Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis escalates

The UN Security Council meeting in Afghanistan on November 18, called for urgent steps to be taken to address the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and stave off economic collapse. Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), while making a fervent appeal for international support, stressed that abandoning the Afghan people now would be a historic mistake — a mistake that has been made before with tragic consequences. Lyons emphasized that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA)’s takeover has left the Afghan people feeling abandoned, forgotten and punished by circumstances that are not their fault.

Drawing attention towards the impending catastrophe in the country, the UNAMA head said it is preventable, as the paralyzed economy is largely due to financial sanctions. Lyons stressed that with the winter approaching, up to 23 million Afghans will be victims of extreme food insecurity. Additionally, while the risk of famine was once restricted to rural areas, 10 out of 11 of Afghanistan’s most densely populated urban areas are now anticipated to be at emergency levels of food insecurity, she warned.

Lyons cautioned that the continuing deterioration of the economy threatens to heighten the risk of extremism, adding that the paralysis of the banking sector could push more of the financial system into unregulated informal money exchanges which can facilitate terrorism, trafficking and drug smuggling. Additionally, she warned that the neglect of the Afghan population will primarily affect Afghanistan and then infect the region.

A day prior to the UNSC meeting, the IEA Foreign Minister wrote an “open letter” to the U.S. Congress, warning of a mass refugee exodus from Afghanistan unless the United States unblocks more than $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets and eases other financial sanctions against the country. Readers will recall that Washington and Europe have blocked Kabul’s access to more than $9 billion in Afghan Central Bank assets largely held in the U.S. Federal Reserve after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan last August. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) also have suspended about $1.2 billion in aid money they were supposed to release for Afghanistan this year.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the interim IEA Foreign Minister pleaded that the sanctions have not only wreaked havoc on trade and business but also obstructed humanitarian aid to millions of desperate Afghans. Muttaqi’s office in Kabul released copies of the letter in several languages, including English.

The Afghan Foreign Minister rationalized that his government has managed to bring political stability and security to Afghanistan since returning to power last August, but growing economic troubles have worsened humanitarian challenges. The Afghan top diplomat, selected by the Taliban to represent them in the interim government, lamented that the bleak humanitarian issues and financial challenges are a major concern of the IEA but they should worry the world too. If the current situation prevails, it will exacerbate the prevailing problems and will become a cause for mass migration in the region and world.

It is noteworthy that only the previous week, the Norwegian Refugee Council reported that around 300,000 Afghans have fled to Iran since August, and up to 5,000 continue to illegally cross the border into the neighboring country daily.

At the UNSC debate on November 18, China’s delegate stated that Afghanistan must be able to pursue a sound path towards development and called on the World Bank and the IMF to consider the resumption of financial support. He asked: “When teachers and doctors have not received salaries for half a year, where does one begin to speak of girls’ education, or fighting the pandemic?” He added that such measures are morally unacceptable and worsen the humanitarian crisis.

Pakistan’s Representative also called for the lifting of the freeze on Afghanistan’s assets, noting that his country has committed $30 million in assistance to the country, together with wheat, rice, emergency medical supplies, and other essential items.

The U.S. and its allies should reconsider whether it is imperative to insist on the Taliban installing a more inclusive government, accelerate the freedom of rights to women and girls’ education or let the Afghans perish in the cold, hungry and deprived of basic amenities. In an interview with VOA’s Afghan Service earlier this week, Republican Representative Michael McCaul was asked if he supported unfreezing Afghan government assets held inside the U.S. His response was that the U.S. conceded all its leverage when it evacuated from Afghanistan as well as surrendered Bagram Air Base, which comprised its topmost intelligence surveillance reconnaissance capabilities in the region. The Republican Representative insisted that the only leverage the US has are the financial assets of the Taliban that it has frozen. Thus, Washington would not desist from giving up its advantage without securing major concessions from the Taliban.

Keeping in view the dire situation, a humane approach must be taken to heed to the cries of anguish of the Afghan people so that they may not perish, be forced to migrate or worse still, join proscribed terror organizations owing to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in their war-ravished homeland.

The writer is the former Group Captain PAF and an author.