Afghanistan cannot be exempted from the positive and negative consequences of current tensions in other parts of the world. The war in Eastern Europe and the Middle East has negative consequences for Afghanistan, but not for the Taliban, because they are making efforts to extend their government as much as they can by using the turbulent situation.
In Afghanistan, eyes are focused on the decision of the world, especially the great powers, to open a way to overcome the current impasse. But the countries involved in the Afghanistan conflict have forgotten this country and have defined more important missions for themselves in other parts of the world.
After the Taliban returned to power, the war in Ukraine broke out, where the world has reverted its attention from the Afghanistan crisis, and the war in Ukraine turned into the main topic and agenda of the world leaders.
In the war in Ukraine, not only Russia, but also the United States and the European Union were involved, the two major blocks, and if they want they can end the Afghan crisis.
Now that more than two years have passed since the war in Ukraine, not only is there no news of the end of the crisis, but more costs and resources are pouring in from all sides to sustain the war. Even some security experts admit that the war in Ukraine may last for years.
Before finding a way out of the Ukraine crisis, the Gaza war broke out — the war that has turned the Middle East into a “powder keg” and so far no way to overcome this situation has been found.
The regional and global actors have failed to manage the situation, or even break a deal for a short-term ceasefire to help reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.
The US is not only involved in the war in Ukraine, but also in the war in Gaza — the factor that has caused Washington to think only about the survival and security of Israel and not care about the problem of Afghanistan.
Unfortunately if Tehran and Tel Aviv enter into a cycle of extensive conflict, the war in the Middle East will take on a regional nature
Instead of ending the Gaza war, it became the cause of another war in Lebanon. What is happening in Lebanon these days is the result of the Gaza war and the most annoying is that civilians are again the target.
For the USA, not only the war in Ukraine and Gaza, but also the war in Lebanon is a big concern. Likewise, France, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is involved in the Lebanon war.
Iran, as a neighbor of Afghanistan and a regional power, finds itself stuck in the battle of Lebanon. The Lebanese crisis is also a concern of Saudi Arabia. The aid that Riyadh has sent to Lebanon in the last few months has not been sent to Afghanistan in the last three years.
Like the other two crises, the prospect of the end of the Lebanon war looks dark, at least in the short term. It is not unlikely that a bigger crisis will be born from it — the war between Israel and Iran.
Not long ago, Tehran launched nearly two hundred ballistic missiles towards Israel, to which Tel Aviv has not yet responded. For three weeks, the eyes of the world’s inhabitants have been focused on Israel’s possible response — an answer that is unlikely to light the fire of a full-scale war between the two sides.
Obviously, when Tehran and Tel Aviv enter into a cycle of extensive conflict, the war in the Middle East will take on a regional nature. When Gaza, Lebanon, Israel, Iran, etc. are involved in war, what is happening in the Middle East can be called a regional war. In that case, the allied militias of Iran from Yemen, Iraq, etc. will also shoot at Israel, and there will be no doubt that the war is regional.
Fortunately, war in Afghanistan has ended
In the meantime, among other crises and conflicts, the Afghanistan crisis would be forgotten. Whereas, if it were not for the above crises, the presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women to work and girls to education would be on top agenda of the world leaders.
Now, compared to other crises, the situation in Afghanistan is not described as a crisis. It is true that Afghanistan is suffering from statelessness, but according to many, the war has ended there. If terrorism is active in Afghanistan, it has not seriously and directly threatened the interests of other countries. In case if there is any threat it is nothing in the eyes of the world compared to other current crises.
Even if the economic crisis is rampant in Afghanistan, in the eyes of the world, the image of the refugees and famine victims of Gaza and Lebanon will be better than the hungry people of Afghanistan. This is the image created in the world’s mind of the Afghanistan crisis. The big regional and global actors are looking for their interests in the end of other crises than the Afghan crisis.
The big regional and global actors are looking for their interests in the end of every war
In the last few months, only organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, etc., publish statements describing the situation in Afghanistan as dangerous and calling for the serious attention of the world.
Or the World Food Program and other humanitarian agencies write about the increase in hunger and the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis, etc. that even for that cause, there are no eyes to see and no ears to listen. The rest of the world’s effective institutions and powers involved in Afghanistan are silent and are watching what is happening in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine.
Summarizing the challenges of stateless Afghanistan to seasonal diseases shows that this country has disappeared from the eyes of the world at least for now.
More importantly, ignoring the bad situation of the Afghan media indicates the lack of importance of the country’s crisis in the eyes of the world.
Recently, the media has been subjected to repression and censorship more than before. According to some sources, TVs will be blocked or turned into radios. So far, no serious voice has been raised in support of the media from Western institutions and countries against this decision of the Taliban.
Only the “Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization” and some other organizations raise their voices, but that would bear no result.
The US presidential elections, which were a source of hope for many, cannot be hoped for too much now because if Democratic Party’s nominee, Kamala Harris wins, she will follow the footstep of Joe Biden regarding policies with Afghanistan. And if Republican Party’s candidate Donald Trump wins, assuming he intends to end the war, and will prioritize the crisis in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, not Afghanistan under Taliban rule. In this case, it still takes a lot of time to resolve the crisis in Afghanistan.
