MyVoice: Views of our readers 19th August 2021

The Taliban tangle

The fall of government in Afghanistan and its takeover was on the cards but have happened earlier than expected. The fact that the outgoing government and its army surrendered without much fight and the leaders fled the scene leaving the cadres high and dry is surprising. The assurances given by some Taliban leaders and the view that the second Taliban regime will be more refined and professional are only hopes which are to be proved. The basic faith of Talibans in religious fundamentalism will stay so also the harsh treatment to women. That is the reason why thousands are fleeing the country.

There are many groups in Talibans and some of them are pro-Pakistan. After taking control of the government the trained Taliban militants will be jobless and it is likely that some of them may be employed to create trouble in Jammu and Kashmir besides carrying out many terrorist activities across countries. It is also not clear what China will do in this scenario and if money is the main consideration they will have upper hand in Afghan.

As far as India is concerned besides safeguarding our investments in Afghan friendship should be established with some of the Taliban groups so as to ward off any disturbances in J&K as that may affect the ongoing political process.

M Raghuraman, Mumbai

II

One does feel for the sorry plight of the Afghans especially the women and children who will be left at the mercy of the Taliban. Many Afghan people are protesting against the Americans all over the world. This is unfortunate as the Americans have invested heavily in the nation in terms of resources and manpower. The Afghans should not expect America to be their permanent care takers. Pakistan must not be too overjoyed at the turn of events. The Taliban were nurtured by the Americans to counter the Russian threat. And today in a manner of speaking they have had to retreat. This could well happen in the case of Pakistan too. Who knows, the Taliban could one day turn against them!

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

III

In its first press conference since its whirlwind takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban has shown a 'conciliatory face' and promised a 'gentler rule' to allay fears over reenactment of the 'cruelties and brutalities' committed during its previous 'harsh' rule from 1996 to 2001. Painful memories die hard.

What the Taliban exactly intends by its statement that Afghan women will have rights within the Islamic law is not clear. The assurance that women's rights will be guaranteed under the Islamic law framework may not be enough to dispel fears about women being treated as subordinates to men in view of the fact that the Sharia law can be interpreted in many different ways.

More to the point, the sanctification of the subservience of women to men by any religion, it does not matter which religion, be it Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or any other, is totally unacceptable. Women cannot be discriminated against or victimised in deference to the mentality of those who associate 'gender equality' and women's autonomy with social and moral degeneration. Many countries have their own variants of Taliban with religious fundamentalism or fanaticism as their defining hallmark.

G David Milton, Maruthancode,Tamil Nadu

IV

The Taliban's promise to respect women's rights and not seek revenge on those who worked with the ousted Afghan government must bring some cheer. Portraying themselves as more moderate than when they ruled the country earlier, the Taliban spokesman said they would allow women to work and study or even join the government. This is a welcome departure. However, the comments come amid widespread fear and confusion, with desperate crowds jostling to board planes leaving Afghanistan. We must laud new Delhi for evacuating the diplomats, journalists and ITBP personnel under challenging circumstances.

N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru

V

I agree with the U.S. President Joe Biden's decision of troops withdrawal. The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to seek revenge of the ghastly attacks on its World Trade Center and The Pentagon coordinated by the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden. If someone needs to be blamed for the crisis, it should be the Government of Afghanistan. The U.S. in the last twenty years has spent as military expenditure, Two trillion Dollars in the nation. It provided logistics, armoury, artillery and air support to the Afghan defence forces for countering the Taliban. But it is appalling to know that these resources were mis-handled and a huge capital went into the pockets of the Afghan leaders. The fellow civilians are now bearing the brunt of their corrupt leaders who fled away leaving them in the dust.

Tushar Anand, Patna