Attention shifting far away from Afghan crisis amid Russia-Ukraine war

Samina Akhter

(saminaakhter1709@gmail.com)

Afghanistan has been left in ruins after 20 years of US occupation. Ostensibly, the United States and its allies did little to assist Afghanistan to prosper. The latter was made dependent, relying on humanitarian aid rather than developing its own economic capabilities. The evidence is Afghanistan's present economic collapse and the humanitarian disaster that has resulted.

Although Biden has removed the US forces, he didn't settle for responsibility for America's meddling in Afghanistan. Instead, he has added insult to injury by splitting their little cash resources into half-retaining one-half for the 9/11 victims. His actions will only lengthen breadlines and increase the number of children dying of starvation. On the other hand, the quick escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is poised to exacerbate the problem. Experts now fear that rising wheat prices, which have reached their highest level since 2008 as a result of the invasion, may amplify the impact of an Afghan famine. Despite monumental assurances made last year, the world's attention has been diverted away from the crisis in Afghanistan, allowing Afghans to face the brunt of the economic catastrophe. The United Nations, seeing the scope of Afghan suffering, has launched its largest-ever plea for cash for a country: $4.4 billion. Rather than heeding to this call, Joe Biden has opted to claim Afghan funds at a time when they are most needed.

According to the International Rescue Committee, 9 million Afghans are already on the verge of hunger, advocating for the prompt release of fresh funding for vulnerable Afghans as well as the payment of government officials' salaries. Biden's strategy will have no effect on the Taliban, who currently dominate Afghanistan and persecute the Afghan people. People, those who starve and those who escape in search of food, freedom, and safety will only bear the brunt of the consequences. Poverty has previously served as a recruiter for terrorist organizations. From escalating violence against women and minorities in Afghanistan, we can tell that this unfortunate cycle has not been broken.

Two recent events may provide a glimmer of hope for Afghanistan. First, on February 25, the United States Treasury approved a waiver that will 'extend authorizations for commercial and financial dealings in Afghanistan, including with its governing institutions". The General License, as the waiver is formally known, would allow business operations that were previously prohibited by sanctions imposed on the Taliban.

And the World Bank also announced the release of $1 billion from the previously blocked Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund on March 1. The funds will be distributed to aid organizations "to support the delivery of essential basic services, protect vulnerable Afghans, help preserve human capital and key economic and social services, and reduce the need for future humanitarian assistance," according to a statement from the World Bank.

Experts, on the other hand, are pessimistic about the scenario. They believe there is little chance for increasing international aid to Afghanistan's rising humanitarian crisis, and that Western economies, reeling from the shock of the coronavirus epidemic, are cutting back on foreign expenditure.

In any circumstances, international organizations cannot abandon Afghanistan. In the midst of the conflict in Ukraine, which has drawn the attention of the United States and its NATO partners to the destruction of war and the moral responsibility to protect its victims, the international community may assist Afghans in obtaining food, rights, and justice. International media should put pressure on governments to return their funds so that people do not go hungry. They must also support Afghans' efforts to advocate for their rights. International media should demand punishment for war crimes- so that Afghanistan might finally taste some justice as they do not want the West to intervene again to save them from the Taliban's savagery.