Afghanistan’s situation increases concern among neighboring as well as European countries

The geographical location of Afghanistan is extremely crucial and that is the reason that neighboring and European countries are concerned about what will be the situation after the Taliban’s takeover of the nation. 

It was assumed that it would take the next four to five days for the Taliban to capture the whole of Afghanistan but it happened way quicker and that has further increased the concerns of the nations who are not prepared to tackle a disturbance in the region.

If things were to keep going the way they are right now then it is highly possible that Afghani people might flee to other countries increasing the refugee pressure on that particular nation. Regional capitals and European countries are also subtly criticizing the United States for leaving the nation in such a state. 

The American troops have been stationed in the country for 20 years and despite best efforts, Washington has failed to create a stable government in the nation for governing purposes that could operate without the support of the American military. There have been allegations of Pakistan for supporting the terror group but that has not left the nation empty of fears as it now fears a flood of refugees in its land. 

Because of the violence and infighting in Afghanistan, nearly three million refugees are already sheltered in Pakistan, which has already mounted pressure on the economy of the country. Now with additional refugees coming to the country, the pressure will increase more that would eventually lead to an economic meltdown for the country. 

Pakistan has a lot of influence on the Taliban. When it comes to the Taliban, there are not a lot of countries that the group listens to but fortunately for Pakistan, it is well under its ‘safe zone’. This is because the leadership of the group is based out of Pakistan since its regime was ousted in 2001 after the US-led invasion of the nation. 

Having said that, Pakistan has denied its support to the minacious militant group. The Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Quereshi spoke to his British counterpart on the same issue where he stressed that the “situation in Afghanistan required the international community’s consistent engagement with the Afghan leaders to ensure a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.”

These countries also fear that the Taliban is receiving funds from ultra-financial capitals such as China, which also supposedly have relations with Taliban leaders. It had also hosted Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar who is the chief political chief of the Taliban. Of Course, Beijing will like this arrangement better than when the US was in power at such an important geographical location. 

Turkey will definitely be impacted by the surge of refugees as already confirmed by its leader. Erdogan has already confirmed that ‘We are facing a wave of Afghan migrants through Iran.’ Austria’s foreign minister also had warned that the instability due to the surge of refugees might create instability in the region.