Electoral frauds dampen Afghan business prospects

Which picture of Afghanistan do you have? A mountainous landlocked country in central Asia; bordered by Iran to the west and Russia to the north and Pakistan to the east and south; impoverished and also ravaged by internal feuds and Islamic terrorists. Is it the same? Well, without a shred of doubt, you can have it; this has been the common picture of Afghanistan for decades. But the ill-fated or doomed country has another reality.

Afghanistan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and even though its economy and business have suffered to the largest extent ever since the 1979 Soviet invasion and subsequent conflicts, there have been signs of developments in the recent years. According to the World Bank, "economic growth has been strong and has generated better livelihoods" since 2001.

One of the key factors behind this praiseworthy development is the infusion of multi-billion US dollars as part of international assistance and investments, in addition to remittances from expats. It is also due to dramatic improvements in agricultural production and the end of a four-year drought in most of the country. Well, this was the common picture even a few months back but now it seems the erosion is on the rise once again.

The most crucial factor of this decline afresh is the poor security and ongoing indecision about the result of the presidential election run-off - or whether there will even be a run-off - and also of the character of a future government. Experts state emphatically that all have contributed to the stagnation.

There is no doubt that the electoral fraud and the subsequent uncanny developments have dampened the spirits of both intellectuals and the business fraternity in the country. Both confided the electoral procedure and hoped to return to normalcy bit by bit. This reality, as per many Afghans, does endanger both security and stability and stamps down the business prospects.