Afghanistan's uncertain future

Four years after the ouster of the Taliban, Afghanistan is still suffering instability and choas.

Worsening security, endemic corruption and lawlessness are hampering progress and development in the wor-torn country.

Despite billions of international aid over the past four years, the country has not yet achieved security, political and economic stability. . There is growing concern that many international donor countries will stop assisting Afghanistan unless the situation is better.

Security

The Taliban and Al-Qa'idah terrorists have re-grouped and intesified attacks on the government and international forces all across the country, particularly in southern frontier regions bordered with Pakistan.

The central government has failed to expand its rule all over the country, while the Taliban insurgents are gaining control over major remote areas. Many provinces are still controlled by warlords accused of war crimes and rights abuses in the past.

The extra deployment of NATO forces has not helped pacity sourthern regions bordered with Pakistan. Terroists cross the border, carry out attacks, and return to the Pakistani tribal areas without being caught.

There is plenty of speculation that Pakistan still train and support the Taliban and terrorist groups to destabalise Afghanistan. The world should therefore rethink its approach in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. It should tack down and eliminate terrorist training camps in the Pakistan territory, rather than to fight them in vain in Afghanistan.

Unhealthy parliament:

Many Afghans had pinned their hopes on the new parliament to tackle the current shortcomings and establish the rule of law and justice.

However, their hopes vanished after they saw senior Taliban members and known criminals and rights abusers of the past in parliament.

To many Afghans, the new parliament is a combination of warlords, Taliban criminals and a handful of technocrats and reformists. After the presidential election, Presiden Karzai was hoped to sack warlords and corrupt official from key positions, but he has done little in this respect so far.

It is widely beleived that the new Afghan parliament will be one of the most controversial assemblies in world history.

Economy:

The last decades of war and choas have shattered the Afghan economy. The country's economy solely relies on the foreign aid and informal drugs trade - which makes 60$ of Afghanistan's GDP.

Corruption is rife in all the deparments, and most of the international aid has been wasted and looted. It is believed that Afghanistan could not survive for a year if donor countries stop supporting it.


Women's rights:

Majority of the Afghan women still suffer abuse, murder and forced marriages. They still have not enjoyed their fundamental rights endorsed in the constitution.

The limited number of women present in the socio-political arena in the capital and certain provinces could not represent the entire Afghan women population.

More than 90 per cent of women are still confined inside the four walls and treated as nothing more than a chattel and baby-machines.

They are still victims of ill-conceived religious and traditional codes and deprived of their basic rights. It is possible to improve women's situation only by providing education and vocational training opportunities, particularly in the remote and most underdeveloped areas.

Poverty:

Poverty is deemed to be the key factor behind Afghanistan's instability. It was poverty that helped Al-Qa'idah terrorist network to gain a foothold in the country and recruit unemployed, illiterate young people for their vicious ends.

The link between poverty and growth of terrorism has not been assessed prudently. It is observed that terrorist groups recruit people from poorest communities and take advantage of their miserable lives.

The fight aganist the Taliban may have been successful, but the battle against poverty has been an utter failure. Despite billions of the international aid, majority of the Afghan population are jobless and suffer poverty.

More than 70% of the international aid is either squandered on fruitless projects or looted by the national and international NGOs. Poverty forces the Afghan young people to quit education and work to make a living for their family.