The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, according to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, is “breaking the chains of slavery”. The statement came a day after the Taliban took over Kabul, setting off concerns about the return of the hardline system which deprived many sections, especially women, of civil rights in terms of education, jobs and marriage.
“You take over the other culture and become psychologically subservient. When that happens, please remember, it is worse than actual slavery. It is harder to throw off the chains of cultural enslavement. What is happening in Afghanistan now, they have broken the shackles of slavery,” he said.
Pakistan’s all-weather friend, China, too is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan, a government spokeswoman said on Monday, after the Taliban seized control of the country.
Beijing has sought to maintain unofficial ties with the Taliban throughout the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, which spurred an advance by the Islamist hardliners across the country that saw them capture the capital Kabul on Sunday.
China shares 76-km border with Afghanistan and has long feared Afghanistan could become a staging point for Muslim minority Uyghur separatists in Xinjiang. But a top-level Taliban delegation met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin last month, promising that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for terrorists. In exchange, China offered economic support and investment for Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
On Monday, China said it “welcomed” the chance to deepen ties with Afghanistan, a country that has for generations been coveted for its geo-strategic importance by bigger powers.
“The Taliban have repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China, and that they look forward to China’s participation in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
“We welcome this. China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop… friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan.”
China’s embassy in Kabul remains operational, Hua said, although Beijing began evacuating Chinese citizens from the country months ago amid the deteriorating security situation.
As for the United States, it has said that it is willing to work with the Taliban if they respect “basic rights” of its people—of women and girls, specifically—and do not harbour terrorists, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview to CNN on Sunday.
“A future Afghan government that upholds the basic rights of its people and that doesn’t harbour terrorists is a government we can work with and, and recognise,” Blinken said in response to a question if the Biden administration would ever consider recognising the Taliban-led government.
“Conversely, a government that doesn’t do that, that doesn’t uphold the basic rights of its people, including women and girls… that harbours terrorist groups… that have designs on the United States… that’s not going to happen,” he said.
When and if in government, they might need assistance from the international community and support of the international community, the secretary said, adding, “none of that will be forthcoming, sanctions won’t be lifted, their ability to travel won’t happen” if they are not sustaining the basic rights of the Afghan people and if they revert to supporting or harbouring terrorists who might strike the US.
Meanwhile, chaos and panic reigned in Kabul as the Taliban took over Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, conceding that the terrorists have won the 20-year war.
The astonishingly quick collapse of the government, with the Taliban taking over the presidential palace on Sunday night, had triggered panic in Kabul. Chaos reigned at the Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans gathered, desperate to leave the country. Gunshots were heard as the people jostled to get into the few remaining aircraft. The Afghan airspace has been closed.