The war in Afghanistan is over but the conflict between world players is holding off peace to be served in the country. The international community has not legitimatized the Taliban regime and is yet to unfreeze the assets of the war-torn country that could provide the much-needed financial aid for Afghanistan to pick up its pieces from the war left behind and move into a new horizon of peace. In an attempt to once again ask world leaders to unite for this peace, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday addressed the UN General Assembly and urged the international community to incentivize the Taliban instead of abandoning them. The premier noted that the Taliban have vowed to respect human rights and are working towards an inclusive government. “If the world community incentivises them, and encourages them to walk this talk, it will be a win-win situation for everyone,” PM Imran Khan said. There is no doubt that peace in Afghanistan would mean peace in the region, considering that for a very long time, the Afghan soil had been used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks on other countries. The Taliban have pledged to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself and strict actions will be taken against militant groups. But is the world ready to put aside it’s pride and work towards a common humanitarian goal?
Power and politics have been the driving force behind policies devised by the West. While human rights violations experienced during the Taliban regime in the past are stopping the West from recognizing them, the same in Indian Illegally-Occupied Kashmir by the far-right Narendra Modi’s regime is being met with silence. In fact, hate and discrimination against the Muslim community in India has seen an all-time surge under Modi’s regime. The premier also addressed this issue at the UN General Assembly and said “the hate-filled Hindutva ideology, propagated by the fascist RSS-BJP regime, has unleashed a reign of fear and violence against India’s 200 million strong Muslim community.” Pakistan has time and again called for action against hate crimes in the neighbouring country. But despite this, Modi was recently received by the US president with a warm welcome. The international community needs to do better. It must come together for the welfare of the people who are the losers in this game of politics. As for Afghanistan, a looming humanitarian crisis should be avoided at any cost. The Taliban regime need to be watched closely and pushed to do better.
