Anas Haqqani made the remarks as the Taliban marked a year since they seized Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and regained control of the country following a US-led withdrawal following a 20-year campaign. International funding to Afghanistan was later suspended and billions of dollars of the country’s foreign assets were frozen due to human rights abuses and the Taliban’s stance on issues such as women’s rights. Asked whether it would be a good idea for his government to compromise on issues such as allowing girls to have secondary education in exchange for aid, Mr Haqqani said: “On education, the Islamic Emirates has made its decision clear to everyone that this issue is one of many unfinished issues in the ministries. “This part of the education sector needs to be worked out and completed, like all other unfinished projects in other ministries. “Half the process is operational and as you can see, universities are open, schools are open for girls up to sixth grade and you can see in other provinces that schools are open for girls up to ninth grade. “There is no politics involved with this, and over time this issue will be resolved. We want the international community and other institutions not to use it negatively or use it against us, and it should not be a condition for aid.” Haqqani also said the country’s economy was in bad shape before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, adding that it “only benefited those in power who were sucking the blood of the Afghan nation.” He continued: “You cannot find a single hospital with all the facilities and quality services despite the billions of dollars that the international community and NATO countries have given to Afghanistan. “(The health care) is not at par with Pakistan and Iran, our Afghans still go to these counties for their medical care. And that’s because of the brutal economic system they’ve had for the last 20 years, and they should not to call it a quality economic system, but to call it a brutal economic system.”

Haqqani says the new guard understands that changes need to be made… but it will take time

The Taliban are often accused of wanting to impose a ninth-century interpretation of Islam on the people of Afghanistan, and certainly in the 1990s this was the case. But, 20 years later, the organization changed. Many of the fighters were babies when the war began, growing up with smart phones and computers, in a society full of Western products, advertising and television. It doesn’t mean that the old guard has changed much, but some of their leaders are different and recognize that things need to change – Anas Haqqani is one of them. He is 28 and a member of the Haqqani family, a family derided by the United States as a criminal network but a huge force in the Taliban. For Anas Haqqani to suggest a possible shift to a more liberal stance on girls’ education, he needs to frame it in language that at least the old guard can follow. In this Sky News interview, Haqqani acknowledges that girls’ education and international aid, and the unfreezing of the country’s assets, are linked.
But it basically tells the West that the new guard understands that change needs to happen and that it will happen, but it will take time.
Likewise, it recognizes that when it comes to the economy, health and well-being of the entire country, there is no time.
So he is asking the international community to trust the young guard, to separate the issues, to help with aid and development projects, to lift the civilian population out of abject poverty and to trust that the new guard will get through to education.
It’s a big ask for countries like the United States and Great Britain in particular, but there is a growing consensus around the world, from governments to NGOs, that the ordinary people of Afghanistan must not be allowed to die in huge numbers this winter because of a conflict between the Western powers and a religious organization that financially cannot offer anything to those who rule.
Haqqani spoke to Sky News as a damning new report said the US-led withdrawal from Afghanistan was carried out without planning, descended into “chaos and confusion” and led to “tragic but avoidable results”. The US withdrawal led to the sudden mass evacuation of thousands of displaced Afghans. Read more:Taliban still celebrating a year after taking control of Afghanistan Kabul evacuation happened in ‘chaos and confusion’ with ‘tragic but avoidable results’, damning report claims One year after Taliban takeover, crisis hits Afghanistan’s largest children’s hospital Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Taliban taking control of the country, Haqqani said: “This is a proud day for us, we have achieved everything that other nations in the world celebrate on their Independence Day, and today we have this day. “This is our absolute right and we waged Jihad to achieve this. “We paid a very high price for this achievement, we were innocent and did not interfere in other national and internal matters, but we were invaded and we achieved our rights.” Subscribe to Out Of Afghanistan on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Spreaker