The Taliban have celebrated this Wednesday, declared a public holiday in Afghanistan, the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US troops from the country, which ended 20 years of foreign military presence after the seizure of power by the insurgents.
On the morning of August 31, 2021, Taliban supporters went to the Afghan capital’s airfield to celebrate the takeoff of the last US military plane, ending the withdrawal of troops announced by Washington, which had set a limit of 11 September. , a particularly symbolic date due to the 2001 attacks that precisely triggered the US invasion of Afghanistan.
That Tuesday in August, the Taliban took to the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul, to shoot in the air to show their “joy” at the withdrawal, which meant, according to the group’s spokesman for international affairs, Suhail Shahin, the “full independence” of Afghanistan.
The same images have been repeated this Wednesday, a year later, during a military celebration at Bagram airfield, once the great US military coordination center in Afghanistan, located about 70 kilometers north of the capital. Afghan, Kabul.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement on Wednesday that, on the first anniversary of the withdrawal of “foreign forces” in Afghanistan, the policies of pressure and sanctions against the Afghan people have worsened the situation, according to the Jaama news agency.
The representative of the permanent mission to the United Nations in Afghanistan, Naseer Ahmad Faiq, also explained before a meeting of the UN Security Council, a year later, his concerns about the situation in Afghanistan, especially due to a political setback and that not even the international community has been able to stop.
“The doors of secondary education are still closed for girls; our youth have no hope for their future. Afghan citizens of different religions and ethnicities remain vulnerable,” he explained, adding that many Afghans “are unemployed” and have been forced to flee the country.
Likewise, there are “credible reports” of forced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial executions and generalized violence against human rights activists, journalists, protesters and opponents, as well as civilians accused of having links with the Baghlan, Panjshir and Tajar resistance forces.
“The good news, compared to other years, is that there has been a notable decrease in civilian deaths, and an increase in national resources to combat corruption,” he explained, according to a statement from the UN mission in Afghanistan. .
Thus, he has called on the Taliban to respect Human Rights, while calling for the opening of schools for girls, a decision condemned by the entire international community, as well as a general relaxation of restrictions against citizens. .
The Taliban undertook a reconquest that, province after province, culminated in mid-August 2021 with the formal capture of Kabul and the flight of the then president, Ashraf Ghani, in turn giving rise to a hasty evacuation that left scenes of panic and chaos. at the international airport of the capital.
The fundamentalists have installed a government marked by the lack of women and representatives of other political groups, while they have faced internal and international criticism for limiting the rights of the population, especially women and girls. .
Source: Europa Press
