The Taliban on Monday marked a 12 months after they seized the Afghan capital in a swift takeover that triggered a hasty exodus of the nation’s Western-backed leaders, sending the economic system right into a tailspin and radically altering the nation .
Taliban fighters with beards, some waving rifles or white banners of their motion, staged victory parades on the streets of Kabul on foot, bicycles and bikes. A bunch marched previous the previous US embassy, chanting “Islam survives” and “America is dead”.
A 12 months after the dramatic day, lots has modified in Afghanistan. Former rebels wrestle to rule and stay remoted internationally. The financial downturn has pushed hundreds of thousands extra Afghans into poverty and even starvation, because the circulate of overseas support slows. The UN humanitarian chief for Afghanistan has warned that except donors present $2.6 billion quickly, the nation will face “pure catastrophe” with hundreds of thousands of lives at stake within the coming winter.
Ramiz Alkabarov informed a digital information convention from Kabul that solely $1.8 billion has been acquired of the UN’s $4.4 billion humanitarian attraction for Afghanistan this 12 months, making a distinction of $2.6 billion for desperately in want of meals and different support. It is left.
He mentioned greater than 90 million individuals in Afghanistan are “food insecure”, about 35 million stay in poverty, and 6.6 million are categorised in emergency ranges only one step away from famine.
Alkabarov mentioned he had simply visited a number of hospitals and witnessed “heartbreaking scenes” of malnourished kids who wouldn’t survive a chilly with out extra assist.
While the Afghan persons are recognized for his or her resilience and talent to outlive, he mentioned, sadly “negative coping strategies” together with the sale of organs and the sale of kids will probably be seen once more “if assistance is not provided.”
A professional-Taliban chief holds the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on August 15, 2022, the primary anniversary of the autumn of Kabul, on a road in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Reuters/Ali Khara)
Meanwhile, radicals dominated the Taliban-led authorities, which imposed extreme restrictions on entry to training and jobs for women and girls, regardless of early guarantees on the contrary. A 12 months later, teenage ladies are nonetheless barred from faculty and girls are required to cowl themselves from head to toe in public, with solely eyes seen.
Some are looking for methods to maintain training from stalling for a technology of younger ladies and underground faculties have sprung up in houses. In a press release, Natalia Kanem, government director of the UN’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, mentioned Afghan ladies shouldn’t be forgotten. “As the world faces multiple, overlapping crises, we must not forget the women and girls of Afghanistan. When the basic rights of women and girls are denied, we all fall short,” she mentioned.
A 12 months in the past, hundreds of Afghans flocked to Kabul International Airport to flee the Taliban amid the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Kabul after a 20-year warfare – America’s longest battle.
Some flights resumed comparatively rapidly after these chaotic days. On Monday, a handful of economic flights have been scheduled to take off and take off from a runway that final summer time noticed Afghans glued to the wheels of planes, killing some.
Schoolyards stood empty on Monday because the Taliban declared a public vacation to mark the day, which they discuss with as “the pride day of August 15” and “the first anniversary of the return to power”.
“The reliance on God and the support of the people brought this great victory and freedom to the country,” wrote Abdul Wahid Ryan, head of the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency. “Today, August 15th, marks the victory of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan against the US and its allies’ occupation of Afghanistan.”
During a gathering to mark the anniversary, Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi “congratulated the entire nation on the day of the victory of Kabul, which marked the beginning of a complete end to the occupation.”
In feedback broadcast stay by state radio and TV, he described what he referred to as “great achievements” underneath the Taliban, reminiscent of a perceived finish to corruption, improved safety and banned opium cultivation. On the eve of the anniversary, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani defended what he mentioned was a second determination to flee, including that he needed to keep away from the humiliation of surrendering to the rebels. He informed CNN that on the morning of August 15, 2021, with the Taliban on the gates of Kabul, he was the final particular person within the Rashtrapati Bhavan after his guards disappeared. EU Special Envoy to Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson mentioned the group of countries is dedicated to the Afghan individuals and to “stability, prosperity and lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region”.
“This will require the full, equal and meaningful participation of all Afghan men and women and an inclusive political process with respect for human rights,”
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
