The May deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan looms large over Washington. But it looms much larger over Kabul.
The US's intervention in the country, launched nearly 20 years ago, began as a mission to oust the Taliban and became a project to secure and stabilise the country. But today Afghanistan is neither secure nor stable, and the Taliban is as pervasive as ever.
A round of peace talks that began last September were meant to set the stage for real progress. They started an agreement in Doha, in which the Taliban consented to the talks and in exchange for the scheduled US withdrawal. But after five months of deliberations in plush Doha hotels, the talks have gone nowhere. A two-week recess was called in December, but has not really ended. The Taliban blames its dithering on the newly inaugurated administration of US President Joe Biden, indicating that it is waiting to see how the American approach to the talks may change.
Mr Biden has indicated that he will consider keeping US troops in Afghanistan a while longer. This is partly because the Taliban, according to the most recent report by the US's special inspector general for Afghanistan, has not met the deal's other two conditions: a commitment to reducing violence and a total end to the group's relationship with terrorist organisations.
Instead of returning to talks, senior Taliban operatives spent last week in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The Taliban, who before the US intervention were in a state of near-open warfare with Tehran, have recently begun ingratiating themselves, reportedly receiving money and even weapons from Iranian sources. This has been a point of concern for Kabul, which has long maintained a cautious, but friendly relationship with Tehran.
For Iran, which has already successfully implanted itself as a powerful wirepuller in its other large neighbour Iraq, Afghanistan could be fertile ground in which to extend its hegemony eastward. Even as they kept their Taliban guests from the negotiating table, Iranian officials assured them that they were better poised to mediate with Kabul than Washington.
An Afghan National Army soldier during an operation in Arghandab district of Kandahar Province on February 3, 2021. AFP
Afghan security forces patrol on the outskirts of Helmand, on January 17, 2021. Violence has surged across the country in recent weeks, despite the Afghan government and the Taliban committing to reduce their attacks. EPA
Afghan security officials present arrested members of the Taliban, in Herat, Afghanistan, on February 2, 2021. EPA
Afghan security officials present weapons confiscated from arrested members of the Taliban, in Herat, Afghanistan, on February 2, 2021. EPA
Hazara militia fighters stand inside their base ahead of a patrol against Taliban insurgents in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on January 9, 2021. Comprising roughly 10 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's 38-million population, Hazaras have long been persecuted by the Taliban. AFP
Hazara militia fighters patrol against Taliban insurgents in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on January 9, 2021. Comprising roughly 10 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's 38-million population, Hazaras have long been persecuted by the Taliban. AFP
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, second right, meets with a Taliban delegation in Tehran, Iran on January 31, 2021. Tasnim News Agency
With resurging violence, continued safe haven for terrorists in Taliban areas and a total lack of appetite from the Taliban for peace talks, it is difficult to see any progress since the original deal was signed last February. The Taliban’s flirtations with Tehran will also put Washington in a state of alarm. In trying to bide its time to gain the upper hand, the Taliban has rendered the deal useless and probably precipitated a prolonging of the US intervention it means to end.
But if there was ever a time to sue for peace, it is now. Afghanistan had a particularly difficult 2020, both by the standards of 2020 itself and by those of recent Afghan history. Nearly 3,000 civilians were killed in the ongoing civil war, and 5,500 were wounded. The figure is 21 per cent lower than 2019, but that macabre silver lining was washed away by a further 2,400 deaths from Covid-19.
Compounding the tragedy, the country is experiencing a surge of polio cases and an epidemic of violent crime in its largest cities. The continued operation of schools and universities was meant to be a steady contributor to social and economic progress, but the pandemic has closed them. Forty per cent of young Afghans, according to the UN, are out of school and unemployed.
Afghan lives and livelihoods are deteriorating quickly. If the parties to the peace talks continue to ignore this and cannot secure a ceasefire, then whichever of them wins the war will merely be king of the ashes.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
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Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
If you go...
Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.
Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
