On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took control of the capital, Kabul, without encountering any resistance, after its lightning advance in the whole country, in light of the hasty withdrawal of US and NATO forces after twenty years of presence in Afghanistan.
“We have fulfilled the duty of jihad and liberated our country,” said Nimatullah Hikmat, a Taliban fighter who entered Kabul that day, hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. “It is a day of victory and happiness for Afghan Muslims and the Afghan people,” Taliban government spokesman Bilal Karimi wrote on Twitter. It is the day of the conquest and victory of the white flag ”of the Islamic Emirate.
The chaotic withdrawal of foreign forces continued until August 31, when tens of thousands of civilians rushed frantically to the capital’s only airport, trying to leave with any available aircraft.
The world watched in amazement as crowds rushed to board planes parked on the runway and how some got on a plane or got attached to a US military cargo plane during takeoff. Dozens of agents photographed themselves in Ahmad Shah Massoud square, a large intersection decorated with large white flags of the Islamic Emirate, opposite the former US Embassy headquarters and leading to the airport, according to AFP video views.
They sang during a spontaneous gathering in this square, “Long live the Islamic Emirate! Allah is the greatest!”
With the exception of Monday, which was declared a public holiday, no official celebration has been announced so far, but state television has indicated that it will broadcast special programs, without further details.
A year later, Taliban fighters are happy to see their movement in power, while humanitarian agencies warn of extreme poverty affecting half of the country’s 38 million people.
“When we entered Kabul and when the Americans left, those were moments of joy,” added Nimatullah Hikmat, who is now a member of the special forces in charge of guarding the presidential palace. But for common Afghans, in particularly women, the return of the Taliban has only increased the difficulties. Despite their initial promises, the country’s new rulers quickly reset their strict interpretation of Islamic law that marked their previous rule between 1996 and 2001 and severely curtailed women’s rights.
Since the American forces left Afghanistan, the branch of the “Islamic State” has continued its operations to destabilize the country, taking advantage of the terrible humanitarian crisis it is going through, ethnic tensions and internal disputes within the ranks of the Taliban movement.
There is a fear of a resurgence of ISIS, in as the last terrorist attack, carried out by the ISIS branch in the country, dates back to 11 August. During the killing of a senior religious official of the Taliban movement, Rahimullah Haqqani. This man was known for his fiery speeches against the organization in the Khorasan region and for his support for the idea of Afghan students returning to schools.
A week before this incident, the same terrorist group claimed responsibility for another attack, which targeted a Shiite neighborhood in the capital, Kabul, killing eight people and injuring eighteen others. The attack was carried out with a bomb against the ethnic group called Hazara. It is an Afghan minority that makes up between 10 and 20 percent of the total population of Afghanistan, which is about 40 million people, and belongs to the Shiite sect.
Girls’ schools open and close
And in March, the Taliban banned girls from enrolling in middle and high schools just hours after they reopened in based on a long-publicized decision.
In early May, Taliban Supreme Leader Hebatullah Akhundzada ordered women to wear niqabs in public. The Taliban have made it clear that they prefer women to wear the burqa, but will tolerate other forms of veil that only expose the eyes.
“Since the day in where they arrived, life has lost its meaning … Everything has been brought to us viathey even entered our personal space, “said Ujay Amail, a resident of Kabul.
Last Saturday, Taliban armed men with rifle butts and live bullets dispersed a demonstration organized by about forty women to claim the right to work and education.
Yesterday, about thirty of these women protesters gathered in the house of one of them, and posted photos on social media with slogans like “The history of Afghanistan is ashamed to close schools”.
“Our call for justice has been silenced by gunfire, but today we are asking for it from inside our home,” said protester Munisa Mubarez. in a text message to reporters.
Serious economic and humanitarian crisis
Although Afghans recognize the decline in violence with the end of the war since the Taliban came to power, many of them are suffering severely from a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.
“People who come to our shops complain so much about the high prices that we shopkeepers start to hate what we’re doing,” said Noor Muhammad, a shopkeeper from Kandahar, the historic birthplace of the Taliban and center of power in the south of the country. . But for the Islamists, the joy of victory puts in shadow the current economic crisis.
One of them says: “We may be poor and we may face difficulties, but the white flag of Islam will fly high forever. in Afghanistan “.
without trust
The mass flight of Afghans is nothing new. After four decades of conflict, Afghans make up the largest number of refugees in the world. According to the United Nations, the number of Afghan refugees is 2.6 million, but experts estimate the real number to be much higher.
The panic caused by the lightning-fast attack by the Taliban in Kabul aggravated this phenomenon. And he hastened the flight of the most educated abroad. The brain drain immediately alarmed the Taliban, most of whom are from rural areas and lack the competence to exercise power.
The movement’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, called on the West to be content with evacuating foreigners and leaving the “Afghan experience” in the country. To persuade them to stay, the Taliban promised a general amnesty, stressing that none in Afghanistan “would have been threatened”.
But in then, the rope of trust was broken.
