This week the people of Afghanistan and diplomats are trying to figure out what happens next. What comes next now that Russia has recognized the Taliban, Haqqani, and AQ network of terrorists as the legitimate governing body of Afghanistan.
Experts and laypersons have been sounding the alarm for almost four years now, that if diplomats were not disciplined, and if the Afghanistan political opposition does not find solidarity and get organized—some key nation would formally recognize the terror regime as a government.
The nightmare scenario for Afghans has just started to pick up the pace. It leads towards the United Nations allowing the Taliban terror regime to sit in the seat representing Afghanistan.
It is Not Too Late
This does not need to mean that there is no way to slow down the march of the terror regime towards legitimacy and recognition. Nations and their diplomats can begin with a few simple steps. They must start helping the opponents of the Taliban. The best way to figure out how to help the people of Afghanistan (inside and in exile) is to ask a variety of them to explain how you can help. Diplomats can convene groups of Afghans in-person and online to listen to their needs and their hopes for their nation.
If nations and diplomats simply continue to talk to the terrorists inside and outside of Afghanistan, they will never know what the majority of the citizens want. Every poll taken from the 1990s forwards has shown that the people of Afghanistan do not want to be ruled by a dictator or robbed, beaten, tortured, or killed by gunmen while trying to live their daily life.
They have consistently rejected rule by communists, warlords, and terrorists. Yet for some reason the world continues to ignore peaceful Afghan wishes for the future of their nation, and simply fails to stop the next strongman from taking control and destroying all progress towards human rights, education, healthcare, and peaceful coexistence. Now is the last chance for Afghans and the world to figure out how to help Afghanistan find a safer path to peace and prosperity.
How the world can better help Afghanistan
Last week I asked dozens of citizens of Afghanistan (those inside the country and those living as refugees) from a variety of walks of life to simply answer two questions. 1) How can the world best help Afghanistan today; and 2) What is one thing you want nations and organizations to stop doing because they are strengthening the Taliban terror regime. Below are some of their ideas, and to keep the contributors and their families safe we are not using their names. The ideas come from national security and diplomatic realms, from journalists and human rights champions, from business leaders and students, and from former senior leaders and academics.
1. Stop Doing This
“Stop ignoring the countries and International NGOs who are supporting the Taliban and the similar groups in Afghanistan. Instead put pressure (higher costs) on them to stop engaging with the terror regime.”
“One crucial thing the nations can do to support Afghanistan is to stop legitimizing and funding the Taliban—directly or indirectly.”
“Nations should immediately stop recognizing or legitimizing the Taliban’s rule, whether through direct diplomatic engagement or financial aid. This would not only isolate the Taliban but also provide a pathway for the Afghan opposition to gain the recognition and support needed to challenge their rule.”
“Stop funding the Taliban regime with humanitarian funds. While humanitarian aid remains a critical lifeline for millions of displaced people, it must not be allowed to push human rights further away from Afghans. This aid must be delivered independently of the Taliban regime. Funds and resources should be channeled through trusted NGOs, community organizations, and local humanitarian actors who can operate without reinforcing the Taliban’s coercive control. Supporting Afghan society — while rejecting the Taliban’s monopoly over aid — is essential to protecting the survival and dignity of the citizens of Afghanistan.”
“Don’t listen to the Taliban regime news outlets and propaganda. Instead, the world needs to support exile run media and covert citizen journalism. It gives voice to dissidents, exposes terror regime abuses, and keeps the spirit of resistance alive. More importantly, it can help change the narrative inside Afghanistan—the very people who are most important to be convinced of the need to rise against Taliban. Taliban religious monopoly is very dangerous. They control the mosques, the madrassas, the religious rhetoric; but we can counter them”
“Stop normalizing the Taliban regime as if they are legitimate in Afghanistan. When you legitimize them in any way you are forcing their system upon Afghans as if it is the only alternative. Engage with their opponents instead.”
“Stop the reckless, lazy, and incoherent political and economic engagement that is currently taking place. Right now, countries are all over place. By that I mean there is no strategy or coherent place by the West or major power brokers. But I can see why it is hard for nations to find the right venue to talk to the majority of Afghans, we are too divided in our opposition to the terror regime.”
“Stop legitimizing the Taliban and stop rewarding Pakistan. The same country that harbored Osama bin Laden, created over 20 terrorist groups, and continues to back terror groups across the region is treated like a partner. While the world lectures women about equality, it sits with the same men who lash them in public, ban their education, and reduce them to shadows. Afghanistan is a warning. When the world normalizes gender apartheid and empowers regimes built on extremism, it sends a message beyond its borders: that women’s rights are negotiable, and terrorism pays.”
2. Start Doing This
“We need the world to rewrite their strategy about Afghanistan and be absolutely clear with people of Afghanistan about what future you support.”
“Instead of strengthening the Taliban regime, invest in building a unified, well-organized, and well-resourced democratic alternative.”
“Since Obama era to present, the world has been pursuing a Taliban-centric strategy, every major decision was made in relation its relevance to the Taliban. It is time the world chooses an Afghanistan centric strategy and mindset.”
“One of the most critical actions for the international community is to recognize, support, and facilitate coordination among the anti-Taliban Afghan opposition. Provide diplomatic support, safe havens for displaced opposition leaders, and funding to grassroots organizations. This will contribute greatly to laying the foundation for a future that represents the aspirations of all Afghans.”
“We do not need international soldiers, but we need a nation or groups of nations to give us some space and political support to take on the Taliban kinetically.”
“If Vienna [one of the handful of political opposition forums] is strengthened today, politically, diplomatically, and organizationally, it could prevent us from falling into the kind of situation Iran has now, where the regime is weaker than ever, but the opposition is too fragmented to take its place or do anything about it. In Afghanistan, that doesn’t have to happen.”
“Support the effort to hold the Taliban regime accountable for their Gender Apartheid system. It will take a movement like the one that pushed against South Africa’s racial apartheid system to be effective.”
“Start re-engaging with Afghanistan and Afghans as a whole. Bring back the global attention to the urgency of this crisis. This seems vague, but engagement with Afghans outside of the Taliban regime can hopefully bring some closure to this Afghan crisis, and lead to an inclusive government that includes all Afghans, with a normal government, integrated with the world, and a path toward a positive future for our people and country. Being ignored and forgotten is the worst feeling and it’s dangerous.”
“Stand with the people, not the terrorists who rule them. Support Afghan women, youth, and resistance leaders who have risked everything to build a future free of extremism. Recognize them. Fund them. Protect them. Real peace starts with dismantling the systems of terror- not negotiating with them.”
“On moral and strategic grounds serving their own values and interests, major powers should support a UN led conflict resolution process to help Afghans form a legitimate and inclusive government. Its absence is the mother of all growing challenges facing Afghans.”
“One of the most significant ways the international community can support the citizens of Afghanistan is by prioritizing the restoration and guarantee of their civil and political rights. Afghanistan cannot move forward without a system that reflects the will and dignity of its people. This means supporting citizens — both inside the country and in the diaspora — to come together and establish a new political order grounded in democratic principles, where leadership is chosen through free and fair elections, not imposed through violence or repression. The future of Afghanistan must be shaped by its citizens through inclusive dialogue, national consensus, and a shared commitment to justice, equality, and the rule of law.”
The Next Key Steps
This is a start of a deeper conversation that various groups are already having with the anti-Taliban opponents in a number of forums. Now nations and diplomats need to join these talks and let Afghans who want freedom, human rights, and justice help you craft a new strategy. Appointing an American trusted by the people of Afghanistan (especially their younger population) to help lead the international community would be an important early decision for the USA.
The United States made their first steps towards changing both U.S. and global policy towards Afghanistan at the UN on July 7. This is welcome news to most Afghans, but words are not deeds. The U.S. should start their engagement with anti-Taliban organizations with one key caveat—the U.S. will only speak with one collaborative group that the majority of Afghans feel represents them. The biggest mistake the U.S. and others have made in Afghanistan is listening to only one part of society. This is the moment for Afghans to find solidarity and use technology to get a majority of Afghans to agree to some basic principles that they want in the future. No one political group will be successful in rejecting the Taliban terror regime, and no nation should spend their time talking to Afghan groups that are not made up of the majority of the society.
One Afghan who served closely with U.S. forces for two decades offered what is the most urgent and perhaps that the best effort that other nations could support.
“What would actually help Afghans today is Afghans writing and Afghans talking. Education would help Afghanistan. That is the only thing that would help long-term. I am not sure if we can tell other countries what to do and what they should stop doing…the question today is what should Afghans do.”
Let’s support Afghans that are trying to do something unselfish, coherent, and collaborative.
