The Graveyard of Empires

Kamal Baruah
Contd from previous issue
With Taliban in power, China is eyeing to clinch lucrative projects to exploit mineral-rich Afghanistan.
Ghazni province of Afghanistan has a rare earth metal essential for electric vehicle battery production that may hold the world’s largest lithium reserve. As Saudi Arabia is the oil capital of the world, Afghanistan will be the lithium capital of the world in the future whereas Australia is leading in production of lithium at this time.
While the Taliban managed to seize billions in US weaponry, it’s unconvinced for those untrained Taliban to deliver a decisive role for peace and stability in the war-torn country. However the world should stand by the Afghan people and step up support for refugees and humanitarian aid. But there are fears of a resurgent Al-Qaida.
Afghanistan needs skilled Afghans to rebuild their own Nation but engineers, doctors are fleeing the country as US military is evacuating them. Thousands of crowds continue to throng Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul seeking a flight out of the country as people are targeted by Taliban for reprisals. Afghans are now desperate to flee their country while UNHCR warns of imminent humanitarian crisis soon in Afghanistan.
The British, Soviets and Americans have invaded Afghanistan, ruled over the rugged mountains but they had to retreat for oversimplifying its history and the external political considerations. The colonial forces had to limp back home. On the other hand, Taliban carried out barbaric acts in the name of jihad for freedom against the arrogant powers of the world.
Nevertheless, Taliban diktat will fall soon in their second coming. A moderate region for Afghan people is a far cry from the reality they wished after Sharia Law returned recently. Finally invaders’ optimism has invariably evaporated in the face of mounting violence as a new war of a thousand cuts that brought them to their knees.