Can we really save Afghanistan from the Taliban?

When successive global powers over three centuries, with all their might, resources, and wisdom, failed to learn from the pages of history, can we expect an extremist bunch of gun-toting men with a twisted understanding of religion masquerading as law-enforcers to behave in a statesmanlike manner?

By Ehtesham Shahid

“One cannot imagine a better script for the revival of political Islam than a Taliban victory in Afghanistan.” A former colleague and an expert on the subject made this startling remark during a television discussion recently. Indeed, he had a point.

According to him, the myth created around this victory is fuelling the perception that whatever reverses political Islam suffered from the weakening of ISIS and Al-Qaeda have been completely reversed with Taliban’s march to Kabul.

There are several loopholes in this theory, though. We might be equating apples with oranges – no pun intended – making an already grim situation even more complicated. The Taliban should be called what they are, a rag-tag group of armed men who fight in the name of Islam and often triumph aided by geopolitical circumstances.

So, the core issue is with the premise of that argument. To call ISIS and Al-Qaeda the torchbearers of political Islam is like conceding that two of the most dreadful terror outfits were the torchbearers and ran the narrative of a religion followed by a billion people. It’s almost like giving the keys of a treasure to the biggest rogue in the tribe.

Yes, a certain euphoria has been built around the Taliban’s “victory.” It also feeds into the hostility that exists toward the US and other Western countries across the Muslim world, particularly among those who consider them anti-Islam. What happened in Afghanistan also sent a message to radical outfits worldwide that if you persevere, you can make even the mightiest flee, giving you a victory on a platter.

But all this is different from a “revival of political Islam.” On its own, political Islam is nothing but an interpretation of the religion as a source of political identity and indeed action. It has been unfolding not as an alternative to the existing systems but as a result of that. There are far more people and governments disagreeing with that narrative than those who have taken up arms.

When successive global powers over three centuries, with all their might, resources, and wisdom, failed to learn from the pages of history, can we expect an extremist bunch of gun-toting men with a twisted understanding of religion masquerading as law-enforcers to behave in a statesmanlike manner?

The prospects of a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan have also come as a shot in the arm for conspiracy theorists. “This couldn’t have happened without connivance.” “How can such heavily-trained forces just melt away?” Well, once again, it is about learning from history.

There is war fatigue in Afghanistan, and fighters there change sides quicker than elsewhere. Why is it so difficult to understand that in a lawless state on the verge of collapse, saving a family using the guns supplied as part of training is a bigger priority?

Of course, negotiations were going on in Doha, a deal had been signed a year earlier, and fighting has already been going on for control of provinces. When a surge happens in the middle of these developments, it was bound to be in the form of a decisive push, considering the Americans were on their way out. Given the circumstances, survival was the utmost priority.

What is of immense significance now is whether Afghanistan can be saved from the Taliban. Well, it still can, provided the world wants it to. If the key capitals and countries with influence in Afghanistan get together, they can facilitate a process through which the Taliban would be soon exposed.

No matter how reformed they project themselves to be, the Taliban cannot become legitimate rulers of a country, even Afghanistan, unless they prove their credentials through deeds, not words. In trying to do so, they will end up revealing what they really are, unless we are staring at a tectonic shift in global governance structures none of us fathomed.

While we wait for the Taliban to self-destruct, the world should hedge around Afghanistan, waiting for the inevitable. We must keep an eye on radicalization that swells their ranks, especially in the immediate neighbourhood. That would ensure the surge doesn’t transcend Kabul.

[Ehtesham Shahid is an Indian editor/writer/journalist based in Dubai. He tweets @e2sham. The views expressed here are the author’s own and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same. The main image of Afghan women by Amber Clay from Pixabay has been used for illustrative purpose only]