Name? Mohammad Yaqoob
Westphalian identity? Afghan
Age? 32
Why is he in the news? Recently, Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob has called on Tajik President, Emomali Rahmon, and Uzbek President, Shavat Mirziyoyev to return Afghan aircrafts to the Taliban government. The aircrafts were left in the bordering states when former Afghan officials escaped Afghanistan during the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Yaqoob’s aggression then followed a power collapse in Afghanistan as the supply of electricity temporarily dropped to 60% of the normal supply … we wonder why …
Why do we care? Well, the Taliban government signed an electricity deal with Tajikistan in December 2021 and the previous administration with Uzbekistan in 2019, Though Yaqoob and the Taliban government would like to see the return of Afghan aircraft, but should recognise that it’s dependency on regional electricity puts them at a weaker position.
Why should you care? Taliban officials still do not have access to the assets that were frozen by the World Bank before the takeover. Since Afghanistan already has an outstanding debt for their electricity consumption, the inability to pay alongside verbal aggression from Yaqoob may cause Rahmon and Mirzyioyev to cut Afghanistan’s supply for good. Since Afghan citizens depend on the mercy of their Tajik and Uzbek neighbours for the electricity you should care 5/10 about this standoff.
Who else cares? Russian President Vladimir Putin surely cares about the aggression and possible exacerbation of conflict on the Tajik-Afghan border, also the southern border of the Russian led Collective Security Treaty Organization. Putin has remained in contact with President Rahmon over the internal Taliban fighting, and in response the CSTO deployed 6,000 soldiers, allowing Putin to spread his influence.
Any further comments? To add further trouble, recent reports indicate that 95% of Afghans have insufficient food consumption. Let’s see how long the population is willing to take this and at what point Yaqoob’s government resorts back to violence as means of control.
