The Taliban movement ruling Afghanistan has unsuccessfully demanded recognition of its international status. Now Russia is getting closer to the Islamic extremism.
Afghanistan is one of the most unlikely places to visit in the world.
Still, there are plenty of daredevils. About 7,000 tourists visited Afghanistan recently. Few visitors are crisis tourists or individual, mostly Asian groups. The number of tourists is reported, among other things, by the news agency AP.
If the situation in Afghanistan were better, there would be enough people coming to the country of mountainous landscapes and rich cultural heritage. The security situation is bad, poverty is huge, there is no functioning infrastructure, the plight of women and girls is getting worse.
However, that doesn’t stop the country’s current rulers from trying.
The Taliban, who currently rule Afghanistan, are under sanctions and are suffering from financial difficulties. Aid organizations mostly withdrew from Kabul after the movement came to power in August 2021.
This video from the news agency Reuters shows the street scene in the capital, Kabul, before the Taliban regime tightened its command. Nowadays, women have to cover their faces completely and they cannot move around the city for longer distances without an escort.
Statue bombers as tourist guides
During the numerous wars in Afghanistan, immeasurably valuable cultural heritage has been destroyed.
The Taliban itself is also guilty of destroying archaeological monuments. Tailban blew up the Buddha statues declared as a UN cultural heritage site. The statues, dating back to the 5th century, are the most famous tourist attraction in central Afghanistan.
Now, outsiders rarely come to the area. Guards and guides are now members of the movement that blew up the statues. They talk about it, among other things BBC and Qatari Al-Jazeera-channel.
Russia removing the Taliban regime from the terrorist list
The Taliban regime has not received the international recognition it sought.
The former Soviet Union waged a ten-year war against Afghan tribal chiefs in 1979-1989. Russia has declared the Taliban regime a terrorist organization.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it will remove the Taliban organization from the list of terrorist organizations. According to the Russian state news agency Tassi, the decision was made at the “highest level”.
The Asian power China is also quietly maintaining relations with the Taliban regime. Although Beijing has not officially recognized the Taliban regime, it has maintained an embassy in Kabul. China provides economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.