ECONOMYNEXT – Even as Afghanistan’s Taliban government increases its stranglehold on human rights on the domestic front, the regime is gaining some legitimacy on the world stage, with neighbouring countries quietly extending a hand of friendship, one that has grown purely out of the individual needs of those nations.
Paving the way for more diplomatic and trade engagement between the two, Russia’s Supreme Court delisted the Taliban as a ‘terrorist organisation’ on Thursday, April 17.
Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban government has not been a welcome guest at most forums.
Yet, as Dr Abbas Farasoo, Afghanistan’s former Deputy Ambassador to Australia, claimed, there is regional and international consensus that Afghanistan is now a ‘security blackhole,’ resulting in neighbouring countries, in particular, seeking to engage with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
It is a ‘silent diplomacy’ he pointed out, adding that it is more than anything an act of self-preservation by those nations.
In the case of China, which has had ties with Afghanistan for years, it is about ensuring its Belt and Road Initiative, better known as One Belt One Road, is not destabilised by terror attacks, Dr Farasoo pointed out at a recent webinar titled ‘Afghanistan at the Crossroads: Politics, Human Rights and Humanitarian Challenges.’
Such an engagement also allows China to monitor the Taliban government's ties with the USA, Pakistan and India, he added.
Iran, meanwhile, which once worked alongside the Taliban to oppose former Afghan governments and international allied forces, and is alleged to have provided training to various insurgent groups, keeps a watchful eye on the Taliban government’s activities.
But now the focus is more on the water and border disputes, he said.
Long-term ally, Pakistan, meanwhile, has lost its favoured status with the Taliban government, explained Dr Farasoo.
Though Pakistan hoped to establish its intelligence apparatus within Afghanistan, it did not have the resources to sustain such an initiative.
Despite a tense relationship now, Pakistani think tanks advise that establishing at least a working relationship with its northwestern neighbour is preferable to India getting a foot in.
The webinar, moderated by Reza Eshan, a Doctoral student at the South Asian University, was held on April 17 th and was organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom South Asia (FNF).
Echoing those observations, panellist Khalid Ramizy, CEO, World Anti-Extremism Network, pointed to the importance of preventing a repeat of 9/11, as Afghanistan has now become a safe haven for many terrorist groups.
Alleging that such groups have been allocated land and are being allowed to set up in various regions, Ramzi alleged that over twenty thousand passports had been issued to members of foreign terror groups and 100 Syrian terrorists based in Afghanistan.
Unless Afghanistan experiences complete isolation from the world, the citizenry, even though the government is with their lives, will not act against it, he says. Russia, China and Iran have established some diplomatic relations, and are not concerned about human rights violations, he claims.
China is investing millions of dollars and extracting Afghanistan’s natural resources, Ramizy alleges, adding that Beijing is also investing in civil society organisations and promoting its ideology as opposed to liberal democratic values.
Afghanistan has also been impacted by US President Donald Trump’s decision to stop financial aid for development projects, says Ramizy, adding that soon after the announcement, the Taliban government had claimed the move would result in public servants not receiving a pay cheque for three months.
That, he points out, is an indication that developmental aid has found its way to government coffers.
The international community must wake up to the fact that Afghanistan is the only country where education for women is banned, points out Shikiba Babori, Founder of the Journalist Network KALIMA.
The Taliban, she told the webinar, has, since 2021, ‘rolled back participation in social and civil life and freedom of expression. Gender apartheid is not a social issue but State violence!’ The large number of decrees issued against women has not deterred them, she says, explaining that they continue their education in underground schools.
Ignoring the risks, they hold street protests, refusing to be silenced, Babori revealed, adding that exiled Afghan women too work tirelessly to raise global awareness on the situation.
The Afghan diaspora plays a vital role in drawing attention to the systematic denial of rights in Afghanistan, and their work is all the more important as interest in human rights abuses has waned with the withdrawal of international forces, Babori claims.
The incoming German government, she added, is also planning on terminating the refugee admissions programme for Afghans.
Keeping the spotlight on Afghanistan is, in itself, a challenge, claims Fereshta Abbasi, a Researcher at Human Rights Watch. And the Taliban is using the ‘isolation’ to tighten its grip on women and girls, where they are banned from getting an education beyond Grade 6.
The ban also varies in implementation depending on the regional authority, she explains, adding that since August 2024, women are not allowed to be heard outside their homes.
‘Public policing’ is becoming the norm, where even a taxi driver could report or refuse a ride to a woman if she is not in hijab or without a male relative.
It is an environment where documenting the many atrocities is becoming increasingly difficult, and with the absence of independent media, there is no accountability for extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.
Though not recognised as a legitimate government, the Taliban is wary of negative reports reaching the international community, and does its utmost to prevent abuses being documented, she explains.
To date, only two perpetrators have been named by the International Criminal Court, points out Abbasi adding that even Syria, Iran and Myanmar allow UN mechanisms to gather evidence.
The country is facing the ‘Worst human rights crisis in the world, ’Abbasi observes.
The Taliban is keen to be formally accepted by world bodies, and that is possible not through the usual ‘war on terror discourse’ but by adopting a modern and pragmatic lens that puts Afghan voices first, points out Dr Farasoo.
Internal and external agencies working together should focus on establishing gender security, transparency, justice, and inclusiveness in Afghanistan.
He also has a word of advice to Afghanistan’s elite, who, he points out, must shed their ethnic and tribal biases if the country is to transform itself.
As for the Taliban government, a constructive foreign policy, internal legitimacy and inclusive governance are key in regaining its place on the world stage, Dr Farasoo opines. (Colombo/Apr21/2025)