Anupama Nair
All I am hearing about, for the last few days is about Taliban capture of our neighbor Afghanistan. So, I thought why not write about them. What we need to understand is who are the Taliban and why they are feared across the world? As their capture of Afghanistan is making global news, read their story…
The Taliban, which meant “students” in the Pashto language, appeared in 1994 in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. It was one of the factions fighting a civil war for control of the country following the withdrawal of the forces of Russia and the subsequent collapse of the Afghan government. Its members were from so-called ‘mujahideen’ fighters who, with support of the United States, drove away Russian forces in the 1980s.
From south-western Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly extended their influence. In 1995 they captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran, and exactly one year later they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, overthrowing the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani who was one of the founding fathers of the Afghan mujahideen that had resisted the Russian occupation. By 1998, the Taliban were in control of almost 90% of Afghanistan. Afghans, who were tired of the excesses and infighting of the mujahedeen after the Russians were driven out, happily welcomed the Taliban when they first appeared on the scene. “Their early popularity was largely due to their success in stamping out corruption, curbing lawlessness and making the roads and the areas under their control safe for commerce to flourish”.
The Taliban also introduced or supported punishments in line with “their strict interpretation of Islamic law, such as public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers, and amputations for those found guilty of theft. Men were forced to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering burka”. The Taliban banned television, music and cinema, and disapproved of girls aged 10 and above going to school. They were accused of various human rights and cultural violations. One of the most famous incidents occurred in 2001, when the Taliban destroyed the famous Bamian Buddha statues in central Afghanistan, despite international outrage.
There were many who believed Pakistan was responsible for the creation of the Taliban but they repeatedly denied their involvement with the Taliban but there is little doubt that many Afghans who initially joined the movement were educated in madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan.
Pakistan was also one of the three countries, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that recognized the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan. It was also the last country to break diplomatic ties with the group.
The attention of the world was drawn to the Taliban rule in Afghanistan after the 2001 World Trade Center bombings in New York City. The Taliban were accused of providing a hiding place for the prime suspects Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda movement. On October 7, 2001, a US-led military coalition launched attacks in Afghanistan, and by the first week of December, the Taliban regime had collapsed. The group's, chief Mullah Mohammad Omar, and other senior leaders, including Bin Laden, evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world.
Many senior Taliban leaders reportedly took refuge in Quetta (Pakistan) from where they guided the Taliban. However, the existence of what was called the “Quetta Shura” was denied by Islamabad. Despite even higher numbers of foreign troops, the Taliban gradually regained strength and then extended their influence in Afghanistan, rendering vast tracts of the country insecure, and triggered violence in the country.
(to be continued….)
