AS the international community is worried about the state of uncertainty in Afghanistan, China has made a realistic assessment of the situation by pointing out that the United States was squarely responsible for the prevailing mess as it left Afghanistan without helping the country find a political settlement.
In an interview, Chinese Special Envoy for Afghan Affairs, Yue Xiaoyong, termed the manner in which the US withdrew its troops as ‘irresponsible’ telling Washington to realize that the use of force, military action and interference in the affairs of other countries only makes matters worse.
There is, indeed, a general perception all around the world that the United States opted for a clumsy withdrawal imperilling the life of the Afghan people, intensifying their economic woes and putting security of the entire region at risk.
The remarks of the Chinese envoy have given a strong voice to these feelings and should serve as a wakeup call for policy and decision-makers in the United States to review their jingoistic and imperialistic posture vis-à-vis small and weaker nations, several of them have seen death and destruction in recent years because of policies like regime change, preventive strikes and bullying sanctions.
Nowhere in the world, the US military intervention improved the ground situation and instead it complicated the crises as we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The United States had militarily intervened in Afghanistan for twenty long years but left the country in a more chaotic condition than before.
This is despite the fact that for years Pakistan has been opposing the use of force, emphasizing the need for a meaningful dialogue for a political settlement.
Pakistan did not play to the galleries and instead offered concrete and productive assistance that resulted into Doha Agreement between the United States and the Taliban on the one hand and the Taliban and the Kabul Government on the other hand, which could have formed the basis for a comprehensive political solution.
It seems the US has still not learnt any lesson as together with some other Western countries it is pampering the anti-Taliban forces to offer resistance, a policy aimed at pushing the war-torn country into another vicious cycle of civil war and strife.
Afghanistan has suffered for the last over four decades and it is time the entire world extends a helping hand for efforts aimed at restoring peace and security.
The spoilers should desist from compounding difficulties for Afghan people and instead join hands with countries like Pakistan, China and Russia that are trying their best to facilitate the peace process by encouraging the Taliban for the establishment of an inclusive government.
