Turkey seeking to gain foothold in Afghanistan

Mahmud al-Batakoshi

Turkey wants to gain a foothold in Afghanistan to serve a series of interests.

Most of these interests are linked to the Turkish element in the population of the restive state.

Afghanistan’s population contains Tajiks, Turkmen and Uzbeks.

Turkey also wants to serve its economic and trade interests and help its companies that do business with Afghanistan.

Vested Turkish interests in Afghanistan occur at a time there is regional and international rivalry over the country.

This is especially true after the Taliban took over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

In racing against each other for Afghanistan, regional and international powers take advantage of the Taliban’s desire to open up to the international community.

They are capitalizing on the movement’s aspiration to receive international recognition and legitimize its rule of the country.

It is important to note that Turkey did not hurriedly withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

The Turkish embassy in Kabul remained open, despite rampant unrest in the Afghan capital.

However, Turkey gave priority to the return of its nationals to their country. In this, Turkey acted differently from the United States and European countries that gave priority to the evacuation of their troops from Afghanistan.

Turkey’s desire to remain in Afghanistan was evident in remarks by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar who said his country would stay with the Afghan people as long as they want it.

These remarks were followed by others by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said the Taliban had asked Turkey to operate the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.