KABUL (Dispatches) – A Taliban official says the failure of the current government in Afghanistan is “not in the interest of anyone”, almost a year after the group took over the crisis-hit Asian country following a chaotic withdrawal of American forces.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi sounded the alert, stressing that there is no alternative to the current Taliban-led government in sanctions-hit Afghanistan.
“It is a golden opportunity not only for Afghans to bring prosperity, security, and well-being to our nation but also for the international community to finally have this burden that has been on its shoulders for 43 years [lifted] and to let the Afghans function as a normal state and as a normal people,” Balkhi said.
The Taliban managed to storm back to power in mid-August 2021 after making sweeping advances across Afghanistan in the midst of a messy withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces as well as the rapid collapse of the country’s security forces.
The group announced the formation of a caretaker government in September, but their efforts to stabilize the situation have so far been undermined by international sanctions, as banks are running out of cash and civil servants are going unpaid.
No country has yet recognized the Taliban government and their rule over Afghanistan. Since their takeover, the Taliban have been struggling to contain a deepening economic crisis.
The Taliban initially made vague promises regarding women’s rights in Afghanistan, pledging to rule differently compared to their first stint in power, when girls and women were banned from education.
However, ever since they strengthened their rule across the country, the Taliban have been strongly criticized for imposing new restrictions on women, including on their dress code in public and their education.
The spokesman pointed out that women from certain tribes around the world, including in Africa and the Amazon, had different cultures, some of whom “did not wear clothes.”
“No one has any problems with how they operate. Yet when it comes to Afghanistan, there is a focus on the dress code. Why am I not allowed to dress the way I want to dress, the way my woman wants to dress? Why do we have to be a copy, carbon copy of the United States?” Balkhi said.