Explained: What does US troop withdrawal mean for Afghanistan?

United States has completed its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, two weeks after the Taliban effectively took over the country with the capture of Kabul on August 15. With the last plane carrying American troops leaving Afghanistan on Monday, the Taliban took control of the Kabul airport and marked the occasion with celebratory gunfire. “The world should have learned their lesson, and this is the enjoyable moment of victory,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a livestream posted by a militant, according to the Associated Press. More than 114,000 people, including 5,400 Americans, have been airlifted from the country in the past two weeks as part of evacuation efforts.

What Happens Next?

The Joe Biden administration is already dealing with the aftermath of the US exit from Afghanistan, with criticism of the hasty troop withdrawal amplifying after deadly bombing and gun attacks in and around the Kabul Airport last Thursday claimed the lives of over 110 people including 13 American troops. There are also concerns about the resurgence of the Kabul airport attack’s perpetrators, the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K). The group’s attempts to strengthen its foothold in the country could put in direct confrontation with the Taliban which has vowed to not allow the use of Afghanistan for “terrorist activities.”

The US and the Taliban could join hands against the “threat posed by Islamic State militants,” according to a Reuters report. But questions remain about how the two sides can “coordinate and potentially even share information” to counter ISIS-K.

America has carried out at least two drone strikes against ISIS-K with President Joe Biden vowing to hunt down the perpetrators of the Kabul airport attack.

ISIS-K, a sworn enemy of the Taliban, may already have used the “instability that led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government this month to strengthen its position and step up recruitment of disenfranchised Taliban members,” according to Reuters.

There are also concerns about the safety of tens of thousands of Afghans, such as those worked as interpreters with the US military, journalists and women’s rights activists, who have been left behind.