Like Imran Khan, the Taliban promised a lot before seizing power, but like Imran Khan, they are already making U-turns. They said they would not seek revenge and will not punish those who worked for the Americans and other allied forces, but they have already started doing so. One of the first things they did was to release from jail those terrorists who bombed Pakistan, and who now say they will impose Islamic rule here. In fact, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China had all agreed that they would not accept any government in Afghanistan which forcibly imposed Sharia. But the Taliban said on the first day that this is exactly what they will do.
Of course it was evident that the Taliban haven't changed in the past twenty years. So it shouldn't have surprised anyone when they announced yesterday that their system of government will be Islamic, not democratic. What they're saying is that democracy is incompatible with Islam. The real reason for not preferring democracy is that they know they will never get power in a fair election, as the people don't want to live under their strict version of Sharia.
It should be interesting to see what happens next. It's been six days since they entered Kabul, but they haven't been able to form a government yet. They're going to find it very difficult to run the country, as they don't have the money to do so. No country would like to help them, not even Saudi Arabia and the UAE (who, along with Pakistan, were the only ones that recognized them in 1996, but who are now firmly in the U.S. camp). Iran and Pakistan are almost bankrupt. China and Russia may wonder how the Afghans will pay them for oil and other essentials, seeing that they have no way to earn dollars (unless they do so by exporting narcotics and guns). Besides this, no Russian or Chinese would like to work in a country where liquor is banned and women are second-class citizens treated like animals.
The Taliban also know they are not popular. If there was any doubt about this, the demonstrations by women in many cities should convince them that they are in for a tough time. If the Taliban don't accept the changes demanded by the US and Western powers, they cannot last for more than six months.
Post a Comment