Aftermath of the Afghanistan War (2001–2021)

The war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban victorious when the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. The aftermath has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Afghanistan as Taliban took over the country once again after the fall of Kabul in 2021.^[1]

The aftermath has included the disintegration of the US-trained and funded Afghan Army, and a humanitarian and economic crisis due to the effects of the war, suspension of foreign aid, frozen monetary assets, and drought.^[2] Conflict has continued in Afghanistan, with the continuing conflict with the Islamic State, and a Republican insurgency against the Taliban in multiple provinces.^[3]

Background

The United States has been involved in the war, in one way or another, for forty-two years.^[4] They funded and armed the Afghan mujahideen fighting against Soviet-backed communist government.^[4] In 2001, U.S. took control of Afghanistan after the invasion. During U.S. Army's stay in Afghanistan, they trained Afghan Army. It is estimated that the United States spent more than $80 billion to train the Afghan Army so they could defend their government after the withdrawal.^[5]

Some events during the same period, such as U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban fighters, Maywand District murders, and the Kandahar massacre, undermined public support for the government.^[6]

Aftermath

Collapse of Afghan Army

Main article: 2021 Taliban offensive

Following the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, in addition to a rapid offensive conducted by the Taliban, the Afghan National Army largely disintegrated,^[7] with large numbers of ANA soldiers abandoning their posts or surrendering en masse to the Taliban,^[8] allowing the Taliban to capture large quantities of US-provided military equipment, vehicles and aircraft.^[9] Soon, all the regional forces of the ANA had dissolved, with the exception of the 201st Corps and the 111th Capital Division, both of which were headquartered in Kabul, which was now surrounded by the Taliban. On 15 August 2021, the Taliban entered the outskirts of Kabul from multiple directions, beginning the fall of Kabul. On the same day, President Ashraf Ghani fled the country to Dubai.^[10] It was reported that ANA soldiers were fleeing to neighbouring countries in droves, some on foot and others onboard Afghan Air Force aircraft. At 8:55 pm local time, Taliban forces seized the Arg and raised their flag, soon afterwards declaring the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

As many as 150,000 Afghans who assisted the United States remained in Afghanistan, including individuals who worked closely with US military forces.^[11] Hundreds of former members of the Afghan Special Forces have been refused resettlement to the UK.^[12][13] One former UK Special Forces officer told the BBC that "At a time when certain actions by UK Special Forces are under investigation by a public inquiry, their headquarters also had the power to prevent former Afghan Special Forces colleagues and potential witnesses to these actions from getting safely to the UK."^[14]

Formation of the Taliban government and international recognition

Main article: Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Taliban militants at a market in Kabul, September 2021. A vendor selling Islamic Emirate apparel can be seen.

On 7 September 2021, an interim government headed by Mohammad Hassan Akhund as Prime Minister was declared by the Taliban.^[15][16][17] The Taliban also requested to send a new envoy to the UN to represent Afghanistan in the future. If accepted, it would be a milestone towards international recognition. This, however, appears unlikely due to the economic collapse and political infighting that soon engulfed the recently reestablished emirate.^[18]

According to a Human Rights Watch report released in November 2021, the Taliban killed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former members of the Afghan security forces in the three months since the takeover in just the four provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, and Kunduz. According to the report, the Taliban identified targets for arrest and execution through intelligence operations and access to employment records that were left behind. Former members of the security forces were also killed by the Taliban within days of registering with them to receive a letter guaranteeing their safety.^[19]

Republican insurgency

Main article: Republican insurgency in Afghanistan

On 17 August 2021, Vice President Amrullah Saleh, citing provisions of the Constitution of Afghanistan, declared himself President of Afghanistan from a base of operations in the Panjshir Valley, which had not been taken by Taliban forces, and vowed to continue military operations against the Taliban from there.^[20] His claim to the presidency was endorsed by Ahmad Massoud and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Minister of Defence Bismillah Khan Mohammadi.^[20] The Panjshir-based resistance recaptured the provincial capital of Charikar on 17 August 2021.^[21] By 6 September the Taliban had regained control over most of the valley, but armed resistance continued in the upper valleys. Clashes in the valley mostly ceased by mid-September.^[22] The leaders of the resistance, Saleh and Massoud reportedly fled to neighboring Tajikistan in late September.^[23]

Islamic State activity

Main article: Islamic State–Taliban conflict

Following the 2021 Kabul airport attack conducted by the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (a branch of the ISIL), the US and the Taliban have mutually agreed together to fight against the ISIS terrorists in the International military intervention against ISIL.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Islamic State's affiliate's attacks in Afghanistan have surged, particularly on minorities such as Hazaras.^[28][29] In 2021, Afghanistan suffered large number of casualties and top the list issued after a global survey of Islamic State casualties.^[30] As of September 2022, about thirteen attacks against Hazaras have been attributed to Islamic State.^[29]

War crimes

Main article: International Criminal Court investigation in Afghanistan

In October 2021, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Ahmad Khan, indicated that they will open cases related to war crimes in Afghanistan.^[31][32] The court will not investigate alleged crimes by the U.S. and its allies,^[31] due to a law enacted by the U.S. called American Service-Members' Protection Act and bilateral treaties with friendly countries,^[33] which protects U.S. military personnel from international prosecution.^[33]

Humanitarian crisis

Following the Taliban takeover, western nations suspended humanitarian aid and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also halted payments to Afghanistan.^[34][35] The Biden administration froze about $9 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central banks, blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in US bank accounts.^[2]

In October, the UN stated that more than half of Afghanistan's 39 million people faced an acute food shortage.^[36][37][38] According to The New York Times, "the crisis is, in large part, American-made, imposed by deliberate policy choices with results that were predicted months in advance." They also cited factors such as drought, which has damaged food production, and the fighting during the Taliban takeover, which has disrupted basic services and displaced many to cities.^[39] On October 20, Taliban's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News that "On the one hand they say a million children will die, but on the other, the US are holding our money. The US should release our money so we can save more children."^[2]

On 11 November 2021, the Human Rights Watch reported that Afghanistan is facing widespread famine due to collapsed economy and broken banking system. The UN World Food Program has also issued multiple warnings of worsening food insecurity.^[35] World leaders pledged $1.2 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.^[2]

On 22 December 2021, The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a US-proposed resolution to help humanitarian aid reach desperate Afghans, while seeking to keep funds out of Taliban hands. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, described the council's passage of resolution 2615 (2021) as “evidence of how seriously Member States take the shocking levels of need and suffering in the country.”^[40]

Support in form of wheat has been provided by various countries, including India.^[41]

In December 2023, speaking about the situation in Afghanistan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that 30% of the Afghan population was facing acute food insecurity, adding that "Close to 1 million children are severely malnourished and 2.3 million are suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. WHO needs $ 185 million to continue providing medicine and supporting hospitals to prevent more Afghan children and women from dying of malnutrition and the consequences of food insecurity."^[42]

Economic crisis

An already fragile economy worsened further in the aftermath.^[43][44] Due to sanctions and high energy prices, poverty level has increased in the country.^[43] An economic crisis brewed in the country when the United States decided to freeze Da Afghanistan Bank's, the central bank of Afghanistan, assets of $9.5bn.^[45] This increased selling pressure on its currency, Afghan afghani, and it extended a significant drop in value.^[46] An already broken banking system has collapsed further and has given rise to the hawala and related crimes in the country.^[47] About 80 percent Afghans are facing debt due to this economic crisis.^[48] Many Afghans withdrew and closed their bank accounts because of losing trust in the banking system and over economic and financial sanctions against Afghanistan and the country is cut-off from the SWIFT financial network.^[49]

Deportation of undocumented Afghans from Iran and Pakistan

See also: Deportation of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan

On 3 October 2023, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered that all undocumented immigrants, particularly the nearly 1.73 million Afghan nationals, voluntarily leave the country by 1 November 2023 or face deportation in a crackdown.^[50][51] Iran also decided to deport Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan.^[52] Taliban authorities condemned the deportations of Afghans as an "inhuman act."^[53]

References

1. "Timeline: U.S. War in Afghanistan".
2. "Taliban blames U.S. as 1 million Afghan kids face death by starvation". CBS News. 20 October 2021.
3. "The Ongoing Aftermath of the Afghan War". 15 June 2022.
4. "Five Ways the U.S. Created and Prolonged the Afghan Crisis". 20 August 2021.
5. "Why the Afghan Army Folded". The Atlantic. 17 August 2021.
6. "The Kill Team: How U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan Murdered Innocent Civilians". Rolling Stone. 28 March 2011.
7. Robertson, Nic. "Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden's troop withdrawal continues". CNN. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
8. Lieven, Anatol (16 August 2021). "Opinion: Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms". Politico.
9. Chaturvedi, Amit. "Choppers, rifles, humvees: What Taliban captured during Afghanistan blitzkrieg". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
10. Turak, Natasha; Macias, Amanda; Graham, Emma (August 18, 2021). "Ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resurfaces in UAE after fleeing Kabul, Emirati government says". cnbc.com. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
11. "Nearly two years later, Afghan allies still left hoping for help". Military Times. 22 August 2023.
12. "Elite Afghan commandos 'betrayed' by the British and left behind to be hunted down". Sky News. 1 November 2023.
13. "Murdered, tortured or in hiding from the Taliban: The special forces abandoned by Britain". The Independent. 1 November 2023.
14. "Special forces blocked UK resettlement applications from elite Afghan troops". BBC News. 19 February 2024.
15. "گروه طالبان حکومت جدید خود را با رهبری ملا حسن اخوند اعلام کرد". BBC News فارسی.
16. "Taliban announce new government for Afghanistan". BBC News. 7 September 2021.
17. Whiteside, Philip (7 September 2021). "Afghanistan: Who's who in the new Taliban government". Sky News. Sky UK. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
18. "Taliban powerless to stop Afghanistan's decline". 22 October 2021.
19. "Executions and Enforced Disappearances in Afghanistan under the Taliban". Human Rights Watch. 30 November 2021.
20. "Panjshir flies flag of resistance again; Amrullah says he is President of Afghanistan". Tribune India. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
21. "Afghan Vice President Saleh's forces retake Charikar area from Taliban – Source". UNI India.
22. Huylebroek, Jim; Blue, Victor J. (17 September 2021). "In Panjshir, Few Signs of an Active Resistance, or Any Fight at All". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28.
23. "Afghan resistance has sanctuary in Tajikistan, but fighting Taliban a 'non-viable prospect'". France 24. FRANCE24.English. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
24. Walsh, Joe (2021-09-01). "U.S. Coordination with Taliban Against ISIS-K 'Possible,' Pentagon Says". Forbes.
25. Specia, Megan; Schmitt, Eric; Cooper, Helene (2 September 2021). "Afghanistan: Pentagon Says Working with Taliban Against ISIS-K is 'Possible'". The New York Times.
26. Shinkman, Paul D. (2021-09-01). "U.S. Considering Cooperation With Taliban to Fight ISIS-K in Afghanistan: Officials". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
27. Pannett, Rachel; Francis, Ellen; Berger, Miriam; Westfall, Sammy; Villegas, Paulina (2021-09-02). "U.S. could work with Taliban against terrorists, Pentagon says". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
28. "Afghanistan: Surge in Islamic State Attacks on Shia". October 25, 2021.
29. "Afghanistan: ISIS Group Targets Religious Minorities". September 6, 2022.
30. "Afghanistan Tops 2021 Global Survey of Islamic State Casualties". VOA.
31. "How the U.S. Derailed an Effort to Prosecute Its Crimes in Afghanistan".
32. "Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim A. A. Khan QC, following the application for an expedited order under article 18(2) seeking authorisation to resume investigations in the Situation in Afghanistan".
33. Speri, Alice (October 5, 2021). "How the U.S. Derailed an Effort to Prosecute Its Crimes in Afghanistan". The Intercept.
34. "China urges World Bank, IMF to help Afghanistan". News24. 28 October 2021.
35. "Afghanistan Facing Famine: UN, World Bank, US Should Adjust Sanctions, Economic Policies". Human Rights Watch. 11 November 2021.
36. "'Countdown to catastrophe': half of Afghans face hunger this winter – UN". The Guardian. 25 October 2021.
37. "Afghanistan's hunger crisis is a problem the U.S. can fix". MSNBC. 10 November 2021.
38. "Afghanistan: Can the Taliban avert a food crisis without foreign aid?". Deutsche Welle. 11 November 2021.
39. "Is the United States Driving Afghanistan Toward Famine?". The New York Times. 29 October 2021.
40. "Security Council paves way for aid to reach desperate Afghans". United Nations. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
41. Pasricha, Anjana (2022-02-22). "India Sends Wheat to Afghanistan through Pakistan". VOA. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
42. "Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief". Business Standard. 22 December 2023.
43. "Afghan Economic Crisis Worsens as Taliban Mark Anniversary".
44. "A Year After Taliban Takeover, Afghanistan's Economy Is Still in Crisis – and So Are Its Children". thediplomat.com.
45. "US freezes Afghan central bank's assets of $9.5bn". www.aljazeera.com.
46. "Afghanistan's currency falls to record low amid ongoing turmoil". www.aljazeera.com.
47. "Afghanistan is starving and the West is partly to blame". Deutsche Welle. 2022-08-14.
48. "Afghanistan: Food insecurity and malnutrition threaten 'an entire generation'". UN News. March 15, 2022.
49. Abubakar Siddique (29 May 2024). "Distrustful Of The Taliban, A Growing Number Of Afghans Ditch Banks". RFE/RL, Radio Azadi. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
50. "Pakistan wants undocumented migrants to leave by November 1 or get deported". Al Jazeera. October 3, 2023.
51. "Exclusive: Pakistan deported Afghans waiting for US resettlement". Reuters. 26 December 2023.
52. "Afghans Banned From 16 Provinces In Iran As Forced Exodus Continues". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 4 December 2023.
53. "Taliban: Iran Deports Almost 350,000 Afghans Within 3 Months". VOA News. 11 December 2023.