Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar said the United States and the Taliban deliberately ignored binding obligations in the 2020 Doha Agreement, arguing that the collapse of Afghanistan’s republic was a preventable disaster.
Speaking at an online Global Refugees Organization event ahead of the Taliban’s fourth anniversary in power, Atmar said only one of the agreement’s four commitments — the withdrawal of foreign troops — was fulfilled. The other three, he said, were never implemented: counterterrorism efforts, intra-Afghan peace talks and the creation of a new Islamic government alongside a permanent cease-fire.
“Both sides to the agreement deliberately ignored their binding commitments,” Atmar said.
Atmar also blamed Afghanistan’s former government and political leaders for the fall, accusing them of betraying the Afghan people through personal interests, division and corruption. “They were the main cause of the collapse of the republic,” he said. “Perhaps now is the right time to demand accountability from Afghanistan’s political and state leaders. I belong to a group of politicians ready to voluntarily participate in such a process.”
Maisam Nazari, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front, told the meeting that after four years, the Taliban still show no interest in forming a government based on the will of the people. “Even within the Taliban, one faction has sidelined the others and has no intention of returning to the negotiating table to form an inclusive and legitimate government,” he said.
Former ambassador to Norway Shukria Barakzai used the forum to highlight what she called widespread human rights violations under Taliban rule, particularly against women. She described women being illegally detained, assaulted and tortured simply for protesting and demanding basic rights such as education, work and public participation.
Atmar also warned that the mass deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan could destabilize the region in the long term, leave women under a repressive regime and expose young people to recruitment in Taliban-run religious schools.
