Written by: Rahimullah Takal
Mujeb-ur-Rahman Rahimi, the former spokesperson for the fallen republic’s executive branch, once again opposed baseless statements, just as he did in the past. He said the current Afghan government is sacrificing Afghanistan’s national interests for foreign armed groups. These statements, ostensibly made in defense of national interests, are in fact a repetition of a discredited and failed narrative; a narrative that is repeated by failed figures of the Republic for personal and political goals, but the truth is different. A country being sacrificed for the interests of foreigners is not just a matter for one person or group, but a much broader discussion.
Rahimi wants to hide the sun with two fingers and feign ignorance; he wants to accuse the new Afghan government of supporting foreign groups instead of national interests and promote the agenda of a neighboring country, but he doesn’t mention how Afghanistan was trampled underfoot during the fallen republic in the joint games of the US, NATO, and their allies, which resulted in the country’s occupation, administrative corruption, injustice, and human rights crimes. Those who benefited from foreign aid and positions, budgets, and special privileges within the system during the fallen republic are now trying to whitewash that failed era again.
Foreign interests become dangerous when they conflict with the will of the nation and national interests. During America’s twenty-year presence, most decisions were implemented at the discretion of Washington and other foreign powers, without the Afghan nation’s input. Rahimi and similar figures are now campaigning against the government in the name of national interests, but the people will not forget that the country suffered from wars, corruption, and foreign influence due to the policies of these very individuals. They were giving a veneer of legitimacy to the American occupation at that time, and now they are doing the same for Pakistan’s aggression. In fact, Afghanistan was sacrificed to foreign interests when people like Rahimi, driven by a thirst for power, descended upon the nation riding on foreign tanks.
The new Afghan government is not like the fallen republic; everything is clear. During the fallen republic, Afghanistan’s national sovereignty remained a symbolic term. The government itself legitimized the violation of the country’s sovereignty, considered foreign invaders to be in its favor, and there wasn’t a year or month that Pakistan didn’t bombard Khost, Paktia, and Kunar provinces with artillery and missiles, but no one responded throughout the entire twenty-year period. Everyone saw what the new government did. During the republic, officials claimed at conferences and meetings that more than twenty groups were active in the country, but currently, there are no other parties or groups in the entire country beside the central government. Rahimi and people like him were part of the same administration that supported foreign occupation and collapsed due to internal corruption, duplicity, oppression, bribery, and ethnic rivalries.
People’s expressions on social media are very clear; many Afghans are no longer fooled by the words of political figures who previously implemented foreign agendas. People responded to Rahimi on social media with very harsh tones, calling him part of the former occupation and a conscience-selling human. They said he and his ilk were no longer fit to speak and offer opinions in politics, and they also used the words “despised,” “hated,” and “escaped” for him. The nation believes in reality over false and propagandistic claims. They are seeker of work, stability, and national independence.
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