Dr. Latif Pedram, leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) of Afghanistan and a former Member of Parliament Photo: Courtesy of Pedram

The situation in Afghanistan has entered a crucial phase after the US pulled out most of its forces and peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government remain at an impasse. As the deadline of August 31 for the full withdrawal of US troops draws closer, the "withdrawal of US troops has not ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan but only ended the longest war in the history of American hegemonic and occupying wars," Dr. Latif Pedram, leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) of Afghanistan and former Member of Parliament, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

Pedram said the hasty withdrawal of the US and NATO troops from Afghanistan as having left behind "a devastated land and political system tainted with blood and hatred." He believes that the former Soviet Union and the US both failed in the country, and hopes to see a constructive role of China in future economic and social reconstruction of the war-torn country.

The NCP of Afghanistan, registered in 2004, was regarded as the only major opposition party not linked to an armed group. Pedram, who served as a senator from 2011 to 2018, ran for presidency several times and won the fifth highest number of votes in Afghanistan's 2004 presidential election. As a political activist, Pedram called for lasting peace through dialogue and non-violent means.

Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

In a speech defending the US withdrawal last month, President Biden said the US had done more than enough to empower the Afghan police and military to secure the future of their people."What Afghanistan has inherited from US is poverty, a rising unemployment rate, the destruction of social services, the unprecedented increase in class distinctions, a wealth gap, the destruction of the middle class, a vast economic mafia network, an underground economy, increased cultivation, production and smuggling of drugs, addiction among more than 4 million young people, an ethnic war, the collapse of value in goods and commodities, the growth of a culture of corruption, money laundering, and deceit," Pedram concluded, as he listed the "US political legacy" to the country.

The explosion in the number of brothels, the collapse of individual morality, and prostitution, are parts of the American legacy in Afghanistan, he said.

The US also disappointed the Afghan people and ruined their faith in democracy, human rights, and civil rights, said Pedram. 

"The faces of American imperialism, and postmodern-colonialism, hidden beneath American democracy and human rights, were revealed. People's frustration with what is called American democracy and human rights is another part of American legacy in Afghanistan."

Taliban militants are seen inside the Ghazni city, eastern Afghanistan, Aug. 12, 2021. Taliban militants Thursday overran Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni province's capital city Ghazni, 150 km from the national capital Kabul, provincial council member Hasan Reza Yusufi said.Photo:Xinhua

The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals on Tuesday, making it nine fallen cities in five days.

Pedram recognized Taliban's "success," but felt there is no realistic hope for a ceasefire and called for more international community powers to help achieve peace in Afghanistan.

Diplomats from China, Russia, Pakistan and the US attended the peace talks at the extended Troika meeting held in Doha, Qatar toward a political solution for a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.

Insisting that Afghan affairs should be solved by Afghan people, China has played an active role in promoting peace talks in the country.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has stressed on July 28 that China, as Afghanistan's largest neighbor, has always respected Afghanistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, adhered to a non-interference policy in Afghanistan's internal affairs, and pursued a friendly posture toward the entire Afghan people. Afghanistan belongs to the Afghan people, and its future should be in the hands of its own people. 

Pedram said Afghan people welcome China and its Belt and Road initiative (BRI) which focuses on economic development and job creation. China's relationship with Afghanistan has always been based on being good neighbors, and respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In contrast, the US and India want to sabotage the BRI by supporting ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters in northern Afghanistan. For this and other reasons, the war in northern Afghanistan will be prolonged. The US is still pursuing insurgence, war, and instability in northern Afghanistan, according to Pedram.

He expects that China will step up its level of cooperation to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

"With the defeat and consequent withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, China can and should play a greater and more meaningful role. China should take an active part in the reconstruction and socio-economic development of Afghanistan, and even the political development and the construction of infrastructures in Afghanistan."