Afghanistan still struggles to recover from war trauma and rebuild amid an economic collapse exacerbated by sanctions, even though the United States completely withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending its military presence there after nearly 20 years.

The 20-year conflict caused incalculable damage to Afghanistan and its people. Over 174,000 Afghans, including more than 30,000 civilians, lost their lives during the war, and nearly a third of the population was displaced.

Despite the end of active conflict, Afghanistan's reconstruction faces immense challenges. The country urgently needs rebuilding, but U.S. sanctions and other economic pressures have made the task even more daunting, as they have led to a brain drain and severe constraints on Afghanistan's economic development.

In the wake of the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan, the White House froze the overseas assets of Afghanistan's central bank, worth more than $7 billion, and later claimed to allocate parts of the sum to U.S. victims of the September 11 attack, according to Xinhua.

In addition to freezing assets, Afghan political analyst Sayed told CMG that the U.S. also imposed unilateral sanctions on Afghanistan, which have worsened the country's already fragile economic situation.

Over the past two years, Afghanistan's economy has been characterized by a tumultuous downturn, with a staggering 26 percent contraction in real GDP, according to a report released by the World Bank in April.

Hussain, a dry fruit shopkeeper in Kabul, told Xinhua that "currently, turnover has declined by 50 percent."

"Over the past three years, we haven't had any benefit," he said.

Hussain added that due to the economic downturn, people's purchasing power has continued to decline, and prices have also fallen.

Najibullah Arman, an editor of a news organization, told Xinhua that the sanctions made it difficult for foreign capital to enter Afghanistan, resulting in large-scale investment projects being delayed.

Besides the worsening economic situation, Sayed noted that the 20-year war has taken a heavy toll on Afghanistan's younger generation.

Speaking of young people born 24 or 25 years ago, Sayed said that instead of being able to plan their lives, young Afghans do not know what they can do due to a lack of job opportunities, thus becoming a burden to their families.

Sayed went on to say that there are 300,000 to 400,000 disabled people in Afghanistan who have lost limbs.

According to data from the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than 1 million people in Afghanistan have a physical disability.

Meanwhile, public health authorities in Afghanistan have reported that half of the country's population struggles with severe mental stress. The statistics department indicates that 20 percent of Afghan citizens have a mental illness.

In Afghanistan, from a spiritual and psychological perspective, every child born until they grow up has been affected, Sayed said.