People live in a pathetic state. The security crisis and economic stagnation have paralyzed their life. The simple individuals are the main victims of conflicts carried out by warring factions. A large number of families have been displaced internally from restive parts of the country. Moreover, the larger part of the country suffers from unemployment and economic challenges. The current economic slumps embitter not only the old men – who sweat from dawn to dusk to make the ends meet – but also the businessmen. After all, abducting, threatening and killing national investors and businessmen for money, discourage them from investing in the country.
The nascent democracy is not a panacea for the Afghans’ political problems. People fall the victims of militancy to a large extent. Violence and bloodshed have been increased since the drawdown of NATO troops and emergence of the Islamic State (IS). The intensified terrorist attacks carried out by the Taliban militants led to great casualties across the country, mainly within the two last years. The indiscriminate killing of the civilians is a matter of great concern.
I do agree with Hobbes who believed that wickedness runs in man’s blood. The macabre story of the sufferers will fill you with strong disgust. Our freedoms are curtailed on a large scale on the grounds of sex, color, race and belief. For instance, you will be in cultural chains for being female, your life will be in great jeopardy for belonging to a minority ethnic group and your blood will be of no value for nurturing particular beliefs such as disagreeing with the radical’s fundamental ideology.
If we further politicize freedom and view the Talibanic ideology in this regard, the Taliban were utterly against this discourse. Their closed frames of mind were once put into practice in Afghanistan which led to innumerous challenges. Schooling and social activities were ban for females and males were supposed to dress up and wear beard as the Taliban militants. Transcending their parochial mindsets was tantamount to perishing your own life.
The insurgency, however, continues unabated. Last month, Taliban bombers killed more than 30 people and wounded about 70 in twin blasts in a crowded area of the city during the afternoon rush hour. The Taliban militants, fighting to oust foreign forces and bring down the US-backed government, claimed responsibility for the Jan. 10 attack. Moreover, at least 20 people were, reportedly, killed and 38 more were wounded on Tuesday in a bomb blast in Kabul City which reflects the Taliban’s strong will for militancy and negative answer for peace talks.
Seemingly, the country will sustain turbulence and economic recession unless a thorough and serious counterterrorism strategy is planned by regional and international communities. The foreign officials have confessed that the US-led NATO anti-terrorism strategy failed in Afghanistan. But I believe that the “war on terror” gave counterproductive result – the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) groups reflects the very bitter fact. Prior to 9/11 attacks, Afghanistan was in the grip of the Taliban’s militancy, however now it is threatened by both Taliban and IS insurgents.
Since the maxim of “live and let live” is totally meaningless in the Taliban’s mindset, let’s talk about the practical realities being practiced across the country. The hackneyed phrases on newspapers’ headlines about violation of the individuals’ freedoms reflect the bitter facts going on in our community.
The unmitigated militancy, which leads to combatant and non-combatant casualties, makes a wall of mistrust between state and nation. Undergoing war and violence, a large number of Afghan people flee the country – this reflects the government’s failure and insufficiency. Ill-fatedly, our nation’s bleeding wounds seem to be festered despite the democratic system.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has uncovered the reason behind violence and violation of men’s rights and dignity and also suggests the prescription for healing the men’s chronic wounds as it states, “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
Violating Human rights and dignity will continue unabated unless we listen to the call of our conscience and uphold code of ethics in individual and social life. In the same way, men’s natural dignity – which is also mentioned in religious texts – should be considered seriously regardless of people’s ethnic backgrounds. Additionally, the state has to put its peremptory law into practice transparently so as to prevent from flagrant violations.
To mitigate the militancy, it is believed that military deal would be an effective mechanism to tackle the issue and the government will have to intensify counter-insurgency and reinforce the Afghan soldiers. After all, there should be no room available for ISIL to incubate in the country and spew forth its venom. In addition, the seminaries should be registered and come under the watch of the government so as not to change into hotbed of radicalization.
The world, particularly the neighboring countries, should join force against militancy carried out by any terrorist networks. In short, there should be less talk and more actions by the officials. Afghan people are highly exhausted from war and bloodshed and economic constraints and pray to have their bread and butter in a peaceful environment and have their fundamental rights protected.