Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
Eyeing a multi-objectives policy and to revamp Afghan-US ties, President Ashraf Ghani and the National Unity Government’s CEO Abdullah Abdullah left for the United States on a five-day state visit, on Saturday night. Ghani is expected to address a joint meeting of Congress besides meeting with American President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, US Congress Chairman, Secretary General of the NATO, Secretary of Treasure, Secretary of Defense and a World Bank delegation. The visit has taken place in such a time when Afghanistan has taken a new road on peace where China, Pakistan and also Turkmenistan have shown readiness to help Afghanistan in peace talks with militants. As China says it will not fill the void being left by international coalition forces drawdown rather it could only help Afghanistan in peace talks arrangements, the United States’ rebuilding capacity in Afghanistan is still needed as ever. Our national economy has been dwindling. Joblessness has been rampant. Insecurity is plaguing. To resist militancy, the government needs a robust national economy and joblessness rate reduced. Over 1 million people have been killed. Over 30 percent people have been forced into a life of refuge. Though, repatriation, soon after the fall of the Taliban’s regime, started, but its pace is slower because at home the situation still doesn’t look friendly for them. And how it could be friendly when the political elites are busy in massive corruption? As the United States and Afghanistan were busy in uprooting militancy in the region, terrorism shook the entire Middle East. For time being, the importance of Afghanistan in the US foreign policy went into background, however soon many American policymakers sensed that discarding Afghanistan will be a biggest failure as currently this country is still oscillating between victory and defeat. The Taliban are not defeated but just routed. The government doesn’t have the capacity to uproot them militarily. Therefore, it has been pursuing a soft policy. To subdue terror in the Middle East, the US cannot ignore Afghanistan. This war-weary country doesn’t want to allow itself once again to become a launching ground for terrorist attacks. To make sure the world is safer and Afghanistan doesn’t become a terrorist haven, it wants to continue its alliance with the United States, but the problem is the latter’s confidence or interests are on the wane. The world should remember the sacrifices this country has been rendering. As Afghanistan is fighting militancy fiercely and been hunkering down to see peace come back, those who have been responsible for its destruction now shouldn’t sag their shoulders under the burden of its reconstruction. Here reconstruction doesn’t mean only material constructions but political construction as well, including the success of peace negotiations. Until peace talks succeed, reconstruction efforts remain meaningless. Economic development, zero tolerance for corruption, and continued support of the international community are some of the key factors that can bring about political stability in this troubled country. And as Afghanistan is increasing its peace efforts, the United States must not show its back because Kabul is quite closer towards triumph over too many troubles.
