By: H.N
Afghanistan, which was one of the most peaceful countries in the region, became a ruin after the onset of internal conflicts that persisted for four decades. The enduring war over the past four decades in the country yielded nothing but destruction, displacement, and poverty. More than seven million refugees, two million martyrs, and hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals were the consequences of these wars.
During this period, the political, military, economic, social, and cultural infrastructures in the country were destroyed, while the prolonged destructive war led to the displacement of millions of Afghans to neighboring countries, the region, and the world.
The persistence of war and misery not only tarnished Afghanistan’s reputation and introduced the harsh face of this country to the world but gradually pushed Afghanistan into isolation and eventual oblivion. During this period, people endured a life laden with suffering, struggling not just to live but to survive. Unfortunately, Afghanistan experienced harsh and challenging days.
In light of the political developments of the past two decades, Afghanistan once again came into the global spotlight, and an influx of aid poured into the country. With the support of the United States of America and its allies, efforts began to establish governance structures, conduct elections, and create a new system in the country.
Following the establishment of the republican system in the country, in order to revive political, military, economic, social, and cultural structures, the United States of America and its allies disbursed billions of dollars in Afghanistan through white checks. While these expenditures were not entirely futile and played a constructive role in reviving structures, however, they also played a crucial role in promoting Afghanistan’s dependence on the United States, fostering a false economy.
Over the past two decades, the flow of unconditional aid from the United States and its allies exacerbated administrative corruption in the country and led to the widening scope of corruption to the extent that fundamental works, aimed at the public welfare and economic self-sufficiency of Afghanistan, remained unfulfilled.
However, in the early stages, the implementation of numerous projects in various fields began in Afghanistan, and substantial funds were also spent. Nevertheless, the administrative corruption directly impacted the quality of work on one hand and, on the other hand, led to disillusionment among donors and funding agencies.
During the past two decades, Afghanistan had finally acquired the opportunity for development and prosperity, but inappropriate decisions by officials and severe political disagreements within the previous systems caused the golden opportunity to slip away, resulting in transforming Afghanistan into an isolated country once again.
Furthermore, the transformation of the previous system into a corporation (so called inclusive government) and the excessive influence and displacement associated with political parties and groups within the government structure also had a negative impact on the implementation of projects and the effective delivery of services to the people.
Wrong policies, carelessness of the officials towards the real development of the country, Afghanistan’s economic dependency, incorrect prioritization of projects, negligence in combating corruption, the creation of parallel structures for implementing similar activities, inappropriate political and economic interactions with neighboring and regional countries as well as international community, misallocation of resources, and etc. led donors and key partners to reconsider their assistance to Afghanistan.
This tarnished Afghanistan’s credibility among the nations of the world, significantly increased poverty and unemployment in the country, fostered a climate of distrust between the people and the government, and drew severe global criticism towards Afghanistan’s governance.
Due to the ineffective governance in Afghanistan, the international community pursued political reforms, leading to the downfall of the incumbent government. Consequently, the twenty-year path, which had been traversed with immense resources and expenses, returned to the starting point once again.
The political change happened very rapidly overnight, and the Islamic Emirate once again declared its governance in the country. Administrative corruption, a false economy, the blocking of the country’s reserves in foreign banks, insecurity, poverty, the closure of aids from donors, cultivation, production, and trafficking of narcotics, and etc., were among the major problems that accompanied the current Afghan regime. On the other hand, opponents of the Islamic Emirate also initiated propaganda wars aimed at weakening the system’s foundations.
Despite the existing challenges in the country, the Islamic Emirate effectively managed and controlled the situation and endeavored to eradicate administrative corruption and operationalize revenue collection channels aimed at taking initial steps towards the country’s economic self-sufficiency.
At the outset, the majority believed that without the support of the international community, the Islamic Emirate would not survive. However, beyond imagination, officials took necessary and calculated measures to ensure nationwide security, prepare the national budget from internal revenues, ensure transparency in revenue collection process, expedite the provision of services to the people, initiate the implementation of economic and developmental projects, expand trade, economic, and political interactions with neighboring and regional countries, establish an organized Islamic army, increase exports, combat cultivation, production, and use of narcotics, provide aid and financial assistance to martyrs, disabled, and the vulnerable people, adapt nearly one million employees of the previous government in the current system, and strengthen local governance.
The public welfare, prosperity and self-sufficiency of Afghanistan, are among the goals that the Islamic Emirate has initiated serious and diligent efforts to achieve. Despite the political and economic constraints imposed by the prevailing policies and the mainstream international community’s perspective on the current Afghan regime, officials strive to the best of their ability to make Afghanistan independent in all areas.
Over the past twenty years, ample opportunities for the development and prosperity of Afghanistan have been squandered, with some taking advantages of the opportunity pursuing personal interests, and fundamental work that could have propelled Afghanistan towards development and self-sufficiency, and brought tangible and visible changes to the socio-economic life of the people, remained undone. Ultimately, poverty and destitution persisted in the country, and the people continue to struggle with countless hardships, and the golden opportunity, which was hard to come by, was lost very easily.
It is widely acknowledged that over the past three years, the current regime has made significant progress in various field utilizing limited resources. However, despite these efforts, some individuals persist in seeking revenge and tarnishing the reputation of the governing system, presenting an inaccurate and unrealistic image that fosters a climate of distrust between the Afghan government and the international community.
Throughout the past four decades, we have wasted numerous opportunities that could have transformed Afghanistan into a prominent, powerful, and progressive country in the region. Even the favorable opportunities of the last twenty years were lost easily. Now, with the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate, the chance for the country’s development and prosperity has once again emerged, compelling us all to work for a better tomorrow, fulfilling our moral responsibilities, and not being driven solely by personal interests. We must strive to ensure that Afghanistan does not fall into isolation but rather becomes the focus of global attention. The international community should not forget Afghanistan and its people, who have been victims of political turmoil for forty years. Wrong decisions and policies of the previous governments have only brought misery and hardship to Afghans. In my belief, if we do not set aside our differences, and do not focus and act for the betterment of Afghanistan, I am pretty sure, we will certainly lose the current opportunity as well, and the land named Afghanistan will continue to burn in pain, suffering and misery for years.
