The secretary general of the Organization of American States says that Haiti needs help fighting gangs and seizing back territory as it prepares to hold general elections for the first time in more than a decade
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Albert Ramdin, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said Wednesday during a trip to Haiti that the country needs help fighting gangs and seizing back territory as it prepares to hold general elections for the first time in more than a decade.
Ramdin spoke as he concluded a trip to the troubled Caribbean country, where he met with the prime minister and other officials.
“The efforts of the (force) are essential to improving security and public safety, and to creating the conditions for a safe electoral process,” he said. “Progress must be visible and measurable as soon as possible.”
Ramdin said priorities are securing the main route to the main international airport ; ensuring ongoing access to the airport and seaport; and restoring safe access to Haiti’s southern region. Gangs currently control the main routes leading in and out of the capital.
He also called on Haiti to step up registration and identification of voters ahead of the Dec. 13 general elections. Haiti hasn’t had a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021. Since then, gang violence has only surged, displacing a record 1.5 million people.
Ramdin promised to keep “mobilizing political, technical and financial support” for the Caribbean country.
He said the OAS will work with the Pan American Health Organization to build trauma centers to treat wounded Haitian police officers as they continue to push back against gangs that control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land beyond the capital.
Ramdin said he also plans to set up a delegation of business leaders to talk about potential investment projects in Haiti, where poverty, hunger and unemployment are deepening.
“Haiti is at a decisive point,” he said. “The future of Haiti belongs first and foremost to the Haitian people. But the international community also has responsibilities.”
OAS warns Haiti needs help as it prepares to hold elections for the first time since 2016
New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): Afghanistan on Monday highlighted that the country’s geographical position should not be a field for negative competition but rather a bridge for connectivity, cooperation and shared prosperity.
During the fifth anniversary of the ‘Victory’ Day reception at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy, emphasised Kabul’s efforts to expand regional economic and transit cooperation.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes that Afghanistan’s geography should not be a field for negative competition, but rather a bridge for connectivity, cooperation and shared prosperity,” Noor said.
He said Afghanistan has continued its practical efforts to expand regional economic and transit cooperation, facilitate trade and strengthen relations with countries based on mutual interests.
“A peaceful, stable and responsible Afghanistan creates new opportunities for regional connectivity, trade, investment and economic cooperation, while also playing a constructive role in preventing shared security threats,” he said.
He highlighted how focus has shifted from managing war towards strengthening the rule of law, expanding diplomatic and economic relations, reconstruction and economic development, and providing public services.
“Advancing regional economic projects and supporting the private sector are clear examples of this direction,” Noor said.
He also highlighted the progress of regional economic and transit initiatives, describing them as important foundations for Afghanistan’s economic growth and regional connectivity.
“The implementation of long-term plans in the areas of economic growth, energy, urban development, health and infrastructure, as well as maintaining the stability and strength of the Afghan currency, demonstrates that alongside short-term measures, Afghanistan also has a clear vision for sustainable development,” he said.
The Afghan envoy also stressed the importance of supporting the private sector, promoting domestic production, facilitating trade and developing investment and contracts in the mining sector for the lawful utilisation of the country’s natural resources.
Emphasising the importance of regional engagement, Noor said sustainable relations can be strengthened through confidence-building, economic partnerships and continued dialogue.
“We believe that sustainable relations are further strengthened through confidence-building, economic partnership and continued engagement,” he said.
Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary of the PAI Division, Ministry of External Affairs, attended the event.
Ambassadors from Iran, Bhutan, Serbia and officials from many countries including China were present.
In his remarks, Noor also pitched for deepening political trust and economic partnership with India so as to contribute to regional stability, connectivity and shared prosperity.
He underlined how official diplomatic contacts between the two countries have expanded, embassies and consulates have become more active, and high-level delegations have continued to exchange visits.
Recalling the recent visit of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister to India and how constructive understanding has developed in the areas of political, economic, and humanitarian cooperation, he noted that New Delhi and Kabul have reached understandings in various areas.
“These developments represent an important step forward in further strengthening and expanding cooperation between Afghanistan and India. We believe that stronger political trust, economic partnership, and continued engagement between Afghanistan and India will not only benefit both countries, but will also make an important contribution to regional stability, connectivity, and shared prosperity,” Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor said. (ANI)
Afghanistan’s geography should not be field for negative competition, but bridge for prosperity: Envoy
Afghan civil society activists, artists and members of the Afghanistan community gathered in Washington on Sunday, August 16, to mark the fifth anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan’s former republic, calling for continued international support for the rights of Afghans, particularly women and girls.
Participants urged governments and international institutions to maintain advocacy for a free, inclusive and rights-based future for Afghanistan. They also called for greater international attention to the restrictions facing women and girls, including their exclusion from secondary and higher education, employment, social activities and much of public life.
The gathering comes as Afghanistan enters its fifth year under Taliban rule, with international rights groups continuing to document extensive restrictions on women and girls. Human Rights Watch has described the situation as one of the world’s worst human rights crises and said the restrictions have systematically dismantled many rights of women and girls.
Participants in Washington called on the international community to take stronger action against what they described as “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan. They urged governments to ensure that engagement with the Taliban is tied to measurable commitments on human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls, rather than leading to normalization without conditions.
Their concerns come amid growing international engagement with the Taliban despite the absence of significant changes to its policies on women’s rights.
The gathering also highlighted other longstanding concerns, including alleged land seizures, forced displacement and violations affecting ethnic communities. Participants called for independent mechanisms to document human rights violations and for those responsible to be held accountable.
The situation of Afghan women and girls was a central concern. Reuters reported this month that approximately 2.4 million Afghan girls have been barred from secondary education since the Taliban returned to power, making Afghanistan the only country where women and girls are formally excluded from both secondary and higher education.
The United Nations has also warned that funding shortages are threatening programs supporting Afghan women. More than half of 74 women’s organizations surveyed by U.N. Women were reportedly at risk of suspending operations or closing within a year, while the U.N.’s $1.7 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan remained only partly funded.
Beyond restrictions on rights, Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian agencies have warned of growing needs amid poverty, displacement, drought, earthquakes and declining aid, while nearly 40% of the population is estimated to require humanitarian assistance.
Afghan Activists in Washington Call for Women’s Rights, a Better Future for Afghanistan
China is among the countries with close ties to the Islamic Emirate and also maintains strong relations with Pakistan.
The Islamic Emirate has praised China’s efforts to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that, in light of the Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan’s visits to Türkiye and Pakistan, Afghanistan also does not favor escalating tensions.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said: “Afghanistan welcomes the efforts of countries seeking to reduce tensions and mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye have previously made efforts in this regard. Afghanistan appreciates these efforts and believes in understanding and dialogue.”
China’s special envoy for Afghanistan recently said that during his visits to Türkiye, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he discussed ways to improve and expand relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said: “During his visit to Türkiye, Special Envoy Yue Xiaoyong met with the director-general for South Asia at the Turkish Foreign Ministry and held in-depth discussions and exchanged views on issues of mutual interest. During his visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan, he also separately exchanged views with officials from both countries on efforts to improve and develop Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.”
Yousuf Amin Zazi, a political analyst, said: “China has the ability to build coordination at the United Nations and work toward resolving the problems between Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it cannot do so alone, because our problems with Pakistan are longstanding and historical.”
China is among the countries with close ties to the Islamic Emirate and also maintains strong relations with Pakistan.
Since tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan began, China has sought through consultations with both sides to help reduce differences and strengthen relations between the two countries.
Kabul Welcomes China’s Efforts to Ease Afghanistan-Pakistan Tensions
According to her, secondary schools remain closed to girls, while universities are open only to men.
Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, has called on governments and international donors to continue supporting and investing in women and girls in Afghanistan.
The UN official said the exclusion of Afghan women and girls from education, employment, freedom of movement, participation in public life and equality before the law should not become normalized.
According to her, secondary schools remain closed to girls, while universities are open only to men.
Ferguson said: “I urge all governments and international donors to continue investing in Afghan women and girls and to increase, not decrease, foreign aid, because doing anything less would mean abandoning the women and girls of Afghanistan.”
The UN Women Special Representative for Afghanistan also said restrictions on education have contributed to a growing shortage of female healthcare workers, making it more difficult for women to access medical services, particularly in areas where, due to social norms, women cannot receive healthcare from male doctors.
She added: “Many of these women and girls really want to play a role in Afghanistan. They want to contribute to the country’s development, they want Afghanistan to progress, and they want to be part of that progress. It is difficult to see this untapped potential—women who want to move the country forward.”
A women’s rights activist also called on the United Nations and the Islamic Emirate to support women and girls in Afghanistan.
Mumtaz Yousufzai, a women’s rights activist, said: “The government should provide support, and particularly the international community, which is present in Afghanistan and has active offices here, should also pay attention. Women in Afghanistan should be supported, and the government should also give greater attention to them.”
The Islamic Emirate has previously said that the rights of women and girls in the country are ensured within the framework of Islamic Sharia.
UN Women Calls for Continued Investment in Afghan Women, Girls
New Delhi [India], August 17 (ANI): Afghanistan on Monday pitched for deepening political trust and economic partnership with India so as to contribute to regional stability, connectivity and shared prosperity.
The remarks were made by Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, Charge d’Affaires, during the fifth anniversary of the ‘Victory’ Day reception in the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.
Speaking at the event, the Charge d’Affaires noted how in recent years, the relations between Afghanistan and India have witnessed significant progress, guided by mutual respect, political engagement, and shared interests.
He underlined how official diplomatic contacts between the two countries have expanded, embassies and consulates have become more active, and high-level delegations have continued to exchange visits.
Recalling the recent visit of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister to India and how constructive understanding has developed in the areas of political, economic, and humanitarian cooperation, he noted that New Delhi and Kabul have reached understandings in various areas.
“These developments represent an important step forward in further strengthening and expanding cooperation between Afghanistan and India. We believe that stronger political trust, economic partnership, and continued engagement between Afghanistan and India will not only benefit both countries, but will also make an important contribution to regional stability, connectivity, and shared prosperity,” Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor said.
Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary, PAI Division, Ministry of External Affairs, attended the event.
Ambassadors from Iran, Bhutan, Serbia and officials from many countries including China were present.
The Charge d’Affaires in his remarks recalled how the two countries have remained connected through trade, transit, sports, and a shared cultural heritage and said, “Throughout our history, the routes linking our two countries served as channels for the exchange of knowledge and art, as well as for the transmission of the values of literature and spirituality.”
He added, “In the political sphere as well, the two countries influenced one another in their struggles for freedom and independence from British colonial rule. This is our shared past, from which we draw inspiration for a better future.”
In his remarks, he thanked India for support of Afghanistan’s rights at the international fora and said, “We thank the leadership of India and the Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, for their support in protecting and respecting the international rights of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. We also appreciate their emphasis at international forums on the need to ensure Afghanistan’s legitimate international rights. We hope that greater attention and practical efforts will be made in this regard.”
The remarks by Noor come as India and Afghanistan continue to deepen their engagements across key areas.
Last week, underlining India’s historical and enduring partnership with Afghanistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday stated that New Delhi is actively working to further consolidate its bilateral relations with Kabul across multiple domains.
The remarks were made as the Taliban administration in Kabul completes five years in power, having resumed control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, following the withdrawal of US forces and the collapse of the previous government.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted that a series of high-level diplomatic and functional exchanges between New Delhi and Kabul over the past year have provided substantial momentum to bilateral engagement.
Reaffirming New Delhi’s commitment to sustained engagement, the spokesperson added, “We have long-standing ties with Afghanistan, and we look forward to further strengthening these ties that we have with them.” (ANI)
Afghanistan urges stronger politico-economic partnership with India for “regional stability, shared prosperity”
Several people have reportedly been injured in an explosion in a western district of the Afghan capital Kabul.
Reports on Monday said that a blast took place at a school in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood at around 4:30pm local time (12:00pm GMT).
Several students from the private “Shama-e Hidayat” school and educational institution in the Mahdia neighbourhood were injured, according to news outlets.
Eyewitnesses said that several students have been transferred to Alami Hospital, Hasht-e Subh Daily reported.
The number of people injured and the cause of the explosion have not been identified. Neither is it clear whether anyone was killed.
Al Jazeera has also not been able to verify the reports or confirm the details. Government officials are yet to comment.
Footage posted by Afghanistan International, based in London, shows crowds of people surrounding ambulances near the site of the reported explosion.
The blast is believed to have happened at the end of the schoolday, with children from the school accounting for the majority of the injured.
According to both Kabul Now and TOLOnews, which is based in the Afghan capital, the explosion was caused by a hand grenade.
Dasht-e-Barchi is predominantly home to Afghanistan’s Hazara minority group.
Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), which is affiliated with ISIL, has previously carried out attacks against Afghanistan’s Hazara community, as well as other religious minorities. The group has targeted mosques, schools and workplaces.
Explosion reported at school in Afghan capital Kabul
Hundreds of Afghans who fought alongside U.S. troops and supported the U.S. government in Afghanistan are now worried their green cards could be revoked.
In Afghanistan, their efforts ranged from custodial jobs at the U.S. embassy, to technology and engineering roles with U.S. contractors and companies. Some were on the frontlines of combat as interpreters.
In the years leading up to the U.S.’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Kabul, Congress and the Biden administration facilitated several programs for Afghans involved in military efforts to come to the U.S. with their families. Among them is the Special Immigrant Visa for Afghans, which was authorized in 2009. Since then, the State Department has issued 160,000 of those visas. More than half of them were granted since the U.S. closed its embassy in Kabul in 2021.
But now, five years after the U.S. left Afghanistan, hundreds of people who came on SIVs and now have green cards have received notices from the federal government warning them that the basis for their visas has been revoked or denied.
Families, many of whom were having children, learning English and enrolling in college, are now scrambling to find answers on the best way to respond to the government’s letters.
“We are trying to work, study, raise our children and build a normal life in the U.S,” said M., who asked NPR to refer to him by his first initial because he’s concerned that speaking to the media could affect his green card. “But now we are also trying to find lawyers, contact congressional offices and understand what may happen to our green cards. It is very stressful because even immigration lawyers give different opinions.”
The notices themselves are not necessarily new. The federal government began sending some out at the end of the Biden administration because they suspected some of the supporting documents for Afghans’ SIV applications were not collected through the correct processes, potentially amounting to fraud.
But advocates, lawyers and Afghan nationals who spoke with NPR said the letters appear to be sent at a higher frequency and volume than what advocates expected, and are leaving some of these U.S. allies at risk of being deported. Over the last year, those helping allies settle into the U.S. noticed an uptick in the letters and a lack of pattern as to who was receiving them. The letters have added to the dwindling pathways for Afghans to become U.S. citizens and settle into their new lives.
“What we have seen specifically with the SIV program is people who are issued these visas and come to the U.S. have built lives here, gotten jobs, their kids are in school, they’ve integrated into their communities and are living their lives,” said Jennifer Patota, deputy director of U.S. legal services at the International Refugee Assistance Project. “To get a withdrawal of approval letter years after the actual visa has been issued is something we haven’t ever seen before.”
The State Department and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services branch of the Homeland Security Department, which are sending the letters, did not respond to requests for comment.
Fraud detection efforts combine with a mass deportation strategy
The first stage in the process of applying for the SIV is to get what is called a “Chief of Mission” approval. It involves providing an employer verification letter — letters of recommendation from a supervisor and proof that shows the employer was either the U.S. government or a contractor with the U.S. government, among other things.
Such verification became more difficult after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Especially after the withdrawal of troops, many companies were shutting down, destroying all of their records, making it impossible in many cases to verify someone’s employment,” Patota said.
And then there was a concern of fraud — particularly that these immigrants, even unknowingly, had paid for letters of recommendation. In one case prosecuted by the Justice Department, a man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for a years-long bribery scheme where he accepted payments from Afghan nationals in exchange for drafting, submitting and verifying fraudulent letters of recommendation for Afghan nationals who applied for SIVs.
To combat the risk of fraud, the Biden administration created a plan to verify SIV information of individuals who could have connections to employers later suspected of such schemes. Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, advocates for Afghans who worked alongside U.S. troops. He said his organization was notified by the previous administration that the notices would be going out.
The expectation, he said, was that if the SIVs were fully revoked, individuals could still apply for, and would be likely to receive, asylum. But now, his organization and others are hearing from hundreds of people and believe the scope of the revocations is much larger.
Under this Trump administration, the letters and revocations come at a time when Afghan nationals feel particularly left out of the legal immigration system. The U.S. has paused other avenues for legal immigration available to Afghans, including the refugee resettlement program, which Trump halted on the first day of his second term, and the processing of other types of visas. Those already in the country on programs like Temporary Protected Status have also been stripped of that permission to stay.
“When the Department of State initiated a re-review of Chief of Mission applications in 2024, we understood the importance of that effort,” said Jill Marie Bussey, director for legal affairs at Global Refuge. That group has been helping hundreds navigate this visaissue, as well as resettlement in the U.S. “The correspondence we saw at that time was generally tailored to the individual case and provided applicants with enough information to understand the decision and any available next steps.”
But she says more recently, “there is a decline in the quality and clarity of some Department communications, including final appeal decisions that appear to raise questions about factual accuracy and provide little explanation for the outcome.”
For now, it does not appear that Afghan nationals who received letters have had their green cards or citizenship revoked at scale. But advocates like VanDiver said the letters, alongside the crumbling of other programs like Temporary Protected Status and immigration application pauses, cause confusion and fear.
“These folks were on the frontlines of our war. They were interpreting. They were enabling our mission,” VanDiver said. “Now it feels like it’s all coming crashing down and they get no explanation of what to do.”
Families fear for their futures
Across the country, Afghan nationals who helped the U.S. and their families are grappling with stress, confusion and potential financial instability after receiving the notices. Several asked that NPR use only their first names because they fear their immigration status could be affected by speaking to the press.
One of those people is Abdul who lives in Texas and was an engineer working with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan from 2017 to 2021. He was evacuated from Kabul to Qatar by the State Department and eventually got his SIV approved and came to the U.S. with his wife and two young kids.
“Most of my friends living in the U.S. three or four years, all of them receive a letter,” he said. “All my friends are very depressed, most of them very worried about this issue. What will happen to us? What should we do?”
The letters are reaching people who had a long history of working alongside American efforts. Sasad, who lives in Washington state and is a former engineer, worked with the U.S. government in 2014 until the withdrawal. He began his visa process in 2019, before the fall of Kabul.
He lives with his wife, and they have U.S.-born children, including one with health issues that has required surgery and regular hospital visits. Sasad will soon be eligible to apply for citizenship, but after receiving his letter, he is afraid to begin the process.
“I’ve been here for more than four years, and then in the next year, I am eligible to apply for my citizenship. But when I go to the USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services], I’m stressed that they will detain me,” he said, adding that his plans to go back to school and work are less certain now that he fears losing his legal permission to stay.The Afghan nationals NPR spoke to described returning to Afghanistan as unimaginable, stressful and a death sentence. The country, which has been under the complete control of the Taliban, has also experienced deadly strikes from Pakistan, earthquakes and widespread hunger and malnutrition.
“When I came here, I thought that all my problems were solved, that now is the time to build my future right here,” Sasad said, adding that he is concerned about his ability to stay in school, have a career or even travel outside the U.S. in an emergency. “What now? I cannot focus on my long-term goals. Now all of my thoughts are ‘what if?’ situations. A lot of ‘what if?’ situations [are] giving me anxiety and depression.”
They fought for the U.S. in Afghanistan. Now they worry about losing their green cards
A man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement.
Hamid* worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received certificates for his work signed by senior British figures praising his “dedication, unparalleled service and leadership”. His details were also included in an accidental 2022 leak by an MoD official that identified 18,700 Afghans who had worked with or for the British government.
Hamid said he had received a number of threats from the Taliban, including a video he shared with the Guardian in which a man cradling a rifle and sitting below a Taliban flag threatens to pursue him and cites knowledge of his previous movements.
The MoD, however, has rejected his application for resettlement under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) scheme. His most recent rejection, received on 31 July, stated that Hamid had not provided evidence of “working alongside, in partnership with or closely supporting a UK government department”. It gave him 28 days to appeal.
Hamid said: “This is extremely painful because I have already submitted every document available to me proving my service. Furthermore, many of my former colleagues who served in exactly the same department and performed the same duties have already been relocated to the UK through the Arap scheme.
“Despite this evidence, my case continues to be refused. I believe my case raises serious questions about how some former Afghan partners of the UK continue to be treated despite years of loyal service.”
Hamid’s plea for help comes five years after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 after the withdrawal of US and Nato forces. The UK government launched the Arap scheme on 1 April 2021 and closed it to new applications on 1 July last year. Pre-existing applications continue to be processed.
Under Arap, high risk of death or serious injury are only taken into account if the rest of the criteria are deemed to have been met, which they have not in Hamid’s case. “Must I wait until I am captured, tortured or killed by the Taliban before my service and the danger I face are finally recognised?” he said.
“Following the Ministry of Defence data breach, my personal information was exposed, placing me at even greater risk. Since then, my life has changed completely. I cannot safely leave my home to work. I live in constant fear of being recognised or targeted.”
After the leak, the then defence secretary, John Healey, said the dataset included people who had made speculative applications under Arap and had not worked with British forces. He said being included in the leak “doesn’t give them a right to claim access to Britain”.
“It doesn’t give them a right to claim asylum. It doesn’t make them eligible for the special [Arap] scheme that Britain put in place for those who’d worked alongside or served with our forces,” he said.
Hamid said that because he was in hiding he had no reliable income and relied on his wife, who supports the family by doing small jobs from home. “This is our family’s only source of income, and even then we struggle simply to survive,” he said.
“The emotional impact has been devastating. My wife and I have become deeply exhausted, depressed and hopeless after years of fear, uncertainty, repeated refusals and financial hardship.
“I am not asking for special treatment. I am only asking for a fair review based on the evidence I have already provided.”
An MoD spokesperson said: “Each application is considered on a case-by-case basis, assessed against the evidence provided, such as how they supported the UK mission in Afghanistan, and in line with the publicly available eligibility criteria.
“Since the Taliban takeover, the UK has resettled almost 39,000 Afghan men, women and children through Afghan resettlement schemes.”
Name has been changed
Taliban threaten former Afghan police worker after MoD leak reveals identity
Five years ago President Joe Biden pulled American troops out of Afghanistan. He was not forced to. America could have defended Afghanistan’s flawed but democratically elected government indefinitely, but chose not to. Voters were weary of America’s longest war, against the Taliban, a militia that controlled much of the countryside. Donald Trump set a timetable for pulling out; Mr Biden did so completely.
America’s looming departure prompted every Afghan with a gun to revise their expectations about who was likely to win their country’s civil war. Warlords switched sides; government soldiers abandoned their posts and melted away. The government fell almost immediately. The Taliban seized power almost unopposed. Desperate civilians fleeing their new rulers clung to the wheels of a departing American plane and plunged to their deaths.
The Taliban (whose name means “religious students”) had first seized power in 1996, and imposed a brutal blend of Islamism and premodern tribal custom, banning girls’ education and stoning gay people to death. America and its allies overthrew them after they hosted al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked America with hijacked planes in September 2001. But Taliban fighters then waged a guerrilla war against the democratic system that America had introduced, murdering judges, police and anyone deemed a collaborator. When Mr Biden gave up, a two-decade effort at nation-building ended in humiliation. Other powers drew conclusions about America’s willingness to stand by its friends. Six months later, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
Five years on, America has largely forgotten Afghanistan. This is a mistake. The country is more likely to cause geopolitical trouble again if it is ignored. Its people will suffer even more. And it is more likely to fall into China’s or Russia’s orbit.
As our correspondent reports this week, after a 1,000km road trip inside the country, the Taliban are firmly in charge and the place is largely calm, bar intermittent sparring with its neighbour, Pakistan. But it is a grim stability.
Music is banned. Armed men rule the streets. The vice-and-virtue police dish out beatings to sinners, such as men with inadequate beards. Women are barred from workplaces, universities and travel without a male guardian. Girls are banned from secondary school and, since child marriage is now legal, many have been forced straight from the classroom into wedlock. How much poorer, sicker and sadder all this has made Afghans is hard to say; data-gathering is not a Taliban priority.
Most Afghans yearn for more freedom. Even many Talibs, after years in exile, no longer believe that the sky will fall if girls can spell. But hardliners have ruthlessly asserted control. The Taliban’s emir, Haibatullah Akhundzada, has recruited a loyal praetorian guard and grabbed lucrative mining contracts. More moderate Talibs are generally too weak or scared to challenge him. Some of the few who did had to flee.
America and Europe have tried to isolate the Taliban regime, refusing to recognise it, freezing Afghan central-bank reserves held abroad and slapping sanctions on officials. But this has achieved almost nothing. Taliban hardliners do not mind if Western diplomats and investors stay away, and will not adjust their ideology just to lay hands on the old government’s assets. So Western countries must try something new.
This means recognising some hard truths. First, the Taliban are not going anywhere. Second, if the West does not engage with them, other powers will. Russia has formally recognised them. China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates work with them on issues such as mining and trade. The Taliban threaten to destabilise relations between India and Pakistan, since the latter fears that closer ties between Delhi and Kabul could leave it sandwiched between enemies.
Hints of a more hard-nosed Western approach are starting to be visible. Europeans still say the Afghan regime is beyond the pale, yet in June they invited Taliban officials to Brussels to discuss migrant flows and repatriating failed asylum-seekers. America quietly shares intelligence with them in the fight against even more extreme Islamist groups.
Other forms of engagement would also make sense. It is too soon to unfreeze the $4.2bn of Afghan central-bank reserves in Switzerland, which would surely be used to prop up the execrable emir. But donors should stop cutting humanitarian aid, which has fallen by around 70% since 2022. Nearly half the population needs it, by one estimate. It is also useful to have UN agencies on the ground, with eyes and ears to warn of looming famine, unrest or the theft of aid.
A second step should be sanctions reform. Many senior Talibs who were put under sanctions decades ago as terrorists are now ministers. That is having the unintended effect of locking the country out of the global financial system and starving it of private investment. Western firms fear to do any kind of business in Afghanistan, in case they fall foul of terrorist-financing rules. Changing this could boost growth, which might eventually ease the mass joblessness that threatens the country’s long-term stability.
Cables to Kabul
A more controversial step would be diplomatic recognition. This does not imply approval. Decent governments recognise many regimes they despise. Rather, it means accepting the reality that the Taliban are likely to rule Afghanistan for the foreseeable future. Withholding diplomatic ties is not much of a bargaining chip—the Taliban do not think their legitimacy depends on the say-so of infidels. However, functioning embassies can watch out for terrorist threats, and create useful channels of communication, which in time could encourage the regime’s more moderate elements.
Make no mistake. Reform of this vile government must come largely from within, and could be the work of decades. But judicious engagement is likely to do more good than harm. So it is time for America and other democracies to hold their collective noses and talk to the Taliban.
The Taliban are vile. Democracies must still engage with them
The United Nations says aid workers are still in a “race against time” to remove rubble and rebuild after the devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last month, killing at least 2,200 people and cutting off remote areas.
The 6.0-magnitude quake on Aug. 31 was shallow, destroying or causing extensive damage to low-rise buildings in the mountainous region. It hit late at night, and homes — mostly made of mud, wood, or rocks — collapsed instantly, becoming death traps.
Satellite data shows that about 40,500 truckloads of debris still needs to be cleared from affected areas in several provinces, the United Nations Development Program said Wednesday. Entire communities have been upended and families are sleeping in the open, it added.
The quake’s epicenter was in remote and rugged Kunar province, challenging rescue and relief efforts by the Taliban government and humanitarian groups. Authorities deployed helicopters or airdropped army commandos to evacuate survivors. Aid workers walked for hours on foot to reach isolated communities.
“This is a race against time,” said Devanand Ramiah, from the UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Debris removal and reconstruction operations must start safely and swiftly.”
People’s main demands were the reconstruction of houses and water supplies, according to a spokesman for a Taliban government committee tasked with helping survivors, Zia ur Rahman Speenghar.
People were getting assistance in cash, food, tents, beds, and other necessities, Speenghar said Thursday. Three new roads were under construction in the Dewagal Valley, and roads would be built to areas where there previously were none.
“Various countries and organizations have offered assistance in the construction of houses but that takes time. After the second round of assistance, work will begin on the third round, which is considering what kind of houses can be built here,” the spokesman said.
Afghanistan is facing a “perfect storm” of crises, including natural disasters like the recent earthquake, said Roza Otunbayeva, who leads the U.N. mission to the country.
Afghanistan Peace Campaign