Taliban fighters, some hoisting rifles or the white banners of their motion, staged small victory parades on foot, bicycles and motor cycles within the streets of the capital
Taliban fighters, some hoisting rifles or the white banners of their motion, staged small victory parades on foot, bicycles and motor cycles within the streets of the capital
The Taliban on Monday marked a yr since they seized the Afghan capital of Kabul, a fast takeover that triggered a hasty escape of the nation’s Western-backed leaders, despatched the financial system right into a tailspin and essentially reworked the nation.
Taliban fighters, some hoisting rifles or the white banners of their motion, staged small victory parades on foot, bicycles and motor cycles within the streets of the capital. One small group marched previous the previous U.S. Embassy, chanting “Long live Islam” and “Death to America.”
A yr after the dramatic day, a lot has modified in Afghanistan. The former insurgents wrestle to manipulate and stay internationally remoted. The financial downturn has pushed thousands and thousands extra Afghans into poverty and even starvation, because the stream of international assist slowed to a trickle.
Meanwhile, hard-liners seem to carry sway within the Taliban-led authorities, which imposed extreme restrictions on entry to training and jobs for women and girls, regardless of preliminary guarantees on the contrary. A yr on, teenage women are nonetheless barred from faculty and ladies are required to cowl themselves head-to-toe in public, with solely the eyes exhibiting.
Some are looking for methods to maintain training from stalling for a era of younger girls and underground faculties in houses have spring up.
A yr in the past, 1000’s of Afghans had rushed to Kabul International Airport to flee the Taliban amid the U.S. navy’s chaotic withdrawal from Kabul after 20 years of battle — America’s longest battle.
Some flights resumed comparatively shortly after these chaotic days. On Monday, a handful of business flights have been scheduled to land and take off from a runway that final summer time noticed Afghan males clinging to the wheels of planes taking off, some falling to their dying.
Schoolyards stood empty Monday because the Taliban introduced a public vacation to mark the day, which they seek advice from as “The Proud Day of Aug. 15″ and the “First Anniversary of the Return to Power.”
“Reliance on God and the support of the people brought this great victory and freedom to the country,” wrote Abdul Wahid Rayan, the head of the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency. “Today, Aug. 15, marks the victory of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan against America and its allies occupation of Afghanistan.”
On the eve of the anniversary, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani defended what he said was a split-second decision to flee, saying he wanted to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents. He told CNN that on the morning of Aug. 15, 2021, with the Taliban at the gates of Kabul, he was the last one at the presidential palace after his guards had disappeared.
Tomas Niklasson, the European Union’s special envoy to Afghanistan, said the bloc of nations remains committed to the Afghan people and to “stability, prosperity and sustainable peace in Afghanistan and the area.”
“This will require an inclusive political process with full, equal and meaningful participation of all Afghan men and women and respect for human rights,” Niklasson wrote.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock mentioned a world duty towards Afghanistan stays after the NATO withdrawal.
“A regime that tramples on human rights cannot under any circumstances be recognized,” she mentioned in a press release. “But we must not forget the people in Afghanistan, even a year after the Taliban takeover.”
Source: www.thehindu.com