July 20, 2021–As foreign troops pull out of Afghanistan, neighboring countries are buttressing up their borders and extending ties with one another to protect themselves against instability. Meanwhile, the Taliban grow increasingly violent.
Growth in Terror
Today, the Taliban attacked the presidential palace in Kabul by a rocket attack. Financial Times reported that the rocket attack is the consequence of increased Taliban control. Furthermore, the Taliban most recently seized the Spin Boldak border.
Fighting between the Afghan military and Taliban members have placed civilians in the line of fire. On July 16th, Danish Siddiqui, a Reuters’ journalist and photographer, and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what Afghan officials a “Taliban crossfire”. Siddiqui was covering the fighting within Spin Boldak.
International Response
As international forces pull out, the Taliban gains territory. As this goes on, Afghanistan is at the top of most diplomatic meetings this month.
Security was a central factor at a July 15-16 gathering of representatives from Kazakhstan, the United States, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Turkmenistan. The members of C5+1 continue to seek opportunities to reinforce relations and a shared goal of prosperity and security within the region.
Furthermore, Russia is holding talks with many of the neighboring countries and promising to support them militarily.
Intra-Afghan Talks?
Meanwhile, Afghan peace negotiations are a concern to all. It appears there is more violence than talks. Ahmed Rashid, an author of literature on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban, told Financial Times, “What is keeping the Taliban together right now is the prospect of capturing Kabul, it’s not the prospect of having a peace agreement with Kabul.”
Afghan citizens residing in rural areas have started fleeing the country as the Taliban reinstates its repressive. Also in controlled districts, Taliban leadership neglects to uphold infrastructure that is vital to combating the country’s food shortages and response to the drought.
Central Piece Of the Region
Moreover, Afghanistan is central to the region’s trade, energy, and transportation networks. The C5+1 joint statement directly references the need to support the Afghan peace process.
The United States Military has a deadline of August 31st to have all troops withdrawn from the country which will leave Afghanistan in a state of potential civil war.
Joe Biden, President of the United States, referenced the future of Afghanistan in his July 8th speech, the “only way there’s going to be peace and security in Afghanistan is if they work out modus vivendi with the Taliban…And the likelihood there’s going to be one unified government in Afghanistan controlling the whole country is highly unlikely.”
NATO Statement on Monday
Fifteen diplomatic missions and the NATO representative released a statement following the failed ceasefire agreement on Monday, “This Eid al-Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process.”
Sixteen countries and NATO’s senior civilian representative supported this statement.
Taliban leadership has not agreed to a permanent ceasefire, though, released a statement on Sunday following the meeting in Doha, “Both sides agreed upon the need for expedition in the peace talks, in order to find a fair and permanent solution for the current issue in Afghanistan as soon as possible.”
The Taliban recently warned Turkey against supplying troops to manage Kabul’s airport. Tayyip Erdogen, President of Turkey, shared the Taliban threatened consequences in response to continued Turkish military presence in Afghanistan.
Erdogen called on the Taliban to “end the occupation of their brothers’ soil and show the world that peace is prevailing in Afghanistan right away.”
The international community has confronted Pakistan and its ongoing assistance to the Taliban.
Additional reporting on this story by Patti Mohr
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