Left to hunger

Before August 2021, stories from Afghanistan were not hidden in the last pages of newspapers. The world had its eyes on the war-torn country; Americans were rooting for the US-backed Afghan government to kick out the Afghan Taliban. All this changed when the US had to retreat. And this withdrawal meant that the international media completely abandoned the country, which still needs immense financial support to build back what was lost in two decades of war. While recent reports suggest that millions of Afghans are facing cold and hunger, no urgency has been shown by aid and donor agencies. The massive earthquakes in October last year led to large-scale destruction in the country, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Slow reconstruction work means that for thousands of families living in make-shift tents, there is nothing to save themselves against bone-chilling cold. On top of it, the hasty withdrawal and no well-thought-out plans for the day after have resulted in a regime still unable to manage governance.

Ever since its rise to power and contrary to people’s hope that this time the Afghan Taliban would be a little lenient, the Afghan Taliban government has gone back to its assault on women and girls. Instead of focusing on improving governance, the Afghan Taliban have spent their energy on suppressing civilian liberties, diverting people’s energies away from the humanitarian crisis brewing in the poorest parts of the country. Rising unemployment and poverty have created a plethora of challenges for Afghans. The insistence of the US to use brutal tactics like freezing Afghan assets has inflicted more damage. The US had used this tactic to make the Afghan Taliban bring some improvements in its governance, but this strategy has resulted in some sort of collective punishment for millions of Afghans who now have to deal with a war of poverty and hunger.

Humanitarian aid to the country is also low, and Afghanistan’s relationship with Pakistan is also at an all-time low. On top of these problems, Pakistan’s decision to expel illegal Afghan migrants and the voluntary evacuation of several Afghan refugees have created more challenges for the Afghan Taliban, which is still scrambling for a coherent policy to govern the country easily. Afghanistan is witnessing the worst humanitarian crisis, and the world has abandoned its people without care. Rich nations have shown more interest in the natural resources and manpower that a country has to offer, and once their goals are met, they feel no shame in abandoning those whose lives were uprooted because of the goals of a few Western leaders. In an ideal world, countries should have been coming forward to help Afghans get back on their feet. But what we see today is an indifferent world that has moved its attention from dropping bombs on one country to another.