Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
In the present scenario, 24X7, the whole world is glued to TV screens to get it updated on ‘Taliban in Afghanistan’. With Kabul’s fall at hands of Taliban for the second time in 25 years, images of their previous rule between 1996 and 2001 have come back to haunt people across the world. The Taliban have gained a reputation for brutality and enforcement of a harsh brand of Islamic justice in the five years they ruled until being toppled by invading U.S.-led forces in 2001. ‘Taliban’, which means ‘Students’ in the ‘Pashto Language’, one of the two official languages and widely spoken, emerged in 1994 around 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 Soviet Union and subsequent collapse of the Government. It originally drew members from so-called ‘Mujahideen’ fighters, who with support from the United States, repelled Soviet forces in 1980s. Within the space of two years, the Taliban had gained sole control over most of the country, proclaiming an Islamic emirate in 1996 with a harsh interpretation of Islamic law. The Taliban’s ideology has been described as combining an ‘Innovative’ form of ‘Sharia Islamic Law’ based on ‘Deobandi Fundamentalism’, combined with ‘Pashtun Social And Cultural Norms’ known as ‘Pashtunwali’, as most Taliban are Pashtun tribesmen. Deoband always preached a hardliner and exclusivist version of Islam based on a narrow literal interpretation of holy Quran as opposed to Syncretic Sufi Islam.
Our traverse on the timeline of Afghanistan reveals an interesting fact that Afghanistan never remained a stable state with any one on a power platter. Sikander the Great took three years to conquer Afghanistan; Britain even after three wars had to leave Afghanistan in 1919. The erstwhile USSR (1979-1992) failed to maintain its hegemony. The United States has to withdraw on the plea that it cannot send its generation to generation to protect Afghanistan. Earlier count of Kabul valley reminds us of many Kingdoms and dynasties ruling it. The 20th century reminds us of Habibullah Khan (Emir – Male Monarch), Amanullah, Muhammad Nadir Shah, Mohammad Daod Khan, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (Former Mujahidin leader) on power platter of Afghanistan. We witnessed the Soviet-Afghan war (1979), and ‘Operation Infinite Reach’ (American Cruise Missile Strikes in 1998) on Al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan. In 2001 ‘International Security Assistance Force’ was created to help Afghanistan in maintaining security with the purpose to train ‘Afghan National Security Force’. On 13 November 2001, after weeks of intense fighting with Taliban troops, the Northern Alliance entered Kabul. The retreating Taliban flee southward toward Kandahar. In 2013, the Afghan army took over all military and security operations from NATO forces after a U.S. soldier killed 16 Afghan civilians inside their homes in 2012 and then Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called for American forces to leave Afghan villages and pull back to their bases. In 2014, Ashraf Ghani became president of Afghanistan and U.S led NATO officially ended its combat mission in Afghanistan confining its role to train and advise Afghan forces.
The second takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban is like an old wine in a new bottle. Afghanistan will become a human rights problem. The Taliban have sought to present themselves as a more moderate force in recent years. Since taking over, they have promised to respect women’s rights, forgive those who fought against them and prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terror attacks. But many Afghans are skeptical of those promises and Taliban has reverted back to its brutalities as were common seen in the first phase of their power in Afghanistan. ‘Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’ reverted back to ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’. The elected President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan. The people are fleeing the country? They’re worried that the country could descend into chaos or the Taliban could carry out revenge attacks against those who worked with the Americans or the government. The rise of the Taliban will certainly destabilize the region. The Taliban’s fighting forces in northern Afghanistan include Uzbek and Tajik nationals, who have been involved in Islamist insurgencies in Central Asia. The Taliban has ties to jihadists from Xinjiang, China. It also includes within its rank large numbers of jihadists with viciously anti-Shia beliefs. To make things worse, the Taliban has close links with narcotics traffickers and other criminal cartels. A Taliban regime could again become a safe haven for extremists. However, the latest developments hold special significance for India because of Afghanistan’s proximity and also because of the historical relations between the two countries. As mentioned in the ‘Mahabharata’, Queen Gandhari, wife of Kaurva King Dhritrashtra of Hastinapur, was from Kandahar in Afghanistan. As it is just starting up, we have to wait for some time to pen down more on ‘Taliban in Afghanistan’.