'Religious scholars can raise their voice for Afghan women', says official

Since the fall of the Afghan government in August 2021, life has fundamentally changed for the people of the country. With 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, they make up one of the world’s largest refugee populations, according to the UNHCR.

Here in the UAE, over 17,000 evacuees have been hosted in Emirates Humanitarian City since September 2021, and many are still waiting to be processed by the US Embassy and its counterparts for resettlement in countries including the US, Canada, Switzerland and France. In neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, 2.2 million Afghan refugees are registered and another 3.5 million remain internally displaced, says the UNHCR.

Ajmal Shams, Vice-President of the Afghanistan Social Democratic Party, former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, and ex-advisor to former President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, said the situation in Afghanistan is not showing much signs of improvement, with the majority of citizens desperate to flee in search for a better life.

“The situation in Afghanistan is highly fluid contrary to the claims by the Taliban administration that stability has returned to the country. Given the current uncertainty, it is very unlikely that an inclusive government might be established in the country in the near future,” Shams told Khaleej Times in an email interview.

“Since the fall of the government in August 2021, people were hoping that a political settlement will end the conflict while preserving the state and institutions. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and everything turned upside down. It was truly a shock for most Afghans.

“Since then, life has been hard for absolute majority of Afghans. Virtually everyone is desperate to leave the country,” he added.

Shams said as the country faces an all-out economic and financial crisis, it is a question of survival for Afghans now and how the international community can do further to help the Afghan people.

“Hundreds of thousands of people have lost jobs and economic opportunities. The banking sector has collapsed. Afghanistan was largely dependent on foreign aid struggling to build its own economy. With the fall of government, the economy has been in free fall. Thousands of local businesses have closed down.”