Life The situation in Afghanistan is continuously getting worse For Afghans living under Taliban rule for the past three years, the humanitarian crisis continues to grow, women’s rights are virtually eliminated and Kabul is essentially cut off from the international community.
One quarter of Afghans are at risk “Severe” food insecurityAccording to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), more than half of the nation is in need of humanitarian assistance. About 70% of the country They are “livelihood insecure”, meaning they do not have reliable access to basic resources such as food, water, housing or health care.
According to the UNDP, after the Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, the country’s economy “basically collapsed”, in large part because international funding through government donor schemes such as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund was cut off.
Taliban fighters celebrate the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan in Kabul on August 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
Taliban parade US weapons 3 years after chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan
The Taliban have further aggravated their economic woes by promoting their extremist ideologies and imposing oppressive sanctions. Preventing women from accessing the workplace Or education.
Three years after Washington ended its “war on terror,” many have questioned whether life in Afghanistan is worse than it was before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent invasion.
“If the situation is not worse, it is rapidly moving in that direction,” Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an expert on security issues in the Middle East and South Asia, told Fox News Digital.
Taliban fighters patrol an area in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Rehmat Gul)
The Taliban have not only imposed harsh restrictions on women but also brought back the policy of public flogging and corporal punishment. Group-enforced executionsAdditionally, Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada threatened in May to reinstate stoning to death for adultery — a Taliban punishment for women that was not fully abolished even during the US invasion.
“The biggest difference between now and before 2001 is that the Taliban have much better resources,” said Rubin, who spent some time with the Taliban before the 9/11 attacks.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, inspects the honor guard during a military parade held to mark the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, at Bagram Air Base in Parwan province, August 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
Taliban vow to publicly stone women to death in a direct message to Western democracies
Rubin said that although the Taliban is not directly funded by international humanitarian groups, it has found ways to siphon off funds for its own benefit.
The Taliban on Wednesday celebrated the three-year anniversary of their capture of Kabul at Bagram Air Base – formally the largest US military base in Afghanistan – with a parade showcasing American military hardware that was abandoned after the withdrawal.
disregarding anything Mention of the difficulties faced by AfghansIt featured speeches supporting the Taliban’s efforts to crush opposition to the extremist group, as well as Afghanistan’s continued isolation from the international community.
Afghan women wait to receive food distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in April 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Norouzi)
“The Islamic Emirate has put an end to internal differences and expanded the scope of unity and cooperation in the country,” Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Kabir said, referring to the term used by the Taliban for their government, AP News reported. “No one will be allowed to interfere in internal affairs and Afghan soil will not be used against any country.”
Former US military machinery abandoned at the airbase Exhibits such as helicopters, tanks and vehicles were also displayed, as were light and heavy machine guns in the hands of soldiers.
US-made Black Hawk helicopters take off during a military parade marking the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, at Bagram Air Base in Parwan province, August 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
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“The Taliban hold these parades every year to try to blame their victories and our defeats on us,” Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and founding editor of “The Long War Journal,” told Fox News Digital.
Afghanistan has been largely ostracised internationally for human rights violations. But, while some countries have begun allowing diplomatic engagement with the insurgent group, Western nations are increasingly concerned about how Afghanistan has once again become a haven for terrorist organisations.
“Afghanistan today is more dangerous than it was before 9/11,” Roggio said. “The Taliban has full control of the country, and is providing shelter and support to al-Qaeda and its allied terrorist groups.”
Roggio said al-Qaeda is once again running training camps in at least 12 provinces across the country with very little internal resistance.
