Afghanistan’s leadership must stop blaming external enemies and address its internal failures to achieve stability and progress.

Afghanistan’s leadership has long portrayed the nation’s crises as products of external meddling. From economic collapse to entrenched insecurity, the narrative casts an ominous shadow of blame on foreign actors—whether neighboring powers, international sanctions, or covert interference. However, these claims unravel as a distraction when scrutinized, steering focus away from Afghanistan’s urgent internal dysfunctions.

At the core of Afghanistan’s struggles lies the weight of international pressures and a history of mismanagement, factional rivalries, and leadership failures. Independent analyses, including accounts from former officials, expose a government riddled with infighting and disarray. The country’s leadership projects an image of unity, yet the reality tells of clashing ideologies and competing factions undermining governance. These divisions amplify the Taliban’s failure to address the country’s most pressing issues.

The economic collapse is perhaps the starkest symptom of this dysfunction. While international sanctions and the lack of formal recognition for the government are undeniable obstacles, the roots of the crisis extend much deeper. The Taliban’s restrictive policies have alienated the private sector, stifled entrepreneurship, and widened the chasm of poverty. Corruption, opaque financial systems, and the exclusion of skilled professionals from critical roles have exacerbated these issues, leaving Afghanistan trapped in an unsustainable cycle of aid dependency and economic stagnation.

The political landscape offers no reprieve. The Taliban’s refusal to build an inclusive government or engage meaningfully with minority communities and opposition groups has further splintered Afghan society. These entrenched divisions fuel resistance movements and deepen distrust, creating a vicious cycle of instability. Afghanistan’s turmoil stems as much from internal failures as from any alleged external plots.

Yet, the Taliban’s rhetoric persists. Blaming foreign actors—whether the United States, regional powers like Pakistan, or “Western imperialists”—has become a convenient deflection. This narrative resonates with a population familiar with external intervention, allowing leaders to dodge accountability for domestic failures. It’s a tactic as old as Afghanistan’s modern history: the specter of “foreign enemies” used to justify economic woes and political unrest.

This strategy serves dual purposes: shielding the Taliban from scrutiny while obscuring the real sources of dysfunction. But it is a short-term political maneuver with long-term consequences. By avoiding accountability, the Taliban delays the sweeping structural reforms that could address its economic paralysis and political fractures.

These internal failures are not just political abstractions—they have devastating real-world consequences. The lack of a competent, inclusive government and the erosion of the rule of law are manifesting in rising poverty, unemployment, and a worsening humanitarian crisis. The question looms: Why does the Taliban persist in blaming external forces while neglecting the internal dysfunction at the heart of the nation’s plight?

Blaming “enemies” is not a solution but a smokescreen. Afghanistan’s leadership faces a choice: continue deflecting blame or confront the governance failures perpetuating its crises. The obsession with external threats distracts from the urgent need for reforms that prioritize competence over ideology, inclusion over division, and accountability over evasion.

The Afghan people deserve better than a narrative of perpetual victimhood. They deserve leaders who acknowledge the nation’s internal divisions and work tirelessly to bridge them. Afghanistan can begin its journey toward stability and prosperity through responsibility, inclusivity, and vision. Until such leadership emerges, the fixation on “enemies” will serve only as a delaying tactic, prolonging the nation’s suffering.