Afghanistan (Washington Insider Magazine) – US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has called on the Taliban to match its promises with actions by allowing vulnerable Afghans and foreign nationals to leave the country.
The Afghanistan force which has led the resistance to the US-led invasion for the last twenty years looks set to impose its will on the landlocked country, but despite its announced intentions for pluralism, most outside watchers remain skeptical that things will be very different to the ’90s in Afghanistan when the Taliban ruled the country without much resistance.
The speed of the US withdrawal from the country resulted in a frantic scramble by some foreign nations and Kabul residents to get on board one of the last flights before the Taliban finalized the state apparatus as theirs.
Blinken has accused the Taliban of blocking charter flights arranged by individuals and private groups. They have defended the actions as necessary since some people booked on the flights did not have the necessary paperwork.
As the Taliban now faces the prospect of starting and maintaining a stable government, they will have to work out how to balance their ideology with domestic pragmatism and a semblance of acceptance on the international stage.
Insisting on correct documentation is standard practice for international flights the world over but this point of tension is likely to be dwarfed by the upcoming exodus by Afghanis who do not wish to live under the Taliban.
The instability this movement of people may cause is one thing, but it is also likely to have deeper economic and social issues for the Taliban to manage. Although there are many parts of Afghanistan where the Taliban remain unpopular, it is particularly among the wealthy and well-educated they are rejected. If people from the demographics leave the country in particularly great numbers then the economic struggles of the country will be compounded. A brain drain is likely to have a long term effect on future investment, productivity and growth.
Although the world is slowly coming to terms with the fact that the Taliban are here to stay, no one is yet sure how to find a sustainable balance.