MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2022) The Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) are using the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan to cozy up to the West, Abdullah Khenjani, a former senior deputy minister at the Afghan ministry for peace that was disbanded after the Taliban takeover, told Sputnik.
"Taliban seeking a cordial relationship with the West, using humanitarian assistance as a cover that could sell a deal after 20 years of fighting," Khenjani, now an independent political consultant, said.
A year after the Taliban takeover, some 97% of Afghans are living under the poverty line, with more than a half of the population facing acute food insecurity come winter.
Khenjani said poverty was endemic in Afghanistan, which has always been a dependent state with "rentier rulers." He argued that the solution to the chronic impoverishment was "stability, security and regional connectivity," not international aid.
The instability in Afghanistan is likely to spill over into neighboring countries, particularly Central Asia and Iran, Khenjani warned.
"Afghanistan is the problem of the region now. The country has turned to a terrorists-owned and terrorists-led factory, where its flagship products will be terrorism, drugs and extremism," he said.
Khenjani said the Taliban would never honor the Doha pact with the United States or any non-Pashtun entity. He said the group could agree with the narrative of an inclusive government as a tactical move but a fair deal with the West would be against its interests and those of its traditional external patrons.
