Five years after the Doha agreement between the Taliban and the administration of the then president of the US Donald Trump (2017-2021), signed on February 29, 2020, a new Trump government faces an unrecognizable Afghanistan with respect to which he left behind: democracy has collapsed, human rights are a chimera and the nation has retreated two decades.
The way in which the Trump government will deal with the consequences of the agreement that facilitated the resurgence of the Taliban is still unknown.
On February 29, 2020 “Trump made a shameful and dishonorable treatment,” said Afghan political analyst Waise Nasiri who quotes extracts from the memories of former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “I never ceded or a centimeter,” in which he suggests that Trump pressed to sign an agreement only to withdraw the US forces of Afghanistan.
The Doha agreement, which ended up being implemented during the administration of Joe Biden, prioritized the departure of US troops and the security guarantees of the Taliban on the crucial passage of first establishing a framework for intraafanas conversations, which had to resolve a political agreement between Afghan.
The agreement was signed before these conversations even began and without a real commitment of high fire, which created a situation in which the Taliban were empowered before negotiating agreements of power.
If Trump took the credit to sit the Taliban on the table, he also has the burden of orchestration what many consider a precipitated decline.
“The depth of Afghanistan’s tragedy lies in Doha’s agreement, which was a highly secret intelligence agreement headed by Trump, followed by Mike Pompeo and (the United States envoy for the peace of Afghanistan, Zalmay) Khalilzad,” adds Nasiri.
For the analyst, Trump knew that this was the final result of Doha’s agreement, and still “nailed the last nail in the coffin of democracy, freedom of expression and humanity. In short, Trump has committed great betrayal against Afghanistan and his people, ”he said.
The regression of Afghanistan in the five years that have passed is drastic. The collapse of the Afghan Republic erased the democratic institutions that had been earned in 20 years. Women were excluded from public life, facing severe restrictions, freedom of the press has been suffocated, and the economy has collapsed, leaving millions of people in poverty.
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Afghanistan keep the hope of a change in new Trump administration
Mawlawi Hamdullah Fitrat, an attached spokesman for the Taliban, gave an opposite perspective on the 2020 pact: “Doha’s agreement was necessary at that time and, as a result, Afghanistan was released from a prolonged occupation,” he said.
For Fitrat, the commitments assumed in Doha as ensuring that the Afghanistan soil would not be used against the United States, have been implemented. However, “the American party has not fulfilled its promises in the agreement, such as the commitment to the Islamic Emirate (as the Taliban calls the State under its regime), and the sanctions and restrictions remain in force, and the assets of the Afghans remain frozen.”
Despite the terrible circumstances, many Afghans cling to a fragile hope of change, in particular by the United States, who believe he breached his promises.
“It is natural that a nation that suffers seeks change, especially those who committed,” says Nasiri. “However, tragically, the same politicians who are now in power have a significant responsibility for this crisis.”
Given the precedent of the past negotiations, a second presidency of Trump would be worse than the first, ”says the analyst. He fears that in his second government “it is even possible that he will make direct treatment with the Taliban, he recognizes them at the expense of the Afghan people and aligns with terrorism.”
Taliban, meanwhile, can expect a renewed commitment and attempts to forge links, similar to those of the past. However, “the conditions are very different now,” said Afghan analyst Aziz Marij.
Marij also underlines the hope of the Afghan people that “EU fulfills their promises.” This dependence on external intervention is understandable, he argues, given the absence of any viable internal political force capable of forming a government independently. “Therefore, people expect the international community, especially USA, to act,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Rasool Jan, resident in Kabul, expresses a deep feeling of disappointment. “Foreign countries made promises and also the previous administration, but everyone breached them,” he lamented.
With EFE information
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