An official from the U.N. warned of severe food shortages. Experts said that the country was in dire need of cash. However, they noted that the Taliban will not be able to receive the same generous international aid as the civilian government that they overthrew.
The Taliban are quick to crush any opposition, despite the fact that they claim they have become more moderate in recent years since they ruled Afghanistan under draconian laws. Many are concerned that they will be able to erase two decades worth of work to improve women’s rights and remake Afghanistan.
A procession of cars and pedestrians gathered near Kabul’s international airport to carry long, black, red, and green banners in memory of the Afghan flag. This banner is becoming a symbol for defiance. Video posted online of another protest in Nangarhar showed a bleeding demonstrator suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rescued by onlookers.
According to international journalists, Taliban authorities in Khost instituted a 24-hour curfew on Thursday, after breaking up another protest. Authorities did not immediately recognize the demonstration nor the curfew.
According to witnesses and social media videos, protesters took to the streets of Kunar province.
The demonstrations — which come as Afghans mark the Independence Day holiday that commemorates the 1919 treaty that ended British rule — were a remarkable show of defiance after the Taliban fighters violently dispersed a protest Wednesday. Demonstrators lowered the Taliban flag to replace it with Afghanistan’s tricolor at the rally in Jalalabad. At least one person was injured.
Opposition figures gathered in the last areas of the country that were not under Taliban control discussed the possibility of starting an armed resistance under the banners of the Northern Alliance. This alliance was allied with the U.S. during 2001’s invasion.
It was not clear how serious a threat they posed given that Taliban fighters overran nearly the entire country in a matter of days with little resistance from Afghan forces.
So far, the Taliban have not provided any details on their plans for leadership, except to say that Shariah (or Islamic) law will guide them. They have been in discussions with former Afghan government officials. They are now in a more precarious position.
Mary Ellen McGroarty (head of U.N.’s World Food Program for Afghanistan) stated that “a humanitarian crisis of extraordinary proportions is unfolding in front of our eyes.”
She said that the difficulty of getting food into a landlocked country dependent on imports is not the only problem. Over 40% of the country’s crops have been destroyed by drought. Many of those who fled the Taliban advance live in Kabul’s parks and open spaces.
She stated that Afghanistan is in its greatest hour and urged the international community to support the Afghan people.
Hafiz Ahmad, a Kabul shopkeeper, stated that some food has been brought into Kabul but that prices have increased. Although he hesitated to pass these costs on to his customers, he said that he had to.
He said, “It’s better to have it.” “If there was nothing, it would be even worse.”
Trade is now possible at two of Afghanistan’s most important border crossings with Pakistan: Torkham near Jalalabad, and Chaman near Spin Boldak. Traders still worry about insecurity on roads and confusion regarding customs duties, which could cause them to increase their product prices.
Many Afghans are fleeing the country amid uncertainty and fears that the Taliban will impose another brutal rule. This included confining women in their homes and executions.
At Kabul’s international airport, military evacuation flights continued, according to flight-tracking data. Access to the airport was still difficult. Taliban militants opened fire on Thursday to control crowds that gathered around the blast walls at the airport. Children, men, and women fled. Later, fighter jets roared overhead but there was no airstrike.
Overnight, President Joe Biden said that he was committed to keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means maintaining a military presence there beyond his Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal. Biden stated that he doesn’t believe the Taliban has changed in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Biden stated that he believes they are in an existential crisis over whether they want to be recognized as a legitimate government by the international community. “I don’t think they do.”
The Taliban asked preachers on Thursday to encourage congregants to stay in Afghanistan and to counter “negative propaganda.”
The Taliban also encouraged people to return to work but many government officials remain hiding or are trying to flee.
The Head of the Central Bank of Afghanistan warned that the supply U.S. dollars in physical form is “close to zero”, which will affect the currency, the Afghani. The U.S. appears to have frozen the country’s foreign reserve, and the International Monetary Fund has blocked access to loans or any other resources at this time.
According to Graeme Smith, a consultant researcher at the Overseas Development Institute, “The afghani was defended by literally airplaneloads of U.S. Dollars landing in Kabul on a very frequent basis, sometimes weekly.” “If the Taliban do not get cash infusions quickly to defend the Afghani, there is a real danger of a currency devaluation that makes bread difficult to buy on the streets of Kabul.
Smith, who wrote a book about Afghanistan, stated that the Taliban won’t likely ask for the same amount of international aid as the country’s former civilian government. Large amounts of this money were stolen off by corruption. This could reduce the threat of sanctions from the international community.
He said that it was more likely for the Taliban to be seen as “gatekeepers” to the international community than as someone who is begging for billions of dollar.
The Taliban have been under no threat from armed resistance. Videos from Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul and a stronghold for the Northern Alliance militias who allied with the U.S. in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan show possible opposition figures gathering there.
These figures include Vice President Amrullah Salih, who claimed on Twitter that he was the country’s rightful President, and Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi, as well as Ahmad Massoud (the son of the Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud).
In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post, Massoud asked for weapons and aid to fight the Taliban.
He wrote, “I write from Panjshir Valley today. I am ready to follow my father’s footsteps with mujahideen combatants who are ready to once more take on the Taliban.”
