ASIA
Kabul will survive
It is hard to pin a date on Kabul’s founding. Additionally, Kabul’s area and size have expanded and contracted numerous times. While today, geographically speaking, Kabul is a small province in central-eastern Afghanistan, in the Mughal Emperor Zaheer-ud-Din Babur’s day, Kabul stretched from the Hindukush mountains to the Indus River, and from Kashmir to Khurasan.
South of the Hindukush, for centuries the ancient city of Bagram, built on the banks of the Panjsher River, was the preeminent political, economic, cultural, and military center of the region. The rise to prominence of Kabul, around a millennium ago, was parallel to the decline of Bagram. Built on the banks of the Kabul River, Kabul lay from southwest to northeast, in the direction of the river.
Given Kabul’s location at a crossroads, the city was destined to achieve greatness. The overland commerce, as well as conquest, routes between India and China, and India and Persia ran through Kabul, which quickly became a major commercial center. The first time ever that India and China made contact with each other was through the overland route that ran over the Hindukush, and by extension through Kabul.
Kabul, a diverse commercial hub with pleasant climates
Babur—in his memoir, the Baburnama—says: ‘As the entrepot between Hindustan and Khurasan, this province [Kabul] is an excellent mercantile center. Merchants who go to Cathay and Anatolia do no greater business. Every year seven, eight, or ten thousand horses come to Kabul.’
Babur further adds that, ‘From Hindustan, caravans of ten, fifteen, twenty thousand pack animals bring slaves, textiles, rock, sugar, refined sugar, and spices. Many Kabul merchants would not be satisfied with a 300 to 400 percent profit. Goods from Khurasan, Iraq, Anatolia, and China can be found in Kabul, which is the principal depot for Hindustan.
Amongst the different ethnic groups that lived in Kabul, Babur names the following: Turks, Aymaques, Arabs, Pashais, Parachis, Tajiks, Barakis (Burkis), Afghans (also known as Pashtuns, Pakhtuns or Pathans), Hazaras, and Negudaris.
Moreover, on the languages and dialects spoken in Kabul, Babur observes that, ‘Eleven or twelve dialects are spoken in Kabul Province: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Mongolian, Hindi, Afghani [Pashto or Pakhto], Pashai, Parachi, Gabari, Baraki, and Lamghani [Laghmani]. It is not known if there are so many different peoples and languages in any other province.’
Kabul was home to a thriving Christian Armenian community. The Armenians of Kabul had their own church inside Old Kabul, and their own cemetery. Similarly, the Jews of Kabul had their own quarter and synagogue. Hindus, Sikhs, Armenians, and Jews were involved in commerce between Kabul and the surrounding regions.
Kabul’s magnificent climate also brought ‘so many different peoples’ together. Babur remarks, ‘The climate is excellent. In fact, no place in the world is known to have such a pleasing climate as Kabul… near are regions with both warm and cold climates. Within a day’s ride from Kabul it is possible to reach a place where snow never falls. But within two hours one can go where the snows never melt–except in the rare summer so severe that all snow disappears. Both tropical and cold-weather fruits are abundant in Kabul’s dependencies, and they are nearby.’
Kabul, Afghanistan’s cultural oasis
In the process of bringing so many different peoples together, Kabul has managed to develop its own unique vibrant culture and identity, which, although is different from the rest of Afghanistan at times, has had its influence over other cultures throughout Afghanistan.
Across Afghanistan the amount of love and affection for Kabul is boundless. It is not uncommon to see schools, hotels, restaurants, buses, shops, and other businesses named after Kabul. There is a Pashto saying, ‘Penza rupay por kra, zoy pa Kabul loy kra,’ meaning ‘Borrow five rupees, and raise your son in Kabul,’ in reference to Kabul’s better education, etiquette, and culture.
Kabul was home to Afghanistan’s first modern boys’ school, first modern girls’ school, first teachers’ training college, first university, first radio and television stations, first train, first museum, and first airport, among other things. In the 1940s, for the first time in Afghanistan’s history, Radio Kabul allowed female singers to sing, and broadcast their songs.
Twice over the past century—once in the 1920s and again in the 1950s—Kabul pioneered giving Afghan girls and women the right to education and work, and the right to not cover their faces, if they so wished. Although rural conservatives were uncomfortable with the above reforms, other Afghan cities such as Kandahar and Herat imitated Kabul.
The Afghan Royal Family during the Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah eras did not impose any social reforms from Kabul on the rest of the country. Instead, they allowed people outside Kabul to gradually see, understand, and adopt such reforms as girls’ education and removing of the veil, which Kabul had embraced.
Furthermore, Kabul has produced Afghanistan’s top singers such as Ustad Qasem Afghan and Ustad Fazl Ahmad Nainawaz. Kabul has also given birth to Afghanistan’s best contemporary poets such as the poet laureate Qari Abdullah and Sufi Ghulam Nabi Ashqari. In Kabul’s poetic circles, it is common to gather with one’s friends to recite and interpret poems of poets such as Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil Dehlavi and Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi/Balkhi.
As such, Kabul for centuries has played a role like that of Iran and India, which, while absorbing outsiders and adopting part of their culture, has given the outsiders an indigenous touch and identity. This was as true of early Muslim conquerors and more recently of the Mujahedin, as it was of settlers and immigrants from across the region.
For instance, within months of Ahmad Shah Durrani’s passing in 1772, his son and successor Timur Shah Durrani moved his Empire’s capital from Kandahar to Kabul. Among other reasons, Kabul’s liberal atmosphere and its moderate climate prompted Timur to relocate his capital.
Like Timur Shah, generation after generation of Afghans have flocked to Kabul. Some of those moving in from small towns and villages at first may not feel at ease in Kabul, which may be too liberal for them. But eventually most accept the change, and Kabul becomes their home.
Kabul’s women against foreign occupation
Kabul has led the way in resisting foreign occupation. During the first British invasion (1838-1841) the Afghan uprising, which led to the killing of the British envoy William H. Macnaghten and withdrawal of the British troops, began in Kabul in November 1841. During the withdrawal, an entire 16,500-man British army, consisting of both soldiers and camp followers, was almost entirely annihilated by Ghilzai tribesmen in the mountains and gorges of eastern Kabul.
Women attend a rally in Kabul in the late 1970s. | Imgur via Pinterest
Nearly four decades later, during the Second British invasion of Afghanistan (1878-1881), the Afghans burned down the British Residency at Kabul’s Bala Hisar and killed the British envoy Pierre L. Cavagnari, a second British envoy to be assassinated in Kabul in 38 years.
During both British invasions, Kabul’s girls and women took an active part in the struggle to evict the British. For instance, from rooftops, the women of Kabul would throw stones at, and pour hot water on, passing British soldiers in Kabul’s alleys and streets. Old Kabul’s homes and streets are filled with the tales of Kabul’s women’s struggle against British invaders.
Likewise, a century later, weeks into the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in late February 1980, the residents of Old Kabul, including girls and women, staged a popular uprising against the heavily armed Soviet troops. The uprising started at night with chants of Allah-o-Akbar—in defiance of Soviet-imposed communism—by residents of Kabul from their rooftops.
The next day, clashes between Soviet troops and Kabul residents followed in the streets. The uprising—during which hundreds of Kabul’s residents including teenage schoolgirls like Naheed, Amina, Salma, and Sultana, embraced martyrdom—was brutally suppressed by Soviet troops. While Kabul’s residents made the ultimate sacrifice for Afghanistan’s freedom, the torch of resistance was passed onto other Afghans who would make sure the Soviets left Afghanistan.
Concluding remarks
Even though Kabul and its brave girls and women are going through a dark period right now due to numerous restrictions imposed on them by Taliban fundamentalists, it is my sincere belief that Kabul and its girls and women will once again, sooner rather than later, emerge victorious from these dark and challenging times, and return to living a cheerful life once again.
The Taliban’s categorizing the girls and women of Kabul as impious and imposing restrictions on them is in line with the offensive descriptions of the girls and women of Kabul which former British colonial chroniclers have provided. It is interesting to see that the Taliban have found more common ground with the British than with fellow Afghans.
The Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada’s preferring to stay in Kandahar can be because he fears being “polluted,” absorbed, and made irrelevant by Kabul. That said, if the Taliban survive, Kabul will conquer them—just like it conquered the Mujahedin. In Kabul the Taliban will metamorphose into a more lenient movement, should they survive the test of time and sanity.
The writer is Arwin Rahi, a former adviser to the Parwan governor in Afghanistan. He can be reached at rahiarwin@gmail.com.
All set for the 3rd round of UN-initiated Doha conference on Afghanistan situation. The Taliban delegations and representatives from foreign countries will attend the two-day conference in the capital city of Qatar from June 30 and first of July 2024. The Afghan civil society members are also invited. But before we deliver on expectation from this conference, here we take a glance at the second round of Doha conference which was held in February 2024.
Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed visited Afghanistan in January 2023. The visit had come at a time when the Taliban banned women from going to workplaces and girls from going to schools. Women, working for NGOs and even UN offices, were banned from attending office. Following her trip to Afghanistan at that time, Mohammed went to Kandahar province, the place where the Taliban supreme leader is residing, and met with the senior Taliban officials including Yusuf Wafa, the Taliban provincial governor.
After concluding her trip, Mohammed emphasized the need for a broad political approach in dealing with the Taliban and called on the Taliban to observe women’s rights including their rights to education and work.
In May 2023, the UN decided to arrange a broad-based meeting to discuss Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General Atonio Guterres also traveled to Doha and in a press briefing he called for the formation of an inclusive government and observation of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The second Doha conference was held on May 1 and 2 and all the discussions were held behind doors. The meeting included envoys from 21 countries including US, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Japan, India, Indonesia, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UK, France, Germany, Norway and Central Asian states such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Representatives from the EU and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also participated in the conference. Four members of Afghan civil society were also in attendance, and they called for reopening girl’s schools and formation of such a government which is acceptable for all.
Taliban didn’t accept UN invitation for the second Doha Conference
The UN has said that they didn’t invite the Taliban in the first round of the conference, but they sent an invitation to the Taliban for the second Doha conference, in which the Talian denied their participation.
UN Secretary-General Atonio Guterres said that they didn’t invite the Taliban in the first round of the conference, but they sent an invitation to the Taliban for the second Doha conference.
Guterres said that it was not the right time to meet with the Taliban. Similarly other groups of the Afghan segment including civil society members, women rights activists, and the majority of foreign countries’ representatives were not invited in the first conference.
However, in the second round of talks, foreign representatives held four sessions in the two-day conference, where they discussed human rights issues, including women, and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, counterterrorism, and topics related to drug trafficking.
The aim behind these sessions was to achieve a collective view and develop an international approach regarding Afghanistan, but these meetings, according to Guterres, were not meant for recognition of the Taliban.
Taliban agreed to attend third Doha conference
The Taliban has shown green signal to attend the upcoming third Doha conference. The Taliban delegation has been invited to participate in the Doha meeting, Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi said, adding that Taliban is looking to create a positive relation with the West, including the US, EU, and the regional countries.
Muttaqi said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been officially invited and “this invitation is a green signal for the growing possibility of recognition of the Taliban government by the international community”.
“We are seeking positive relations with EU countries, the US and our neighbors and the regional countries,” he added.
Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been officially invited to Doha Conference, and this invitation is a green signal for the growing possibility of recognition of the Taliban government by the international community.
Muttaqi’s statement came when the international community still persisted in its demand and expressed concern about the lack of women’s and girl’s access to basic rights including education and participation of them in the political landscape of the country.
The third round of the meeting will be chaired by Rosemary DiCarlo, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and DiCarlo is a US citizen and has been working in this post since 2018.
DiCarlo has visited Afghanistan two times and her first visit was in December 2021 just four months after US forces withdrawal and the collapse of the Republic System backed by the US in the past 20 years.
During her meeting, she held talks with key Taliban leaders, including Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister and she emphasized on the need for continued efforts to create an inclusive system in Afghanistan.
Firdavs Jalily, Journalist, Dushanbe
There is nothing more important to life on this earth than water and the ability to work together to overcome water scarcity. The entire globe, from Asian to South-and-Central Asia, from Europe to US and from Australia to sub-Saharan Africa, water is scarce and the people are struggling to access clean water.
Millions of people around the world at the moment lack access to water supplies and they are struggling for clean water they need for drinking, cooking, bathing, and growing their food. Globally there are estimated around 2.2 billion people without potable water and every day over 800 children die from drinking dirty water due to diarrhea caused by poor water, sanitation and hygiene. This is the problem among different societies around the world. Indeed, the impact of water scarcity affects the families and communities and further triggers them into poverty. Among them, women and children are the most prone to this worse phenomenon as they are more vulnerable to disease of dirty water.
Meanwhile, taking note of global water dearth, an important conference on water-related issues was held in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. World leaders, including SADC member states have gathered in Dushanbe for the 3rd High-Level International Conference. The three-day conference, which was held under the theme of “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028, is part of a 10 years action plan within the framework of the Dushanbe Water Process with cooperation of the United Nations. According to the experts, the meeting was a huge success.
Water problems in the world and the region
World Water Day has been held on March 22nd every year in order to raise awareness that billions of people are living without access to safe water and there should be an end in sight. There is widely believed that clean water is a basic human right but no sufficient work has been done on delivering this. Water is critical to life and the human can only survive about three days without it, but yet many stakeholders do not pay immense attention to this precious resource and have taken this granted. Countries with water seem reluctant to address water scarcity in another region and even the world leaders are not interested in this topic. For instance, the Dushanbe Water Conference has been considered crucial for ending water-related issues, but the question is why this conference did not receive attention globally. This gives a narrative that world leaders are not serious in this issue despite the fact that billions of people are now without water.
By 2050, between 4.8 billion and 5.7 billion out of nine billion will live in areas that are water-scarce for at least one month each year, up from 3.6 billion today while the number of people at risk of floods will increase to 1.6 billion up from 1.2 billion today, according to UN-Water’s World Water Development. It is also reported that per capita freshwater availability is diminishing and it has dropped by one-third over the past four decades.
22 million people estimated among 79 million people in the five-Central Asian countries, lack access to safe water. So, for every 10 Central Asians, three live perennially without the certainty they can find a glass of clean water to drink. And this could get much worse without remedial action.
The World Bank estimates that the population of the region is poised to grow to 90-110 million by 2050 and highlights the need for a rapid action to provide clean water for the masses and also to find a tangible solution to control the water from being wasted.
The region collectively consumes approximately 127 billion cubic meters of water with about 80 pc, or 100 billion cubic meters used annually for agriculture. However, only 50 pc of the water emerged for agriculture it utilized while the rest is being lost on the way due to poor condition of the irrigation system.
Why was Dushanbe chosen?
Abundant water resources make Tajikistan a land of lavishness. It is indeterminate that Tajikistan has around 947 rivers and over 13,000 natural lakes such as Karakul, Iskandarkul, Sarez, Kulikalon, Bahri Tojik reservoir, Nurek reservoir and Sari Khosor Waterfall, creating astonishing landscapes of water resources in the country.
Moreover, Tajikistan has also been an important player in solving water problems at the regional level, because up to 60pc of the water resources of the rivers in Central Asian countries (the Aral Sea Basin) are formed in Tajikistan.
In December 2016, with the initiative of Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, the United Nations General Assembly declared the period of 2018-2028 as the International Decade for Action “Water for sustainable Development in order to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals.
In this process which was initiated by Rahmon, Tajikistan is committed to continue providing a platform for policy dialogue, partnership and action at the global, regional and national level.
Tajikistan, which has good relations with the EU, Russia and China, is also a co-founder of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and its two commissions, the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination and the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development which are the only entities that are providing platforms for discussing urgent transboundary water issues in the region.
Center for Global Strategic Studies reported that Tajikistan is working on the aspects for effective water governance and management strategies i.e,. grand financing, investment and modernization of existing infrastructure, transition to green growth, active involvement of all stakeholders, construction of new dams, rehabilitating water resources capacity, and the resolving transboundary water disputes.
Meanwhile, being rich in areas of water, Tajikistan has a plan to generate 100 percent of its electricity from hydropower, reinforcing its position as a leader in sustainable energy by 2032.
In this way, Tajikistan would pave the way for achieving the water-related goals and objectives of sustainable development.
What is the purpose of the Dushanbe Water Conference
Leaders from different countries, ministers, high-level representatives of states, experts, ambassadors, SADC member states, and policymakers called for urgent action to address water challenges at the 3rd Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference and Dushanbe Conference considered a critical component in accelerating action towards the water-related goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Welcoming the participants, Rahmon urged global cooperation on water issues caused by climate change and highlighted his country’s initiatives to put water at the center of global development negotiations to unite the international community around water action.
Rahmon said that Dushanbe Water Process provides a vital platform for comprehensive preparation for the United Nations Water Conference in 2026 and 2028, outlining Tajikistan’s ambitious goal to become a “green country” by 2037 by developing a “green economy.”
The conference concluded with a declaration underlining five critical areas for action; 1, improving water management for human health, 2, establishing policies for universal water and sanitation access, 3, preparing national climate adaptation plans, 4, strengthening integrated water resource management, 5, increasing public and private financing.
Emphasizing that water is critical for achieving all SDGs, the participants underlined that water, ecosystems, energy, health, food security and improved nutrition are interlinked, and that water and sanitation are a prerequisite for human development.
According to the final declaration, the empowerment of women and girls, and the eradication of poverty and hunger, and are indispensable for addressing the interrelated challenged of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
They also emphasized that the conference will aid the international community in preparing for the 2026 Water Conference, with future conferences in Dushanbe in 2026 and 2028 continuing to support the Water Action Decade and Agenda.
Briefing the participants, Alvaro Lario, the President of the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) emphasized the need for holistic, collaborative solutions to ensure safe water for everyone. “As UN-Water Chair, I’m excited to soon launch the first UN-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation to acceleration process on SDG6,” he said.
Melting glaciers is a big concern
As we already mentioned above that Tajikistan has been blessed with abundant of rivers and natural lakes, but at the same time climate change is posing great threats. One of the biggest threats is the melting of glaciers in Tajikistan due to warm weather and at the same time, climate change has increased the risk of flash floods from bursting ice lakes.
During his speech, Rahmon stressed the need to ramp up efforts, seeing the risks and rising threats caused by the rapid melting of glaciers in Tajikistan.
“Over the past few decades, 1,000 of the 13,000 glaciers in our country, which are the main source of formation for up to 60 percent of Central Asia’s water resources, have completely melted,” said Rahmon.
The shrinking cryosphere is of particular concern to Central Asia, as the region’s main river systems are dependent on the seasonal melt of snow and ice, according to UNESCO. With climate change, the glaciers are shrinking from one year to the next. These melting glaciers will initially supply larger quantities of water but the flow will gradually decline as their volume decreases.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay said that regional dialogue, cooperation and trust are essential for efficient use and peaceful management of the riversan and stressed on the joint initiatives for new openings and opportunities to find mutual and long-term responses to water, energy and environmental resources based on perceptions of shared risks from climate change.
Tajikistan’s fifth participation in the water sector was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly by adopting a special resolution. According to this resolution, the year 2025 was declared as the International Year of Preservation of Glaciers, and from the beginning of 2025, March 21st will be celebrated every year as the International Day of Glaciers.
As Tajikistan is not an industrialized country, its share in the total amount of greenhouse waste is insignificant, President Rahmon said that this is the main reason for Tajikistan’s initiative to declare 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Preservation.
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