"The clothes of the government are too big for them": report as Taliban regime turns one year

Musa Qala, Afghanistan: Life in Afghanistan under Taliban is one of suffering and scarcity, a report by news agency AFP suggests as it offers woeful glimpses into the lives of people in Taliban's former southern capital of Musa Qala.

The dusty town with a shipping container bazaar where local economy, according to the report, survives barely on motorcycle repairs, selling poultry carcasses, and energy drinks in canisters.

The deprivation is widespread in this farming outpost with a seasonal river that connects the area to the world without; the area witnessed some of the bloodiest scenes of the 2001-2021 war as Taliban surged back to power following American withdrawal of troops.

Pain and suffering grip the ramshackle clinic in the area, after the Musa Qala District Hospital in Helmand province shut its doors "to all except those suffering from suspected cholera".

The clinic here, according to report, is jammed with weary patients with intravenous drips on their wrists. The clinic has no facilities to test for cholera as 550 patients came in with symptoms of the disease.

Blame the disease on the lack of basic sanitation including clean drinking water and sewerage system.

Drought and inflation, especially stemming from Russian invasion of Ukraine, has driven up poverty in the country which is felt keenly, according to the report, in the south.

One woman sitting on the hospital bed beside her malnourished six-month-old grandson was quoted by AFP as saying that since Taliban came into power " we" can't find cooking oil.

Mother of another patient reportedly said that not even a dry bread could be found.

Afghanistan's plight began well before August 15, 2021 when the Taliban captured Kabul on the heels of a hasty withdrawal of US-led troops and the collapse of the government they propped up, AFP said.

Taliban's takeover of the country pushed the situation to the extreme for 38 million people.

Banking in the nation collapsed after USA froze $7 billion in central bank assets.

Alongside, Afghanistan suffered worst after foreign aid which forms 45 percent of GDP was stopped.

Aside from helping the nation with humanitarian aid for instance during June earthquake, it is hard to provide assistance to a country whose government, renamed as "Islamic Emirate", is not recognized outside.

Roxanna Shapour of the Afghanistan Analysts Network raised the question when she was quoted as saying, "How do you provide assistance in a country where you don't recognise the government?"

Meanwhile, International Crisis Group's Graeme Smith reportedly said that the Taliban's repressive social policies made it difficult to arrive at a deal to unlock frozen assets.

The report quotes one man from Lashkar Gah making a parting shot when said that the clothes of the government are too big for them, a scathing attack indeed.