KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – International ties with the Taliban will need to find a way to bring peace to Afghanistan, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Filippo Grandi said the world is facing a difficult election. He also called for an immediate end to the threat posed by Afghanistan’s violence and chaos against a Taliban-backed political mine.
“The international community must strive to be more inclusive, the need for Afghanistan to be strong and viable, and the political will that can mean supporting a Taliban-led government,” Grandi said.
The Taliban overthrew the US-backed Afghan government on August 15. Governments around the world will say they will not accept the new rulers in Afghanistan until a unity government is established.
Grandi said the agreement was urgently needed to avoid economic stagnation that could lead to violence and civil unrest. The already weakening economy in Afghanistan will devastate Afghan neighbors around the world, he said.
“It is urgent. This is not one of the development issues that one can discuss for five years before the end, but it will be necessary for everyone to agree, ”he said. “I think foreign countries need to change its strict rules on working with governments … and the Taliban should also be flexible.”
Grandi said he met with Taliban ministers and found them obedient. They talk to each other, and show that some may be more open to a simpler, more stressful approach than they used to be, he said. He also said that he would be judged by their actions.
Work to meet Afghanistan’s needs is being supported worldwide, he said, as evidenced by the $ 1.2 billion the UN received on Monday.
Grandi said support services should be provided as soon as possible so that people can be fed and sheltered, knowing that winter is fast approaching.
Although the rest of the world agrees to provide assistance to Afghanistan, the administrative crisis is huge in a country that does not have a working bank. Every day, tens of thousands of people gather outside banks in Afghanistan’s capital in hopes of securing the $ 200 per week allowance.
The UN has warned that by the end of the year 97% of Afghan people will live in poverty.
More than 3.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict in recent years and more than half a million last month alone. Many live in makeshift camps and parks in Afghanistan. Many families live in shelters under corrugated iron roofs.
At Shahr-e-Now Park in Kabul, 63 families live in difficult areas, many children are sick and the only portable toilet has already passed. Mothers wash behind the dirty curtain.
Things are getting worse as winter approaches, says Grandi, who is busy providing accommodation.
“The political crisis, the military, the change of government that has taken place has affected all people at a very difficult time, from years of insecurity,” said Grandi. “That’s why it’s hard now to deal with it.”