In response to the humanitarian crisis triggered by their hasty and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan (“ Joe Biden sticks with August 31 deadline to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan”, August 25), the American and British governments have agreed to grant refugee status (with the myriad uncertainties that entails) to, in Britain’s case, 20,000 Afghans over five years. Consider that derisory number against Britain’s offer to settle millions of people from Hong Kong, who are relatively wealthy, far from mortal danger or being even unduly inconvenienced by political changes, with the promise of a clear pathway to citizenship. The British government, led by a prime minister who once likened women in burkas to letter boxes (one of his many well-documented slurs), with a foreign secretary who went AWOL when Kabul fell, and which controversially decided to cut overseas aid , gives the impression that immigrants from certain troubled countries, who are unable to support themselves financially, are an inconvenience, grudgingly tolerated and not truly welcomed. So much for “Global Britain”. Jim Francis, North Point No hope of progress in Taliban’s Afghanistan The Taliban’s re-emergence in Afghanistan will change the geopolitical paradigm in Asia and the Middle East. Afghanistan will increasingly be in the news as an emerging hotspot of repression, along with the likes of North Korea and Belarus. The Taliban will rule imperiously, with neither elections nor public sanction. Despite tentative reassurances, women will not be permitted to study or work. Erstwhile government and army members could be targeted in vengeance. Religious indoctrination will be the norm. Free thinking will be penalised. Afghanistan will continue to be the playground of superpowers. The United States, Britain and Russia, having burned their fingers dealing with the Taliban in the past, will prefer to make manoeuvres from the shadows, rather than engage directly or militarily. The country needs rail links, roads, bridges, airports, electricity and military capabilities. China, with its economic aggrandisement agenda, may pamper the Taliban by funding these projects. China will step into the vacuum left by the US. The Taliban will be mesmerised by Chinese promises to strengthen the infrastructure in Afghanistan. However, knowing the Taliban, they will accept all the infrastructure gifts but tolerate no ideological intervention. Pakistan is gleeful at the Taliban’s reinstatement. This is unfortunate, given that it should focus on its own economic agenda. India is rightly concerned by the developments in the region. The last time Afghanistan was under the Taliban, it became a safe haven for violent and anti-Western movements. Large numbers of mujahideen (guerrilla fighters) will move again from Afghanistan to the borders of India, near Kashmir. This could affect India’s development agenda. Comparing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan with the fall of Saigon in 1975 is superfluous. When the US left Vietnam, the Viet Cong led by Ho Chi Minh swiftly dominated and 40 years on, Vietnam is an emerging economic power. The Vietnamese put their agony behind them to build a new future. No such hope exists in Afghanistan. With the Taliban in power, expect regression, not progress. Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai