The Paper's reporter Wang Lu
On the afternoon of September 7, local time, a week after the US government announced the completion of the withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban announced to the outside world the provisional government agency of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" and the list of some cabinet members.
"The Islamic Emirate (of Afghanistan) has decided to appoint and announce the provisional cabinet list to carry out the necessary government work." Atta spokesman Mujahid said at a press conference on the same day.
According to CGTN and Reuters, Mujahid announced on the 7th that Mullah Mohammed Hassan will lead the new Taliban government in Afghanistan as acting prime minister, and Taliban co-founder Baradal will serve as Hassan's deputy.
Mujahid also said Taliban supreme leader Akhonzada would lead the country as an "emir." The word "emir" comes from Arabic and means "the one who leads others".
It has been 20 years since it first came to power, and the Afghan Taliban have tried to show the outside world a new look different from the past. After the formation of the interim Government, can the instability and economic and social crisis in Afghanistan be alleviated? Will there be a change in the attitude of the international community towards the Taliban?
The new government has yet to demonstrate "inclusiveness"
Al Jazeera reported on the 7th that Mujahid said on the same day that 33 cabinet members have been appointed so far, and the remaining positions will be announced after careful consideration.
Charles Stratford, the station's correspondent, reported in Kabul that "many of the Taliban's list of cabinets are old faces... The vast majority of them are Pashtuns. Critics might argue that this doesn't take into account the country's vast ethnic diversity. According to the Associated Press, no non-Taliban members appear on the interim cabinet list.
However, Mujahid said in a press conference on the same day, "Our government will not be based on race." We will not allow this type of politics. ”
Meanwhile, CNN also noted that there are no women in the currently announced cabinet members. In response, Mujahid said that the Taliban would deal with the problem. On September 1, Mujahid said, "Although women will not hold ministerial positions in the new government, under the Quran and Shariah, women can work as assistants in various branches of government, the police or the judiciary." In response to this situation, in the western city of Herat, some Afghan women held a rare protest on September 2 to fight for the right to work.
In fact, as for what type of government to establish, the Taliban have revealed one or two in their previous statements. After the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul on Aug. 15, Mujahid said at his first news conference on Aug. 17 that the Taliban planned to form an "inclusive government" in Afghanistan and gave multiple commitments.
In addition to declaring an "amnesty" for all government officials, Mujahid said he would "protect all rights granted to women by the Shariah code and the law" and guarantee the free operation of the media, but the Taliban would not allow anyone to spread racial and ethnic hatred in Afghanistan. Mujahid said Afghanistan "will no longer be a hub for opium cultivation and the drug trade" and will be rebuilt in the future using the country's natural resources.
Mujahid also stressed at the time that after 20 years of struggle, the Taliban had successfully ended the foreign occupation of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has the right to practise governance in a manner consistent with the values of its people and deserves the respect of other countries. At the same time, the Taliban have promised the world that no one will be allowed to use Afghan territory to threaten other countries.
The war is flat and the crisis is over
Announcing the formation of a new Afghan government may only be the first step for the Taliban, and it is still a long way to govern the country. For now, anti-Taliban forces continue to resist in Panjshir province, northeast of Kabul, where the country's population is experiencing an unprecedented economic and existential crisis.
Recently, the anti-Taliban coalition "Afghan National Resistance Front" and the Taliban fought in Panjshir province, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. The rugged terrain of Panjhir, with its rugged mountain ranges and difficult to defend, was not controlled by the Taliban during their reign from 1996 to 2001.
It is worth noting that since the Taliban cut off Internet and telecommunications services in the Panjhir area since August 29, there are currently different accounts of the local fighting situation in Panjhir, and various sources are difficult to verify. Al Jazeera and Afghan Dawn REPORTED on September 6 that Atta spokesman Mujahid announced on the same day that the Taliban had taken control of Panjhir province, and photos of Taliban members standing in front of the governor's office in the province had appeared on social media.
On the other hand, a spokesman for the Afghan National Resistance Front denied the Taliban's claims on the same day, saying that anti-Taliban forces were still fighting and were located in a "strategic location" in the Panjshir Valley. According to several media reports, many Of the National Resistance Front troops have retreated to the mountains.
Mujahid said at a September 6 press conference that with Panjhir province under control, the war in Afghanistan has officially ended.
Whether the war is really over or not, at a time of turmoil and change in the country, the Afghan people are undoubtedly the biggest "losers" under the torrent of the times. The U.N.'s World Food Programme said at the end of August that an incredible crisis was taking shape as conflict, drought and COVID-19 pushed Afghans into a humanitarian disaster.
According to the World Food Programme, a third of Afghans — or 14 million people — are currently hungry and 2 million malnourished children are in urgent need of treatment.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of the year, conflict and insecurity have forced 550,000 Afghans to flee their homes, and some 70,000 displaced people have poured into the capital, Kabul, from across the country.
More urgently, Ramiz Arakbarov, Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations in Afghanistan, recently pointed out that the food stocks of the United Nations World Food Programme in Afghanistan will be depleted as early as the end of September. He urged the international community to step up its support for Afghanistan, saying at least $200 million (1.29 billion yuan) of funding is needed to address the food shortages faced by millions of people.
At a time when the entire population of the country is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, the economic situation in Afghanistan is also in trouble. On August 31, Samangani, a member of the Afghan Taliban Cultural Committee, said that security in Afghanistan is no longer a top priority, but an economic issue. "Afghanistan will develop its economy and improve employment in the future. Data show that 90 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line, and the Taliban will rescue the Afghan people. He also called on Afghans overseas to return home and build the country together.
However, some positive changes are taking place in Afghanistan's financial system. A senior executive at Western Union told Reuters it resumed remittance services to Afghanistan on Sept. 2.
Farah, president of Western Union Asia, EmEA and Africa, said: "Our business in Afghanistan is mostly remittances from low-income families to meet the basic needs of local people. That's where we are and why we want to reopen our business. ”
Earlier, after the Taliban occupied Kabul on Aug. 15, Two Major U.S. money transfer services companies, Western Union and MoneyGram International Inc, announced the suspension of services in Afghanistan.
Can the new Government gain international recognition?
After the formation of the new government, the Taliban not only need to accelerate the reconstruction of the social and economic order in Afghanistan, but also seek the recognition of more countries in the international community. The New York Times analyzed that diplomatic recognition will help Afghanistan open direct channels for countries and institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to provide development assistance and a large number of loans.
Indeed, since entering Kabul on August 15, the Taliban have repeatedly expressed their desire to establish better diplomatic and trade relations with all countries. However, most countries remained on the sidelines and skepticism about the Taliban government, which tried to give it a new look, and set a series of "preconditions" for recognizing the Taliban regime. Among them, the Taliban's severance of ties with terrorism, the "inclusiveness" of the new government, and the rights of Afghan women are the core concerns of the international community.
White House spokesman Psaki said on September 7 local time that the United States is "not eager to recognize" the new Afghan government just announced by the Taliban and does not have a timetable. Before Psaki made the above remarks, Biden said on the 6th that acknowledging the Taliban government "still has a long way to go."
As to whether France recognizes the Taliban government, French Foreign Minister Le Dreyion has previously set five conditions: including respect for humanitarian law that allows some Afghans to leave the country; clarification of relations with all terrorist movements; respect for rights, especially women's rights; receipt of humanitarian aid on Afghan territory; and a constitution that inclusive government. However, Le Drelin recently told Le Figaro that the French government has not yet seen a positive signal of change in the Taliban.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on September 2 that Germany was prepared to resume its diplomatic presence in Kabul if the Taliban met certain conditions. "We would like to see an inclusive government [in Kabul] that respects fundamental human rights and women's rights, and Afghanistan must not once again be a breeding ground for international terrorism," Mas said. ”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson noted that if the Taliban can stop terrorist groups from launching attacks from Afghanistan, britain will diplomatically recognize the Taliban regime. Johnson said that "if the new regime in Kabul wants diplomatic recognition," it must "prevent Afghanistan from becoming a hotbed of global terrorism again."
According to the Sunday World, the EU has now agreed on the preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations with the Afghan Taliban and providing assistance to them.
Russian President Afghanistan Special Representative Kabulov revealed that Moscow is trying to establish normal relations with the Taliban, and whether to recognize the Taliban regime will be decided according to the actions of the new regime. "We will carefully observe how they govern the country in the near future, and the Russian leadership will draw the necessary conclusions based on these results."
So far, Turkey has been more aggressive on whether to recognize the Taliban regime. British news website Eye of the Middle East reported on August 28 that Turkey is about to reach an agreement with the Afghan Taliban. Under the agreement, Turkey will recognize the Taliban regime and will cooperate with Qatar in operating Kabul Airport. It is reported that as the only Muslim-majority member of NATO, Turkey maintains close relations with various Afghan political forces, including the Taliban. More importantly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also been supportive of political Islamist forces.
"As long as the Taliban does not show a very brutal character for the first time, is linked to terrorism, or has a lot of terrorist activities itself, in general, it is possible for the international community to recognize the Taliban in the future." Professor Lu Gang, director of the Center for Central Asia Research at East China Normal University, previously told the surging news (www.thepaper.cn), "The main problem is that this region has experienced 20 years of war, and it does take a relatively stable time." If this continues, not only will the Afghan people continue to suffer, but it will also have spillover effects on neighboring countries, and the region will become more turbulent. ”
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on September 1 that Afghanistan's history is turning a new page, with opportunities and challenges coexisting, difficulties and hopes coexisting. The suffering Afghan people are ushering in a new beginning for peace and reconstruction in their country. China sincerely hopes that all Afghan parties will comply with the urgent aspirations of their own people and the general expectations of the international community, build an open and inclusive political structure, pursue a moderate and steady domestic and foreign policy, completely cut off all kinds of terrorist organizations and live in friendly relations with all countries in the world, especially neighboring countries.
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