KABUL: The Taliban on Wednesday held marches and a military parade to celebrate the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan after two decades of war that killed tens of thousands of Afghans on their soil.
The foreign military pullout came weeks after the Taliban took over the war-torn country, which started with Kabul on Aug. 15. A year on, the new government is still struggling to gain recognition from the international community, with Afghanistan facing a deepening humanitarian crisis and collapsing economy.
Celebrations of “freedom” swept the South Asian nation this week, with fireworks lighting up the Kabul sky on Tuesday night and the Taliban declaring Wednesday a national holiday to mark the occasion.
“We live in an atmosphere of freedom,” the Taliban’s acting prime minister, Mullah Hassan Akhund, said as he addressed a gathering in Bagram air base, which once held thousands of Taliban and Al-Qaeda members during the war.
“The night raids and other major problems have come to an end and shedding blood has stopped.”
Taliban chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said: “The victory of Aug. 31 freed Afghanistan from American occupation.” And he called on the international community not to repeat the events of the last two decades.
“The policy of pressure and threatening the people of Afghanistan has failed in the last 20 years as it only increased the crisis,” he said in a statement.
The one-year anniversary of the withdrawal carried different meanings for Afghans throughout the country.
Rohullah Haidari, a member of the Taliban in Laghman province in the country’s east, told Arab News that the day marked a new chapter for Afghanistan.
“Our 20-year struggle and sacrifices pushed the US and all its allies out of Afghanistan. We achieved freedom,” he said.
The country is safer compared to when the Taliban were fighting against US-led troops and their Afghan allies, even as a local offshoot of Daesh has carried out several attacks in the past year.
But the UN has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the country, as its humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Monday that 6 million Afghans were at risk of famine.
When the US completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, its huge chaotic airlift left behind thousands of Afghans seeking an escape from Taliban rule.
The hasty exit led to millions of Afghans now facing an unprecedented crisis. The country’s aid-dependent economy has been in freefall since the Taliban took over, with billions of dollars in foreign aid suspended, and some $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets parked overseas still frozen.
Ajmal Hamidi, a former professional in the development sector in Kabul, said cutting development funds overnight led to the economic collapse in Afghanistan.
“In 20 years, our country has become fully dependent on foreign aid due to inappropriate policies,” Hamidi told Arab News.
“When the US forces left Afghanistan, the development projects were halted and millions of Afghans lost their jobs, income but, more importantly, their hope.
“The international community could make this a responsible and decent withdrawal, but they didn’t want to do so.”
