The Taliban may crack down harder if Afghan people protest, warns journalist Ahmed Rashid

Will the Taliban be able to maintain control over the entire country of Afghanistan if the ongoing hunger and economic crisis worsens?

Civil disobedience is likely to expand from women's protests to widespread unrest, said journalist Ahmed Rashid, especially if humanitarian aid only reaches the hands of Taliban loyalists and the country’s urban elites.

“It's going to be much more easy for the opposition to organize unrest in the cities demanding food and services," said Rashid, author of Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil & Fundamentalism in Central Asia.

"The Taliban are going to use probably harsher and harsher methods to deal with that, and that, of course, will create its own snowballing crisis.”

Rashid spoke during an interview with Ian Bremmer for GZERO World.

Watch the GZERO World episode: Taliban 2.0: Afghanistan on the Brink (US AWOL)