Consequences of conflict in Afghanistan continues ....

Massive displacements caused by both war and drought in Afghanistan placed all the neighboring countries under pressure. A first generation of Afghan refugees with no education but rudimentary madrassas gave birth to the Taleban. A second generation of Afghans are now growing up displaced and abandoned, with no education but a smattering of simplistic religious training for the few, in an impoverished environment filled in weapons and criminal enterprises.

Taleban was dominated by an ethnically Pashtun small solidarity group, in this case Kandahari Deobandi mullahs, dependent on foreign aid and taxing foreign trade (commercial agriculture, mostly illegal drugs, and foreign trade, mostly smuggling) for its resources. The increasingly obscurantist policies of the Taleban intensified resistance from other groups in Afghanistan, who won increasing support from neighboring states that felt threatened by Pakistan’s aspirations. Throughout the war years, the organized crime groups with all links to security and intelligence services in the region supplied weapons and contraband that helped the regional conflict complex to thrive.

SUMMARY

The war in Afghanistan has been uniquely and comprehensively destructive. It has not only fragmented the Afghan state but also the regional political order. The high-intensity conflict that was spurred by the Soviet intervention led to comprehensive destruction for the extermination of the opponents. The withdrawal of the Soviet forces led to factional rivalry between mujahideen groups resulting in massive infrastructural destruction including comprehensive devastation of urban pockets like Kabul. Conflict-promoting structural factors like the low cost of recruiting fighters and the availability of lootable or taxable resources to finance military and other despotic activities have led to serious consequences. Even during the Taliban regime, which had brought about some semblance of security this trend continued unabated.

Low human development indicators, underdevelopment, breakdown of state institutions, human rights abuses, ethnic cleansing, war atrocities, formation of a regional conflict complex, environmental crisis, massive human displacement led to interconnected and multiple problems.

To be continued......