US pushing Afghanistan towards humanitarian crisis?
ECONOMY of war-torn Afghanistan is on the verge of collapse. Afghanistan government is hugely cash deficit to meet the routine expenditure like paying salaries and administering essential services, people are resorting to barter trade by exchanging their household items for food and medicines.
China and a number of other countries have urged the US to release Afghanistan’s held-up treasury bills’ money worth US$ 9 billion parked with the US Federal Reserve.
Vibes from Washington indicate that the US is expected to keep the economic and other sanctions on while sending in paltry humanitarian aid.
Pace of international aid and lifting of cash holding measures by the US and its camp followers shall determine the extent to which impact of crisis could be mitigated.
Afghanistan is currently on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, as supplies of food and medicine are becoming scarce with millions of people at risk.
Pakistan is amongst the first countries that have started emergency dispatches of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Beside Pakistan, Afghanistan has already received aid from Qatar and Uzbekistan.
A number of other countries, including China and Russia, are likely to add to the list very soon.
While international humanitarian aid begins to tickle down — implying accepting legitimacy of Taliban regime— towards Afghanistan, the US and the US-dominated international financial institutions, like World Bank and IMF, continue holding back even the, already due, legitimate money, which the US, Europe and these US-enslaved institutions owe to Afghanistan.
Pakistan fears that economic collapse and humanitarian crises would lead to mass exodus of refugees.
Pakistan has sent supplies such as cooking oil and medicine to authorities in Kabul, and its Foreign Minister has called upon the international community to provide assistance without conditions and to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets.
UNSG Antonio Guterres has warned of a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” in Afghanistan as he urged countries to provide emergency funding.
He expressed his “grave concern at the deepening humanitarian and economic crisis in the country”, adding that basic services threatened to collapse “completely”.
“Now more than ever, Afghan children, women and men need the support and solidarity of the international community.” “I urge all member states to dig deep for the people of Afghanistan in their darkest hour of need.
I urge them to provide timely, flexible and comprehensive funding,” the UN Secretary General said.
The United States and Western countries are in a mischievous disruptive act in the aftermath of the Taliban’s victory – reluctant to recognize the new government while accepting the reality that they will have to engage with them to prevent a looming humanitarian crisis.
Foreign countries greeted the make-up of the new government in Afghanistan with caution and dismay after the Taliban appointed hardline veterans to top slots, including several with a US bounty on their head.
Foreign minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, told a press conference that Taliban would spend donor money wisely and use it to alleviate poverty.
“The Islamic Emirate will try its best to deliver this aid to the needy people in a completely transparent manner,” Muttaqi said.
He also asked Washington to show appreciation for the Taliban allowing the US to complete its troop withdrawal and evacuation of more than 120,000 people in August.
The United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan culminated with a hastily organized airlift that left over on a hundred US citizens, who ‘could not’ reach Kabul airport alongside thousands of US allied Afghans behind.
Evacuation was punctuated by a suicide bombing outside Kabul airport, at least 175 people, including 13 US service personnel, were killed.
Selfish face of the US stood exposed to its allies tow ards final days of withdrawal-cum-evacuation when the US was only concerned with safe extrication of American nationals, it had practically ditched its allies and non-US international aid workers. At this critical time Pakistan came fore to help execute a safe and orderly evacuation.
International community is all praise for Pakistan’s timely action.In the short term, the EU Chief has pledged an additional 100 million Euros ($118 million) in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
“We must do everything to avert the real risk that is out there of a major famine and humanitarian disaster,” she said, insisting Europe “stands by the Afghan people”. The new promise came after the European Commission already quadrupled its humanitarian aid to Afghanistan for this year to 200 million Euros.
As usual, strings are being attached to this aid. Brussels has said that none of the aid will go to Afghanistan’s new rulers and has demanded the Taliban ensure access for humanitarian workers in the country.
With a go, no-go mind-set on future US ties with Afghanistan, in the first public hearing in Congress about Afghanistan since collapse of the US-backed Afghan government, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, struggled, on September 13, to formulate what role Washington would want Pakistan to play in the future of Afghanistan.
Asked by lawmakers if it is time for Washington to reassess its relationship with Pakistan, Blinken said the Administration would soon be doing that.
Blinken told the House of Representatives Foreign Aff airs Committee that Pakistan has a “multiplicity of interests some that are in conflict with ours.”
“It is one that is involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved harbouring members of the Taliban. It is one that’s also involved in different points cooperation with us on counterterrorism,” Blinken said.
“This is one of the things we’re going to be looking at in the days, and weeks ahead — the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years but also the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that,” he added.
However, another US Senator has slammed the “hypocrisy” of the US Congress for solely blaming Pakistan.
Senator, Chris Van Hollen, remarked on September 14 that it was the Trump Administration, not Pakistan, which enabled the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. Senator revealed this during the first Senate hearing on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
According to Hollen, Pakistan was pushed by the US Government to release the top three Taliban commanders from jails to move forward with the Afghan peace process.
He added that it was in Pakistan’s interest to “prevent chaos and civil war” in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Hollen’s made these remarks during the hearing when both Republicans and Democrats blamed Pakistan.
To its dismay and peril, Pakistan may continue to remain ‘relevant’ to the US with regard to implementation of future US policies about Afghanistan.
It appears the US would continue to execute substantial portion of its Afghanistan policy through Pakistan, including mitigation of upcoming humanitarian crisis. And in this context, American lust to arm twist Pakistan is not likely to end.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
