PESHAWAR: The Taliban entered Kabul on 15 August after taking over entire Afghanistan – except the Panjshir valley – within few weeks and promised that there would be “no revenge” as the “war has ended” in Afghanistan.
The Taliban now want the world to believe that they have changed and have expressed the desire to work with the international community. Major regional powers such as China and Russia have expressed the agreement of working with the group, if they protect human rights. It is now necessary to know who the Taliban are and how they emerged as the most dominated group in Afghanistan.
Who are Taliban?
In Pashto, Taliban means “students” who emerged in 1994 in Kandahar as one of the militant groups fighting to control Afghanistan after the Soviet forces were evicted from the country. Political analysts believe that majority of the fighters were the Taliban mujahedin who forced the former Soviet Union to flee Afghanistan with the support of Pakistan and United States in 1980s.
The founder of the Taliban was Mullah Muhammad Umar who went into hiding after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. Under his command, the group had taken control of the entire Afghanistan within two years of its emergence in 1994 and announced the establishment of the Khilafah with the enforcement of Islamic law.
But they were strongly criticized by the western world for violating the basic human rights, especially women rights to education and work. During the Talban era, Public executions and floggings were reported in the western media. It was also reported that music, films and western books were banned in the country. The political rivals and Western countries accused the Taliban taking back the country to the ‘stone age.’
They were recognised by only three countries – Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Washington imposed strict sanctions while the UN added the Taliban leaders into it black list. As most of the countries had no interest in recognizing the Taliban, four countries, including Pakistan, the Taliban regime.
After US attack
Following al Qaeda attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, Washington accused the hard-line Taliban of sheltering the al Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden. After the US attack, Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arab also withdraw their support for the group as US and the Northern Alliance and other anti-Taliban fighters entered Kabul.
After the US attack, the Taliban went into hiding but continued their armed struggle against the US forces and Washington backed government in Kabul for almost 20 years under the leadership of Mullah Omar. But in Omar’s son confirmed his death in 2013, two years after his death.
The group has now once again taken the control of the country and has expressed the desire to work with the international community. But the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that if the Taliban perpetrated atrocities and violated human rights, the international community will not work with the Taliban. However, other countries, such as China, have cautiously indicated that they can recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government.