It has now been five months of Taliban rule in Afghanistan. But the situation there is far from stable. While the war has ended, the country is now on the brink of a human catastrophe. The UN and many of its concerned agencies have expressed deep concern about the imminent economic collapse as well as the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Calls have also been made by civil society and concerned governments, especially neighbours. According to a recent UN report, around 60 per cent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people will be affected by the impending food crisis. Only 5pc of the population has enough to eat. The situation will worsen as emergency humanitarian aid is delayed.
The World Food Programme estimates 3.2 million children in Afghanistan are at risk of acute malnutrition. UNDP fears 97 per cent of Afghans could fall under the poverty line unless urgent steps are taken to address the humanitarian crisis.
The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has done well to take the initiative of holding an extraordinary session of OIC CFMs and ensure solid participation not just from its members but also key officials from the so-called P5 countries as well as various international organisations.
Pakistan has been at the forefront of urging greater engagement with the Taliban because it stands to lose the most if Afghanistan is hit by instability. There are already signs that violence can flare up at any time. Sporadic incidents of violence, often perpetrated by the IS in Afghanistan, have illustrated the state of insecurity in the country.
The extraordinary session was the best initiative taken by the Pakistani government. It will be important for the gathered people to hear him first-hand. However, it is equally important for the Taliban representatives in the delegation to listen to what the world thinks of them.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his speech at OIC huddle, rightly said that Afghanistan could potentially become the biggest “man-made crisis in the world” if it did not act now. The prime minister said that US must “delink” the Taliban government from the 40 million Afghan citizens. Washington have been in conflict with the Taliban for 20 years but this concerns the people of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is poised on a knife edge, and the international community will need to exercise patience and prioritise correctly if it does not want the war-torn country to descend into chaos. The Taliban know well that governance is not possible without financial resources. Afghan people should not have to pay the cost of the world’s antipathy towards the Taliban.
There is a need for a strong global response to deal with the impending human catastrophe in Afghanistan. Humanitarian aid must be kept separate from politics. An economic collapse could worsen the plight of the Afghan people.
