The situation in Afghanistan is accelerating but not the way it is meant to be. One could have hoped that with peace talks resuming in Doha, Qatar, the violence in the country would die down; but the violence in the entire region has been increasing, with cross-border firing now occurring on the Afghan-Pakistan border. There is growing fear that with the complete withdrawal of US troops, the country will fall into a brutal civil war. Already security in Afghanistan is deteriorating, and thousands of civilians are fleeing their homes in hope of not getting caught in the fighting.

Since President Biden’s announcement this Spring that the US withdrawal would be completed this year, the Taliban have expanded their operations and have captured a further 69 of the country’s 407 districts including parts of northern provinces that were once seen as government strongholds. In total, the Taliban now control 142 districts and are looking to control 170 more. The Taliban have made it clear as to how they will govern. They will do so through a ‘genuine Islamic system’ that would make provision for women and minority rights in line with the Afghan cultural traditions and religious rules. Their active operation in the country is putting the Afghan government in an odd but desperate position: to fight against the Taliban, the government have begun to arm local volunteers with weapons – in what they call the ‘National Mobilisation’ initiative. The initiative is designed to help fight off the growing number of Taliban but there is an increasing worry that this will only re-weaponize young militias who are only loyal to local commanders or to powerful Kabul-allied warlords, who historically wrecked the Afghan capital in the 1990s. Either way, the result is only short term and what is certain is that this is not the end for Afghanistan or for its people.

Despite the rise in violence, Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has said that the Taliban are still committed to peace talks, a similar tale is heard from the other side, from Presidents Ghani and Biden. It seems as if everyone is committed to the peace talks; but a deal about a ceasefire should be struck first. The ones who are suffering most are the innocent civilians, the families and their children who deserve so much better.

Faria Ahmed