By Zamir Awan for The Saker Blog

The US, along with its 46 Allies and additional 11 nationals supporting the war on terror, 150,000 well-trained, well-equipped, most sophisticated and lethal weapons, hi-tech and advanced military techniques, two trillion dollars, and two decades, altogether destroyed Afghanistan. The explosives drooped in Afghanistan is much more than the compiled explosive used in World war I & II, yet not satisfied, and before leaving damaged all air crafts, runways, airport security systems, etc. The US has seized the Afghan Bank’s assets, and pressurizing the Taliban through IMF, World Bank, Paris Club, and other International Institutions, and stopping other countries to help the Taliban.

War-torn Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on earth, total damaged infrastructure, no agriculture, no industry, no electricity, severe shortage of food, and medicines, no hospitals, no schools, yet, the US is not satisfied and coercing Taliban.

After fighting for twenty years in Afghanistan, yet planning to continue the war in Afghanistan in a different manner, supporting ISIS-K, and using lame excuses wanted to continue bombing Afghanistan. In a recent attempt, civilians and innocent children were killed in a drone attack, yet, the US is not satisfied.

The US is making a different kind of war against the Taliban, and harming them seriously. And yet not alone, but lobbying among allies to join him is a war against the Taliban. Whereas the US is facing severe challenges at home and the civil war-like situation is emerging, the economy is collapsing, the leadership role is challenged, morals have bankrupt. Social structure has deteriorated, values have gone, credibility and reputation are affected, yet the US is over-engaged in harming the Taliban.

Taliban are sincere with their commitments and following all agreed terms religiously, which they reached with theUS in Doha. But it is the US that is deviating from agreed terms and turning hostile toward the Taliban.

Since the Doha agreement, a year and a half ago, it was already recognized that the Afghan Republic was not intended to last, Americans wrote in black and white that the Taliban would take power. In the Doha agreement, it is specified that the Americans will release 5,000 Taliban detainees, in order to let them join the Taliban.

The Americans also pledged to lift all sanctions against the Taliban regime in order to allow it to grow and settle without being in an economic catastrophe. The Doha agreement ends with this statement which says: “The USA and the Taliban will seek positive relations with each other”.

The Taliban simply applied the terms of the Doha Agreement, created by the US, which the armed forces of the Republic of Afghanistan simply deserted and joined the Taliban.

This Doha agreement, led by the US and backed by a majority in the UN, has been negotiating with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, and not with the Afghan Republic government. Because The Afghan Government was corrupt and puppets only, and not trustworthy.

As a matter of fact, the Taliban, after suffering for so long, has learned bitter lessons, and reform themselves. Now they are refined and improved a lot. Basically, Taliban leadership is well educated and equipped with all sorts of modern knowledge in addition to religious knowledge. They are gentle, kind, and smart people. They recaptured Kabul without any bloodshed and any violence. The take over of Capital Kabul was so smooth that the transition of presidents in Washington can not match it.

In fact, the Taliban are true representatives of Afghanistan, The US took power from them and returned back to them. They fought for the Afghan cause, the protected Afghan interests, and liberated from foreign occupation. The People of Afghanistan (majority) likes them and support them. The public is happy with the Taliban and welcomed them. There was no resistance from the general public. There might be few foreign agents, traitors, or working for the CIA, might be different, but the vast majority are happy and satisfied with Taliban rule. Taliban has ensured the safety and protection of everyone.

Despite the unholy media spent two decades spreading fake news, fabricated stories, and distorting the Taliban’s image, but, the world has witnessed a completely different Taliban. Their behavior was much gentle, kind, mature, and smart. All propaganda failed totally.

Taliban has granted general amnesty to everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, race, religion, either Afghan nationals or Foreigners. No one was arrested, investigated, harmed, harassed, or interrogated. Anyone who wanted to leave Afghanistan was allowed without any discrimination. However, the US troops open fires and killed dozens at the airport.

While the Taliban are in the process of forming a formal Government and announcing key personnel and their portfolios, they are very much careful and monitoring the world reaction. They are very smart and understand the sensitivity. They are also engaged in promoting diplomacy with many countries. It is expected, they will gain the attention of the international community, once they declare a formal government. Russia and China will recognize their rule immediately. And many countries under the influence of Russia or China will follow them. There are many countries from Africa, Middle East, and Europe, who are ready to establish formal relations with Taliban rule. Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan may recognize the Taliban rule before any other nation in the world.

The US informally accepts the Taliban as the legitimate owner of Afghanistan, as they took power from the Taliban and also lost the war against the Taliban. The US accepts them as the legitimate representative of Afghanistan, and negotiated peace deals with them directly, instead of the Afghan Government of Ashraf Ghani or Hamid Karzai. The US keeps contact with the Taliban after evacuation from Afghanistan, but formal recognition may require some time. In fact, it is the height of hypocrisy, they recognizing informally, but refusing publically.

Taliban are not terrorists, they are freedom fighters and have fought a long war against foreign occupation. The US is an invader and aggressor. Taliban should be removed from the UN list of terrorist organizations.

The US is coercing the Taliban economically. The situation on the ground is deteriorating immensely and requires immediate attention. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” in Afghanistan, calling on member states to contribute aid to support Afghan people in “their darkest hour of need.” “One in three Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from,” he said. “More than half of all children under five are expected to become acutely malnourished in the next year. People are losing access to basic goods and services every day.”

“Now more than ever”, Guterres said, “Afghan children, women, and men need the support and solidarity of the international community”. Afghanistan was coping with a severe drought, and its citizens would have to face harsh winter conditions, underlining the need for supplies to be urgently sent to the country, the UN chief said.

Given this precarious outlook, Guterres called on all parties to facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access for life-saving and life-sustaining supplies, supplies, as well as for all humanitarian workers, pointedly noting that this meant both men and women working in the field.

“I urge all Member States to dig deep for the people of Afghanistan in their darkest hour of need,” he continued. “I urge them to provide timely, flexible, and comprehensive funding. I urge them to help ensure humanitarian workers have the funding, access, and legal safeguards they need to stay and deliver.”

Meanwhile, spokesperson Jens Laerke from the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) on Tuesday said operations were continuing, and that the UN had already helped eight million people this year alone. But he warned that the US $ 1.3 billion funding requirement had not been met and that there was a lack of supplies in the now Taliban-controlled nation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that despite Monday’s delivery of 12.5 metric tonnes of medical supplies by a flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would cover the basic health needs of more than 200,000 people, but was still “not enough”.

WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said although the UN health agency was planning two more supply flights this week, it wanted “continual flights” to restore basic services.

She warned that before the Taliban takeover, some 12.2 million people were already projected to experience food insecurity and malnutrition; getting supplies into Afghanistan was “absolutely critical”, she said.

Around 3.5 million people were displaced within the county and many of those wishing to cross into countries such as Pakistan or Iran might not have the documents they need, said UNHCR spokesperson, Andrej Mahecic, who stated that while many of those crossing into Pakistan had not “expressed a clear intention to seek asylum” to border monitors, they “nevertheless have international protection needs” and “may not be able to cross without passports and visa documentation”.

It is time to talk about war crimes and war compensation. All criminals should be punished severely and Afghanistan should be compensated for suffering. All funds should be used for the reconstruction of the country and the welfare of the people.

It is appealed to all peace-loving nations and individuals to raise voice to rescue human lives in Afghanistan. War-torn Afghans are not the people of lesser God, they deserve your attention. It is time to prove your respect and care for humanity.

Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan. (E-mail: awanzamir@yahoo.com).