The United States launched its Afghanistan war and toppled the Taliban regime after September 11 attack on the U.S. in 2001. While some progress has been made in economic development and other realms over the last seven years, Afghanistan is facing grim, stark challenges in endeavors to counter narcotics, and realize the domestic political reconciliation. And immense efforts still have to be made in this regard.
In the past seven years, Afghanistan has scored marked successes in economy, education, sanitation and other spheres with the help of the international community and painstaking efforts of its people. The country has reported a yearly double-digit economic growth rate in recent years. The Afghan government collected 700 million US dollars of taxes in the first half of 2008, a 20-percent growth year-on-year, with a likely marked rise in taxation for the whole year, according to statistics released by its Finance Ministry.
Moreover, a marked, substantial effect has been produced in the reform of the nation's education system. Today, 6 million children are in school, and about 40 percent of them are girls, and this is something unexpected during the era when Taliban was in power. And sanitation conditions have also greatly improved in the country.
To date, Afghanistan has initially set up an urban and rural sanitation network at the grass-root level, and Afghan patients, in general, are now accessible to basic medical treatment at home. Maternal and infant mortality rates have also declined by a big margin in the country.
Drug issue poses a grave threat to Afghanistan only next to terrorism. Afghanistan accounts for more than 90 percent of global illegal opium output. So, the resurgence of opium production in the country is linked in some ways to the resurgence of Taliban.
The informal meeting of NATO defense ministers held in Budapest on October 9, 2008 reached consensuses in principle on the involvement of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in combating narcotics in Afghanistan. This put an end to the previous practice, in which foreign troops did not partake in the fight against narcotics, and brought a better hope for promoting stability in Afghan society.
Political reconstruction in Afghanistan is the most important and the most complex link in its national reconstruction program. In early October, Afghanistan began vote registration for an incoming presidential election due next year, or the second-ever presidential election since 2001.
The voter registration for the presidential election is scheduled to be carried out in four stages in the next four months. For the first stage, voter registration will cover 14 provinces in the north, north-east and central highlands, where security situation has been relatively better.
President Humid Karzai reshuffled his government and dismissed five cabinet ministers in mid October. By reshuffling or transferring personnel at some government departments, Karzai has designed to improve the credibility and managerial capability of his government, and it reflects the aspiration of both the Afghan government and people to form a new team to advance their cause.
What deserves special mentioning here is that Afghan authority has been in frequent touch or contact with Taliban over recent months. It is of vital importance to the nation's future development and stability whether or not they can reach their political reconciliation,.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta conceded on October 23 for the first time a meeting hosted in Saudi Arabia between President Hamid Karzai's brother, some religious believers and senior Taliban figures. Meanwhile, President Karzai repeatedly said the door to peace talks remained open to those willing "to lay down their arms, renounce violence and accept our constitution." He appealed to Taliban to renounce resistance and throw themselves into Afghanistan's peace and development.
Talks could take place if they "give up their arms, renounce violence and pledge allegiance to the Afghanistan constitution," a U.S. State Department official also disclosed to media on October 28th.
Taliban, however, is apparently amid a process of heated bargaining with the Afghan government at present. Taliban insurgents have been in incessant clashes with the Afghan government troops and coalition forces in southern Afghanistan, and they often resort to terrorist attacks as a means to demand their high claims or terms. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in September this year that 1,445 Afghan civilians have been killed in the first eight months of 2008.
Only by fundamentally altering or putting an end to this situation, can a political reconciliation be ultimately brought about in Afghanistan and its national reconstruction have a solid, substantial basis.
By People's Daily Online, and its author is PD overseas resident reporter Meng Xianglin
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