Afghans face hunger crisis, adding to Taliban’s challenges

Published Wednesday, September 1, 2021 | 6:29 pm

Updated 2 hours, 25 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The United Nations food supplies in Afghanistan could be depleted this month, a high-ranking official warned on Wednesday, threatening the challenges for the country’s new Taliban rulers who are trying to restore stability to a hunger crisis to expand decades of war.

About a third of the country’s 38 million people do not know whether they will eat something every day, says Ramiz Alakbarov, the humanitarian chief of the United Nations in Afghanistan.

The United Nations World Food Program has been bringing in food and distributing it to tens of thousands of people in the past few weeks, but as winter approaches and a drought persists, at least $ 200 million is urgently needed to continue feeding the most vulnerable Afghans. he said.

“The stocks of the World Food Program in the country will be used up by the end of September,” Alakbarov told reporters at a virtual press conference. “We will not be able to provide this essential food because we have run out of supplies.”

Previously, UN officials said that of the $ 1.3 billion needed for all of the relief effort, only 39% was received.

The Taliban, who took control of the country this week before US forces withdrew, must now rule a nation heavily dependent on international aid and in the midst of a deepening economic crisis. In addition to worrying about the food supply, civil servants have not been paid for months and the national currency is losing value. Most of Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves are held overseas and are currently frozen.

Khalid Payenda, Afghanistan’s former incumbent finance minister, on Wednesday described a country that is in a dangerously fragile state.

At Georgetown University in Washington, Payenda said the Afghan currency hadn’t crashed because the money exchange had closed. Its value could drop more than 100%, however, said Payenda, who described former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as withdrawn and paranoid prior to the Taliban takeover.

“I think the war put a heavy strain on his psyche and he viewed everything with suspicion,” said Payenda.

Part of the chaos reflects the speed with which the Taliban took control of the country. Payenda said he believed the previous government could have stayed for another two or three years because of pledges from international donors.

“I did not expect it to be so fast,” said Payenda. “Nobody really did that.”

Mohammad Sharif, a shopkeeper in the capital, Kabul, said stores and markets there had supplies, but rising food prices were a major concern.

“If the situation continues like this and there is no government to control prices, it will cause so many problems for the local people,” he said.

After the US withdrawal, many Afghans are eagerly awaiting how the Taliban will govern. The last time they were in power before being ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001, they imposed draconian restrictions, banning girls from school, restricting women largely to their homes, and banning television, music, and even photography.

But more recently, their leaders have tried to project a more moderate image. Schools have reopened to boys and girls, despite Taliban officials announcing that they will study separately. Women are out on the streets and – as always – wear Islamic headscarves and not the all-encompassing burqa that the Taliban used to demand.

The President of the United Nations Security Council said Wednesday that “the real litmus test” for the new Taliban government will be how it treats women and girls. Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, who holds the rotating presidency of the council, said protecting and promoting human rights for women “must be at the heart of our collective response to the crisis”.

The challenges faced by the Taliban in revitalizing the economy could give western nations a leverage if they press the group to keep its promise to form an inclusive government and guarantee women’s rights. The Taliban want to have good relations with other countries, including the United States.

Many Afghans fear that the Taliban will not keep these promises and fear that the country’s economic situation offers few opportunities. Tens of thousands tried to leave the country as a result of a harrowing airlift.

But thousands who had worked with the US and its allies, as well as up to 200 Americans, stayed in the country after efforts ended with the last US troops departing from Kabul International Airport shortly before midnight on Monday.

President Joe Biden later defended his handling of the chaotic withdrawal and evacuation efforts that resulted in attacks of violence, including a suicide bombing last week that killed 13 American soldiers and 169 Afghans. He said it was inevitable that saying goodbye to two decades of war would be difficult.

He said he was still determined to bring out the Americans left behind if they so choose. The Taliban have stated that they will allow people with legal documents to travel freely, but it remains to be seen whether commercial airlines are ready to offer a service.

Bilal Karimi, an official member of the Taliban’s office, said on Wednesday a team of Turkish and Qatari technicians had arrived in Kabul to get the airport back into operation. Alakbarov, the United Nations humanitarian officer, said the United Nations is asking for access to the airport so they can deliver food and other relief supplies directly to the capital.

The Taliban also have to deal with the threat posed by the far more radical Islamic State group, which is committed to the airport bombings. The Taliban have promised not to use Afghanistan as a base for attacks on other countries – a key US demand since the militants once housed the al-Qaeda leaders who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

After last week’s bombings, American officials said drone strikes targeted the Islamic State group’s branch in Afghanistan and that Biden had vowed to continue the air strikes.

Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday that it was “possible” that the US will have to coordinate with the Taliban on all counter-terrorism attacks in Afghanistan.

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Faiez reported from Istanbul and Lederer from the United Nations. Associate press writers Tameem Akhgar in Istanbul and Lolita C. Baldor and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this.

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More AP coverage on Afghanistan: https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan