Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, April 25th, 2024

Withdrawal - Negative Impacts Must be Countered

At international level, certain vital decisions are yet to be taken for the good future of Afghanistan. But until those decisions are in place, serious concerns over the security and economy of Afghanistan will remain high. The Afghan economy is really going to suffer negative changes as a result of international withdrawal. What will be the fate of security and economy of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of international community is still quite vague. At the same time one can not be optimistic about economic stability of Afghanistan after the international community withdraws.

Currently the Afghan economy is greatly (91 percent according World Bank) dependent on the foreign aids. In the last 10 years, the US alone has provided about dollars 19 billion civil aids to Afghanistan. In June, a US congressional study warned that Afghanistan could be left in the midst of a "severe economic depression" after the 2014 pullout.

The same study found that roughly 80 percent of the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) funds are spent in troubled Southern and Eastern Afghanistan, but that most of those funds have been poorly spent on short-term stabilization projects instead of longer term development initiatives designed to promote growth.

The world is eyeing the upcoming Bonn II conference, as some critically important decisions are to come out of this conference. Indeed, this would be the last chance for the international community to save Afghanistan. In Bonn II, the negative impacts of international troops' withdrawal on the security and economy of Afghanistan should considered and ways to address those impacts should chalked out.

Kabul and Delhi recently signed an important strategic deal. Though accompanied by some serious complaints from neighboring countries, the deal is expected pivotal as the Western countries are reducing their roles both on military and economic fronts. At such a time, Afghanistan would be expecting positive roles of regional countries.

An Afghan-US strategic partnership that will be agreed upon soon will put US presence in Afghanistan into a formal framework. Other Western countries have also offered long term agreements to the Afghan government. These deals are undoubtedly are 'a must' for Afghanistan in the long run.