Americans stunned as the Taliban cope well, even offering welcoming flowers

Thousands of Afghan citizens, expelled by the Islamabad government, have already passed through the Torkham crossing on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The forced deportation action could potentially still affect up to roughly 3 million individuals. However, the anticipated humanitarian disaster due to the rapid influx of refugees has proven to be an exaggeration. The Taliban are adept at managing this migration wave.

Reporters from the Washington Post visited the camps prepared for Afghan refugees coming from Pakistan. Expecting the worst at the site, they found order, food rations prepared for the newcomers, and soldiers celebrating the arrivals' return home with floral garlands.

Several Afghans – having been forced to leave their homes in Pakistan following an October directive issued by the government there to expel all without official residence permits – had never been to their parents' war-ravaged homeland. The Pakistani decree was shocking.

A lot of Afghans fled abroad during the Soviet invasion years from 1979 to 1989. Another migration wave started in 2021's summer when the Americans evacuated Kabul and the Taliban, who shut down schools for girls, sent women home from workplaces, outlawed music, and seized power.

In November, those who have lived in Pakistan for decades, or even for 1.5 years, owned houses, and earned incomes had to pack their belongings and leave for an unfamiliar place hastily. They were expecting horror.

Washington Post correspondents, examining the conditions in displacement camps prepared for the displaced people, were impressed by the thoughtful organization and coordination of aid. Refugees were welcomed with posters of positive messages, a sufficient supply of food, and readily available trucks at the border for people and their possessions to transport. There were free tents, and every arriving family received aid worth $140.

The deportations are benefitting the Taliban government. Whereas Islamabad's frustration due to increasing attacks by religious fighters hiding in the Afghanistan border mountains is cited as the cause, it is merely a pretext. The Pakistani campaign actually aims to pressure the Afghan leaders to tackle these fighters. However, the Afghan authorities deny offering them shelter.

The Taliban, on the other hand, now perceive a rare opportunity to portray themselves as a government capable of efficiently handling a serious humanitarian crisis.

United Nations bodies, including the World Food Programme and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are also providing help at the border. Nonetheless, the Taliban are demonstrating complete control over this vast human flow.

Soldiers on pickups are patrolling tent cities, where temporary mobile phone towers have been installed, and Afghan telecom operators are distributing free SIM cards. “We led the jihad so we could one day serve our nation. The last few days have given us a chance to prove who we are,” Mohammad Adnan Junudi, a 38-year-old military official responsible for reception operations on the Afghan side of Torkham, who joined the Taliban over a decade ago and was even imprisoned by US forces, admitted to the Washington Post.

In recent weeks, Pakistan has made some concessions to international criticism. People awaiting resettlement to countries other than Afghanistan are not being rushed to pack; authorities allow them more time. However, if Pakistan continues pushing for the Afghans' departure, it might put a massive burden on Afghanistan's fragile economy.