RASC News Agency: A group of Polish and Afghanistani scholars gathered at an academic conference in Poland to discuss the current state of Afghanistan. Describing the country’s situation as severe, the participants asserted that Afghanistan has essentially been transformed into a prison under Taliban rule. Inmatieusz Kwagish, a professor at the Faculty of Iranian Studies at Jagiellonian University and a key organizer of the event, shared that the conference entitled “Assessing Afghanistan’s Situation” was a collaborative initiative hosted by Jagiellonian University and the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Kwagish emphasized that the purpose of the conference was to analyze Afghanistan’s ongoing changes across social, political, and economic spheres, as well as to assess the broader impact these transformations may have on regional and global security. He noted that similar Afghanistan-centered discussions will be held in the future to continue this critical analysis.
Marcin Krzyzanowski, an expert on Afghanistan affairs and a former diplomat, addressed the conference on the Taliban’s model of governance. He referenced Abdul Hakim Haqqani’s writings, which offer a formalized perspective on the Taliban’s governance approach. “While the Taliban resists direct comparisons to the Islamic Republic of Iran, their governance model clearly reflects elements adopted from Iran’s political structure,” Krzyzanowski stated.
In a related presentation, Bismillah Taban, a doctoral candidate in Security Studies, spoke on Afghanistan’s complex human rights landscape, widespread violations, escalating terrorism, and severe security threats. He argued that Afghanistan has become a strategic hub for terrorist organizations, creating a fertile ground for groups like Al-Qaeda to reestablish operations.
Taban explained that the Taliban are systematically revising Afghanistan’s legal and administrative frameworks along religious and ethnic lines, with the objective of marginalizing vulnerable ethnic groups, such as the Hazaras, and religious minorities like Hindus and Sikhs. Earlier, a United Nations rapporteur also expressed deep concern over Afghanistan’s deteriorating conditions, especially the worsening restrictions and challenges faced by Afghanistani women.
