesterday, elements of the Taliban sang victory songs in Kabul, near the former US embassy headquarters, to celebrate the anniversary of the movement’s return to power in Afghanistan, a year that has seen a major humanitarian crisis and a sharp decline in law.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul unopposed after a lightning-fast advance across the country in light of the hasty withdrawal of US and NATO forces after twenty years of their presence in Afghanistan.
“We have fulfilled the duty of jihad and liberated our country,” said Nimatullah Hikmat, a Taliban fighter who arrived in Kabul that day, hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. “This is a day of victory and happiness for Afghan Muslims and the Afghan people,” Taliban government spokesman Bilal Karimi tweeted. This is the day of the conquest and victory of the white flag of the Islamic Emirate.
The chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops continued until August 31, when tens of thousands of civilians frantically rushed to the capital’s only airport, eager to take off on any available plane.
The world watched in amazement as crowds rushed to board planes parked on the runway and some climbed into or stuck to a US military transport plane as it took off. Dozens of officers were photographed at Ahmad Shah Massoud Square, a large intersection adorned with large white Islamic Emirate flags opposite the former US embassy headquarters and leading to the airport, according to AFP video views.
During a spontaneous gathering in this square, they chanted: “Long live the Islamic Emirate! Allah is great!”
With the exception of Monday, which has been declared a public holiday, no official celebration has yet been announced, but state television has indicated that it will broadcast special programs without further details.
A year later, Taliban fighters are excited to see their rise to power, and humanitarian agencies are warning of extreme poverty affecting half of the country’s 38 million people.
“When we entered Kabul and when the Americans left, those were moments of joy,” added Nimatullah Hikmat, who is now a member of the special unit in charge of guarding the presidential palace. But for ordinary Afghans, especially women, the return of the Taliban has only added to the hardship. Despite their initial promises, the country’s new rulers quickly re-imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, which characterized their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, and severely restricted women’s rights.
Since the US troops left Afghanistan, the Islamic State branch has continued its operations to destabilize the country, taking advantage of the severe humanitarian crisis, ethnic tensions and internal disputes within the Taliban.
There are fears about the resurgence of ISIS, as the last terrorist attack carried out by the ISIS branch in the country dates back to August 11th. During the assassination of a high-ranking religious figure of the Taliban movement Rahimullah Haqqani. This man was known for his fiery speeches against the organization in the Khorasan region and his support for the return of Afghan female students to schools.
A week before the incident, the same terrorist group claimed responsibility for another attack against the Shiite quarter of the capital Kabul, which killed eight people and injured eighteen. The attack was carried out with a bomb that targeted an ethnic group called the Hazaras. This is an Afghan minority, comprising 10 to 20 percent of the total population of Afghanistan, which is about 40 million people, and belongs to the Shia sect.
Schools for girls open and close
And in March, the Taliban banned girls from entering middle and high schools just hours after they reopened, in a long-touted decision.
In early May, Taliban supreme leader Hebatullah Akhundzada ordered women to wear the niqab in public. The Taliban have made it clear that they prefer women to wear the veil, but will tolerate other forms of veil that only reveal their eyes.
“From the day they arrived, life lost its meaning… Everything was taken away from us, they even entered our personal space,” said Ujay Amail, a resident of Kabul.
On Saturday, Taliban fighters with rifle butts and live ammunition dispersed a demonstration organized by about forty women demanding the right to work and education.
Yesterday, about thirty of these female demonstrators gathered in the home of one of them and posted photos on social media with slogans like “Afghan history is ashamed of school closures.”
“Our demand for justice was silenced by gunfire, but today we demand it from our home,” protester Munisa Mubares told reporters in a text message.
Severe economic and humanitarian crisis
Although Afghans acknowledge the decline in violence since the end of the war since the Taliban came to power, many of them have been severely affected by the severe economic and humanitarian crisis.
“People who come to our stores complain so much about the high prices that we, the store owners, start to hate what we do,” said Nur Muhammad, a store owner from Kandahar, the historical birthplace of the Taliban and the center of power in the south of the country. . But for the Islamists, the joy of victory overshadows the current economic crisis.
One of them says, “We may be poor and struggling, but the white flag of Islam will always fly high in Afghanistan.”
unreliable
The exodus of Afghans is nothing new. After four decades of conflict, Afghans make up the largest number of refugees in the world. The United Nations puts the number of Afghan refugees at 2.6 million, but experts estimate the real number is much higher.
The panic caused by the Taliban’s lightning attack on Kabul exacerbated this phenomenon. And hastened the flight of the most educated of them abroad. The brain drain quickly alarmed the Taliban, most of whose members are from the countryside and do not have the authority to exercise power.
The representative of the movement, Zabiullah Mujahid, called on the West to confine itself to the evacuation of foreigners and leave the “Afghan experience” in the country. To convince them to stay, the Taliban promised a general amnesty, emphasizing that no one in Afghanistan “would be in danger.”
But later the rope of trust broke.