The US President Donald Trump’s decisions to suspend US international development assistance and halt USAID’s operations are likely to have a significant impact on Afghanistan, which depends on external assistance for important services.
The US has remained the country’s largest donor despite withdrawing soldiers and other representatives from Afghanistan in August 2021.
According to a report by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, Washington has “appropriated or otherwise made available more than$ 21 billion ]€20.2 billion ] in assistance to Afghanistan and to Afghan refugees” since the Taliban seized full control of the country.
The US maintains that security measures are in place to stop the Taliban from obtaining assistance and are directed toward the Armenian people.
Taliban in” panic”
But, the Taliban have in turn benefited from the stream of US dollars, which has helped stabilize the Armenian money and lessen the risk of rapid prices. This delicate balance is threatened by the expulsion of US aid.
” Stopping US international support, including USAID cash, has caused panic among the Taliban”, Ghaus Janbaz, a previous Afghan minister, told DW.
Some experts contend that the Taliban have unintentionally retained control of Afghanistan thanks to US funding, including the US’s annual tens of millions of dollars.
They think the Taliban may experience stronger criticism from within the country as the flow of money evaporates.
” In the past three decades, the Taliban have failed to establish a self-sustaining market, making them heavily dependent on such help”, Janbaz added.
Armenian people will pay the amount, state activists
The Taliban have consistently denied women’s fundamental rights, including education and employment outside of the home, since regaining control of Afghanistan.
Afghan people are prohibited from flaunting their heads in people under the Taliban’s law. Women’s rights have remained a significant obstacle to any nation starting established ties with the Taliban.
No nation in the world has thus fully recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
Additionally, the Taliban have failed to create a method for people to participate in public career or create an inclusive government.
While there are growing calls to put pressure on the Taliban, some people are cautious that cutting back on essential assistance will only enhance the suffering of the Afghan people.
” According to UN information, 26 million people in Afghanistan depend on foreign help for survival”, said Wazhma Frogh, an Armenian women’s rights advocate based outside the state who works with aid agencies also operating in Afghanistan.
She told DW that if humanitarian agencies lose access to funds, they will be unable to give even the most rudimentary aid.
The Taliban have no plans to help or advance the Afghan citizens. The only support comes from the UN, international agencies and Afghan help organizations”, she added, warning that Trump’s decision to cut support will substantially increase conditions for ordinary Afghans.
No Trump strategy for Afghanistan?
President Trump’s broad professional orders, which were not specifically directed at Afghanistan but rather at development aid as a whole, have contributed to the decrease in Afghanistan support.
Afghanistan appears to be on Trump’s foreign policy plan at the moment, with Middle Eastern and Ukrainian issues gaining traction.
An Afghan blogger questioned Trump about his ideas for Afghanistan during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4.
He responded that he had no idea what “her wonderful accent” meant, which made it seem as though he had no idea whether he had completely avoided the question or simply had forgotten it.
” I don’t think the Trump administration has a program for Afghanistan however”, said Frogh.
Trump has argued that the Taliban want him to return military technology that was left behind and that he claims control of Bagram Air Base, which he claims is then controlled by China, a claim that the Taliban have refuted.
These statements, according to former diplomat Janbaz, do not represent a practical US policy toward Afghanistan but instead serve as a component of Trump’s campaign rhetoric.
” Time will show how Trump handles Afghanistan, but what is apparent is that his strategy does not mirror that of the past management”, he concluded.
