EP 63: What’s Next for Afghanistan?

The scene was reminiscent of one the world witnessed 46 years ago in Saigon.

But this time, the military plane flying from the roof of the US Embassy a few days ago was evacuating citizens from Kabul. 

Despite US President Joe Biden’s confident assurance the Taliban won’t overrun the US-backed government in Afghanistan they did just that. 

And so, the nation’s capital fell swiftly and after 20 years, the Taliban— known their ruthlessness during their reign in the 1990s—are back in power.

The Taliban of today have appeared to be more conciliator saying they didn’t want to make “any internal or external enemies.”

They also promised that women would be allowed to work and go to school.

They would be “very active in society but within the framework of Islam.”

A lot of these promises, of course, remain to be seen. 

What’s certain is that Afghanistan is in such a mess and the return of the Taliban will be implications on freedom and human rights within the country — a problem that’s all too real here in the Philippines.