TWO stark images released in the wake of the US departure from Afghanistan tell two very different tales. In the first, the commander of the US 82nd Airborne Division — said to be the last American serviceman to depart from Afghan soil — can be seen hurrying towards a waiting aircraft late Monday night. In another picture, taken on Tuesday morning, a beaming set of Taliban clerics, surrounded by fighters of the movement at Kabul airport, seem to be announcing their victory.

In pictures: Triumphant Taliban march on Kabul airport after US troops leave Afghanistan

Indeed the hasty US-Nato withdrawal and the Taliban’s lightning, and largely bloodless, takeover of Afghanistan serve as another cautionary tale to warn against the dangers of the Western penchant for nation-building and ‘civilising’ native populations. After two decades, thousands of lost lives and tens of billions of dollars, the Afghan Taliban are back in power, and their American opponents are on their way back home.

But beyond geopolitical lessons, there are very relevant questions about what lies ahead for Afghanistan. After all, during their last stint in power the Taliban enforced a brutal code influenced by their narrow interpretation of religion. This time around the armed movement says things will be different. Only time will tell. That many Afghans are fearful for their future is confirmed by the fact that in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, there was a mad rush to leave Afghanistan. But unsavoury as the Taliban’s precedents may be, it is also true that the Western-supported dispensation that has just been replaced was unable to run a clean administration, or provide security to Afghans. In fact, stories of corruption within Kabul’s corridors of power were rife, and the erstwhile Afghan government’s Western supporters were unable to plug the leaks. The Taliban, for their part, are not known to indulge in financial corruption, and have pledged to restore law and order.

Read: 5 challenges for the Taliban in Afghanistan

The challenge for the Taliban and their Afghan political adversaries now is to form an inclusive set-up that represents all the country’s ethnic groups, tribes and religious denominations. If the Taliban seek to create a state in their own image without bringing others to the table, Afghanistan may well slip back into civil war. All groups — Pakhtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and others, Sunnis, Shias, religious minorities etc — must have a say in the new Afghanistan. While it would be naive to assume the Taliban will give the green light to a liberal parliamentary democracy, a representative system grounded in Afghanistan’s religious and cultural realities — with safeguards for women’s and fundamental rights — is what is needed. The challenge before the Taliban and their Panjshiri opponents, therefore, is to reach a power-sharing agreement that can pave the way for peace in Afghanistan. Should this endeavour fail, Afghanistan will again collapse into chaos, creating more misery for the Afghan people, and giving terrorist groups like IS a chance to exploit the situation.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2021