UNSC should intervene

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, July 4, 2021: Within a short period of 24 hours the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated markedly. The fighting between conflicting parties spread all over Afghanistan. The Afghan National Army and paramilitary forces show unheard resistance and valor. They waged  unheard counter-attacks against Haqqani network-led Taliban all over Afghanistan, killing and wounding hundreds of their front-line leaders.

The rise of anti-Taliban forces has been a phenomenon. Most probably, they are fighting an existential battle that demands a must-win result for survival.

Far in the North, the Northern Alliance of the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and the Hazara tribe foiled the Taliban’s attempt to take over the Mazar Sharif. The Taliban had to flee after losing hinders of their key fighters. However, the Taliban is advancing on other fronts. The latest statistics of the UN show that the Taliban controls now over 60 percent of the Afghan territories.

On the northern borders, the Tajikistan government puts its forces on alert; fearing a possible incursion of Taliban deep into its lands. Other Central Asian Republics took similar steps. In sum, all warring factions are now poised for a bloody and devastative civil war.

In such a scenario, the UN Security Council should immediately intervene to protect the unarmed and helpless civilians from imminent genocide.

The UNSC should take into account that there are six nuclear powers waging proxy wars in Afghanistan( US, Russia, India, China, Pakistan, and Israel). Please intervene now by initiating a peaceful dialogue between the warring factions under the UN umbrella.

The UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres should initiate a resolution in the UNSC that bans member-states from recognizing any possible government of the Taliban in Kabul, if it is installed by military means since the Government of Ashraf Ghani is the legitimate one in Afghanistan.

The resolution should also ensure the supremacy of the Afghan Constitution especially the rights of women and the protection of minorities. The latter is a matter of utmost concern since the Taliban is poised to commit genocide against them.