Afghanistan’s Gen Z is in limbo

topic:	Peace and Reconciliation
located:	Afghanistan, USA
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

The eventual withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan was imminent, but the bitter bickering around their exit date and the ongoing bloodshed despite the announcement of departure plans speaks volumes of the storm to come.

With US President Joe Biden finally announcing a date by which to complete the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan (11 September, 2021), many in the landlocked country with a bloody past of an ugly civil war are evidently puzzled. And there are legitimate reasons for that.

Firstly, it is quite evident that the selected departure date to match the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks suggests that Biden wants to score points with it in the domestic political arena rather than matching it to the geostrategic needs of democratic Afghanistan.

Secondly, the estimated 9592 soldiers of 36 NATO partners and allies have not been engaged in frontline counter-terrorism operations since 2015, and it was in fact the battle of political symbolism that kept the situation fluid and away from any sort of much-needed stability. Otherwise, the Doha Agreement of 2020, despite its many flaws, should have served as the starting point to a peaceful political settlement.

Bluntly speaking, the Taliban’s stubbornness of not ceasing hostilities, as well as the factional and personal agendas on parts of the Afghan government entities, has been incredibly frustrating for the entire international community, which now seems to rally behind the US for a so-called ‘dignified exit’.

Due to a clear lack of good will on all sides of the conflict - which stems from deep-rooted mistrust - and despite some major steps already taken, such as the release of thousands of prisoners, a temporary ceasefire, a reduction in violence and, obviously, the withdrawal of foreign troops – a political settlement remains elusive.

Extraordinary levels of harm have been inflicted on civilians in Afghanistan in the first three months of 2021 with 573 people killed and 1,210 injured - a 29 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported this week.

The Taliban insurgents and their backers are clearly under the temptation of a superficial and symbolic victory. Elements within the Afghan government, particularly the political elite, could care less about disintegration - striving to escape accountability of all sorts.

This leaves the young and educated Afghans of generation Z - those who sketched so many beautiful dreams during the relative peace over the past two decades and wished to pursue them in the years to come - in limbo. An overwhelming percentage of Afghanistan’s population are young men and women with access to the internet and a global outlook.

They fear that the failure of the mostly arrogant, old men who are engaged in the fragile negotiation process would slip the country back into chaos and fuel further war by hostile regional powers.

Image: ru tactical.

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