Woes persist

Woes persist

The series of setbacks after the US troop withdrawal has made Joe Biden uneasy.

The problems didn’t end for the US after Major General Chris Donahue, the last American soldier on Afghan soil, took off in a C-17 Globemaster from the Kabul Airport on August 30. Conforming to the deadline set by the Taliban, President Joe Biden’s hastened troops’ withdrawal put an end to the unresolved two decade-old war. The Taliban has since then imposed the Sharia, formed an interim Government which has at least 14 UNSC designated terrorists and not even a single woman, banned sports for women and beaten women who protested for their rights and also the journalists who reported on them. The Taliban lashed out at the US for its criticism against the interim Government members, and said the US violated the Doha Agreement by not recognising the interim Government. All this has happened under the nose of the world leaders as they appear to be nothing more than mute spectators. And now, as the final and perhaps the biggest insult, the interim Government is likely to take oath on September 11, which marks the 20th anniversary of the horrific 9/11 attacks that killed more than 2900 people. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the Taliban have rolled out invitations to various countries, including the US, for their oath-taking ceremony.

President Biden still maintains that the withdrawal was the best decision for the United States and now bigger challenges like China’s growing influence can be looked at but, ironically, its exit from Afghanistan has given China an opening to establish itself there. Beijing welcomed the Taliban’s announcement of the formation of an interim Government as “a necessary step” and “an end to the anarchy” in Afghanistan. It further announced to donate $31 million worth of aid, including food and vaccines, to Afghanistan. This is exactly what the Taliban crave the most at the moment — international recognition and monetary support, while it may be overlooking China’s strategic interests in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the 13th BRICS Summit, called the exit as “experiments" with democracy, leaving chaos and destabilisation in their wake. He added that it’s still unclear how it will affect regional and global security. This turn of events has so far derided Joe Biden’s and the US’s prominence and made it look worn out.