Russia’s decision to recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan was greeted on Friday by Afghans as a prospect of improving the economic situation in the country, one of the poorest in the world, while others were skeptical about improving their fate.
AFP
Russia officially became the first country on Thursday to recognize the Taliban power in Afghanistan. The Taliban authorities, returned to power in 2021 after having overthrew the government supported by Westerners, are not recognized by any other state in the world.
“With the current situation in Afghanistan, with all challenges, everyone worries. If the world recognizes Afghanistan, we will be happy, currently even the smallest thing counts, “said Gul Mohammad, 58, in Kabul.
Although having a bitter memory of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, when he had “lost everything” and found refuge in Pakistan, he believes that “priorities are different now”.
Jamaluddin Sayar, 67, a retired pilot, says he is certain that “trade and economic prosperity” will now be favored.
According to him, other countries, “both Western and Easy”, should recognize the government of the Taliban and “stop spreading propaganda against Islamic emirate”.
A recognition “that leads to nothing”
Russian and Afghan officials welcomed this recognition, saying that it offered the possibility of deepening cooperation, especially in the fields of economics and security.
But in a country where dissent is strictly censored, residents of Kabul are afraid of openly criticizing the Taliban authorities.
Atef, of which this is not the real name, does not believe that better relations between Afghanistan and Russia will improve the living conditions of ordinary Afghans.
“I believe that Afghanistan will fall back into the traps of the Russians, the problems and challenges will increase, and there is nothing that can help ordinary people,” said the young man of 25 -year -old.
“People are fighting, and they will continue to fight, with or without recognition,” he says.
For militants of Afghan women’s rights, especially those who have advocated isolation from the government of the Taliban, recognition by Russia constitutes a setback that “legitimate” the restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan.
The Taliban authorities, who also led the country between 1996 and 2001, once again imposed a hard version of Islamic law.
Afghan women’s rights activist Hoda Khamosh, who lives in Norway, is pessimistic about the impact of Russia’s decision.
“Human rights organizations are trying to have gender apartheid recognized in Afghanistan because the Taliban is a repressive regime with regard to women,” she observes.
“Consequently, these recognitions will not lead to anything,” she said.
Security issues are a crucial axis of relations between the Taliban authorities and the international community, which fears that Afghanistan will become a fertile land for an increase in the activities of the insurgent groups.
Kabul has repeatedly assured that Afghan territory would not be used by any group to plan attacks against other countries.
In 2024, an attack claimed by the Afghan Branch of the Islamic State organization killed 137 people in a concert hall in Moscow.
