How Bangladesh can engage in Afghan social development

Right after the US and NATO withdrawal, a significant power shift in Kabul is looming. Taliban is in the making of fresh diplomatic relations with regional and superpowers. 

In addition to the peace deal with Washington, Qatar and Pakistan-based Taliban representatives are traveling from Tehran to Moscow. It is also trying to strike a balance with Beijing. 

Beijing, on the other hand, is keen on expanding the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) into Afghanistan. Taliban refused to support separatists in Turkmenistan and Uyghur and has also denied connection with ISIS and Taliban Pakistan. 

This gives a message that the Taliban will work together to stabilise the situation in Central Asia. 

The force declared themselves as freedom fighters and expressed their new commitment to female education, social welfare and partner security. 

Once the complete military withdrawal of the US and the NATO soldiers is abided by, it assures of offering countries, development agencies and donor partners with Afghan reconstruction opportunities in a civilian form. 

After four decades of external occupation and an externally manipulated government set up in Kabul, the claim of the Taliban being the son of the soil is getting some ground. 

Yet they must prove themselves credible and trustworthy by parking their previous bad examples aside. 

Taliban must ensure its national integrity, equal access to education, health, housing, security and employment for all. 

Though the Kabul-based elite civil society of Afghanistan has a fatal intellectual and social disconnection with its suburban and mass rural population, the Taliban has to practice listening to the different opinion groups, the anxious urban youth, the women rights activist groups of the society and respect citizen rights calls. 

It must implement social justice and equity irrespective of ethnic tribal groups, irrespective of male and female. On the contrary, the foreign partners need to show due respect to their tribal ethnic culture and core Islamic values. 

The reconstruction of the new Afghanistan must be redesigned in a way that addresses the lessons learned from the four decade-long military and civil upheavals. 

The Islamic and the tribal values cannot be overthrown and the human rights aspects have to be adhered to. 

It's difficult to hanker after such a complex mix yet it's achievable as learning of the Afghan society is deeper now than ever. If this value mix becomes successful, a socially stable Afghanistan is not very far from now. 

In fact, the country has got a tremendous opportunity for transformation, restructuring its civil bureaucracy and adopting modern technology-based transparent governance systems.

If political stability is a near-future reality for Afghanistan, it is time for the neighbours to shape the pivotal way of participating in the mega restructure and mass reconstruction of Afghanistan that starts from scratch. 

Taliban or coalition, whoever wins the transition, Afghanistan needs massive social development, improvement in mass and female education, improved human development index and especially to fight mass poverty. 

This is where Bangladesh can play a vital role in bringing peace through social development to the people of Afghanistan. 

China might be the biggest development partner, yet China will focus on the macroeconomy, the mega structures and massive mining. 

Because of the historic rivalry, India will remain a bit on the backfoot. Though Pakistan is going to be one of the heaviest political and economic allies of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, too, can earn some opportunity in the coming Afghan reconstruction. 

In Afghanistan, Bangladesh might work with the Taliban under the shadow of Russia, China, and Pakistan. 

Yet Bangladesh is more experienced in dealing with socio-economic fields like elementary school construction, elementary school education stipend via mobile financing, community health clinic setup and primary health care, semi-skilled and skilled resource development, teachers doctors and nurse supply, small scale solar-based irrigation, child vaccination, rural sanitation, female health,  maternal safety, birth control and, last but not the least, micro-financing based social microeconomic development aspects. 

Bangladesh has tremendous experience of mobile financing-based social safety net implementation too. Moreover, it can exchange its knowledge of climate change combat with Afghanistan. 

In investing in such micro-economic projects, being a financial ally of Bangladeshi NGOs would be a better choice for both Pakistan and India. 

World's largest NGO Brac is already implementing various social development projects in Afghanistan and after the Taliban takeover, Brac might need to readjust its activities to adapt to the values of the new regime. 

There must be a win-win situation created for both parties. The development partners should not intentionally push any conflicted agenda into Afghan society, such attempts have proven to fail in Afghanistan. 

The Taliban are very sensitive to such colonial and occupational elements in the form of development.

Bangladesh might think of a few sectors. The first is the above-mentioned social development sector.  

Bangladeshi NGOs can conduct formal and informal primary education and poverty reduction programmes in Afghan villages. Teachers can also be trained and exchanged. 

NGOs can help establish satellite clinics to provide healthcare to the Afghan people, especially in remote areas. Women health, safe maternity and birth safety activities can be launched. 

The government of Bangladesh can help in the supply of potable water and the establishment of hygienic toilets. 

In addition, we can assist Afghanistan in developing the agricultural, poultry, fishing sector, developing irrigation systems at the local level, storing and distributing seeds, and promoting agricultural products. 

The experiences of mass agricultural production success can be exchanged. Over the past few decades, Bangladeshi private development agencies have made unprecedented improvements and skills. 

Bangladeshi model of social development is admired all over the world. This model is now being applied in many countries in Africa too. 

In case Bangladeshi NGOs would like to expand their microfinancing model into Afghanistan, they might rethink reforming traditional microfinance to shape it towards the Islamic way. 

Microfinance itself has to be accommodated with a grace period based on the sectoral needs of the marginal economy. The interest margin must be turned down; interest calculation must be fairer, easier and the loan premium collection process must be more people friendly. 

All the above-mentioned social development programmes have to be designed in a way that fits pretty well into the 17 SDG goals to be achieved by 2030. 

At the same time, the two country's private and public universities, technical and medical schools can initiate exchange programmes to expand the higher education base in Afghanistan.

If Afghanistan becomes fortunate enough to be a politically stable state, under the new regime or a coalition regime, the country must go through a lot of infrastructural development to rebuild the war-ridden infrastructure. Steel and cement companies can set up new fronts there. 

Bangladesh may also provide manpower to the mining industry. Physicians can go for the development of the health sector. Bangladesh itself can finance the implementation of various projects. 

The country's foreign currency reserves are quite good. Bangladesh can lend to Afghanistan in the same Chinese and Indian model in providing loans. 

For example, Bangladesh may lend a few billion dollars to Afghanistan which would be spent through Bangladeshi development agencies under the quality observation of multilateral observers like UNDP and UNESCO. 

The bottom line is that opportunities for establishing peace in Afghanistan must be pursued in the path of social development. 

Bangladesh will benefit in various ways from the implementation of social development and trade corridor in establishing tangible economic peace in Afghanistan. It will have a profound effect on its society too. 

Social development engagement might help in neutralising the elements of militancy, terrorism and extremism in Bangladeshi society too, it is believed that a few hundred Bangladeshi citizens worked with the Taliban in the recent past. 

These cadres must be neutralised and reemployed into peaceful works. 

Over the past decade, the Taliban has been at the centre of the spread of religious extremism in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Especially after the fall of the Northern Alliance government in Kabul at the hands of the Taliban in 1996, Taliban-style religious movements began to spread into other countries. 

In the current reality, for economic reasons, the Taliban will change its old strategy of supporting religious groups in different countries.

Even so, the Taliban have their own strategy in the changed situation and the development partners have a lot to do in scrutinising, tracking and tracing the Taliban's way of a peace settlement. 

On one hand, partners must appreciate the Taliban's right of ruling their own country, they have to offer tangible development opportunities. On the other hand, the Taliban's commitment must be strictly examined too. 

A secure and prosperous Afghanistan is the expectation of all of us in South Asia. To do so, we all must come forward with sincerity and at the same time work hard to ensure that Afghanistan does not lose its way again.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb is a Bangladeshi writer living in the Netherlands. He has authored 'Fourth industrial revolution and Bangladesh' and '50 years of Bangladesh economy.' He can be reached at faiz.taiyeb@gmail.com