4.3.1 Taliban History
Afghanistan is a devoutly Muslim nation -90% of its people are Sunni Muslims
with the remaining minority are Sufis and Shiites. Religious schools were
established after Islam was introduced in the country in the seventh century
and the Taliban became an important part of the social fabric: running schools,
mosques, shrines, various religious and social services, and serving as
mujahideen when necessary.
The Taliban were one of the mujahideen ("holy warriors" or "freedom fighters") groups that fought during the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979-89). After the Soviet forces left, the Soviet-backed government lost ground to the mujahideen. In 1992, Kabul was captured and an alliance of mujahideen set up a new government.
Many Afghans, weary of conflict and anarchy, were relieved to see corrupt and often brutal warlords replaced by the devout Taliban who had some success in eliminating corruption, restoring peace, and allowing commerce to resume. However, the various mujahideen factions did not cooperate and fought each other. Afghanistan was split in territories held by competing warlords.
The Taliban, under the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Omar, brought order
through the institution of a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic
law. Public executions and punishments became regular events. Frivolous
activities, like kite flying, were outlawed. To root out "non-Islamic"
influence, television, music, and the Internet were banned. Men were required
to wear beards, and subjected to beatings if they didn't. The Taliban forbade
girls to go to school and working outside their home; this produced a crisis
in healthcare and education services. Women were also prohibited from leaving
their home without a male relative -those that did risked being beaten,
even shot, by officers of the "ministry for the protection of virtue
and prevention of vice."
Most of the Taliban's leaders were educated in refugee camps in Pakistan,
where they had fled with millions of other Afghans after the Soviet invasion.
Funds and scholarships provided by Saudi Arabia during the occupation brought
the schools' curricula closer to the conservative Wahhabi tradition. Ties
between the Taliban and these schools remain strong.
Although the Taliban managed to re-unite most of Afghanistan, they were unable to end the civil war that continued until the end of 2001. The Taliban's strongest opposition came from the Northern Alliance movement, which held the Northeast corner of the country (about 10% of Afghanistan). While the Taliban were mostly Sunni Muslim Pashtun, the Northern Alliance includes Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbeks, and Turkmen. The Hazara, and some other smaller ethnic groups, are Shiites. The Ismaili community also supports the Northern Alliance.
Only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates recognized the
Taliban regime as Afghanistan's legitimate government. After the September
11, 2001, terrorist attack on the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut diplomatic
ties with the Taliban.
The Taliban allowed terrorist organizations to run training camps in their
territory and, from 1994 to at least 2001, provided refuge for Osama bin
Laden and al-Qaida. The relationship between the Taliban and bin Laden was
close, even familial -bin Laden fought with the mujahideen and has financed
the Taliban; one of his daughters is married to Mullah Muhammad Omar. The
United Nations Security Council passed two resolutions, UNSCR 1267 (1999)
and 1333 (2000), demanding that the Taliban cease their support for terrorism
and hand over bin Laden for trial.
The Taliban's relationship with Pakistan has always been complicated. A high percentage of the Taliban are ethnic Pashtun and the Pashtun are a sizable minority in Pakistan where they dominate the military forces. Public support for the Taliban runs very high in the Pashtun North-West Frontier province where pro-Taliban groups have staged uprisings and sought to emulate Taliban practices by performing public executions and oppressing women.
In September 2001, following the terrorist attacks, the US asked the Taliban to turn over Osama bin Laden and the senior al-Qaida members. On October 7, after the Taliban refused to agree to the American requests, the US began bombing Taliban military sites, while the Northern Alliance moved south doing the fighting for the Americans. By November 21, the Taliban had lost Kabul, and by December 9 had been completely defeated.
Many Taliban's most radical leaders and supporters were killed, taken prisoner, or fled the country. Later on, however, many former Taliban returned to their home, to continue working for the Taliban's goals. Moderate Taliban leaders representing religious, ethnic, or regional factions may re-emerge on the political scene, but the more radical have chosen to fight the new government.
4.3.2 Taliban at the end of the 20th century
The Afghanistan people are mainly Muslim but they belong to different tribes
or ethnics:
- The Pashtun, living in the south, are the majority (42%).
- The Uzbeks (9%), Tajiks (27%) live in the north.
- The Hazaras (9%) are mainly Shia Muslins but there are also some Sunnis.
They live in poor central Afghanistan.
- Aimak (4%). They are of Mongolian origin and Sunni Muslims. They live
in the North/North West Afghanistan.
- Turkmen (3%). They live in North East Afghanistan.
- Baloch (2%). They live in Western Afghanistan.
- Others (4%).
After occupying Afghanistan for about ten years, the Russians finally reluctantly left in 1989. The various Afghan tribes or ethnic groups started to fight among themselves and against the Communist regime imposed by the Russians. When this government was overthrown in 1992, the Northern tribes, grouped together in what became known as the "Northern Alliance", took Kabul, looted it, destroyed what was left, and killed a large number of people. Inside the Pashtun tribe, a group of younger men called "Taliban" organised themselves, and fought the Northern Alliance. They took over Kabul in 1996 and most of the country with the exception of the northern part, at the end of 1996. The Taliban were fundamentalist Muslin, and they imposed the Koranic Law on the country.
The women were their first victims; very soon they were obliged to wear the burka, a cloth that covers them from head to toes; they could not work outside their home; they could not leave their house unless they were accompanied by a close male relative. The men, on the other hand, had to grow long beards, and to live according to the Islamic law. This led immediately to a total collapse of the economy, and the people became poorer and poorer. Moreover, since the Taliban were preaching the Holy War (Jihad) against all the nations that did not follow the Islamic law, the international community broke all political relations with them until, finally, their only embassy was in Pakistan. The Taliban went as far as destroying all statues, including two ancient worldwide-known Buddha statues in Bamian province. The whole world, the United Nations, and the OCSE asked the Afghan authorities to desist in their intent but without success. Both statues were blown to pieces.
The Taliban were not popular anywhere in the world, and only the fundamentalist Muslims approved their behaviour. The Taliban saw in Osama bin Laden, himself a fundamentalist Muslim, the true defender of Islam. Many joined him and his al-Qaida organisation to fight the Holy War in the name of Islam.
The Taliban were the rulers of Afghanistan at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and Washington DC by the al-Qaida organisation. The USA wanted to punish and destroy Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. The Taliban had accepted them as permanent guests in their country and refused to hand them over. As a result the US and its allies -mainly Britain- first bombed, and then invaded Afghanistan. The war lasted only a few days due to the huge difference in strength between the two sides, and the Taliban regime collapsed. The remaining Taliban and al-Qaida members fled to the mountains at the border with Pakistan; they also found refuge among the autonomous Pakistani tribes, largely Pashtun, living on the other side of the border.
Until the end of 2002 the Taliban and the al-Qaida survivors kept a low profile. However, at the beginning of November 2002, there were some indications that Taliban forces were reorganising in the border area of Pakistan for possible terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. This fear increased with the victory of the fundamentalist Islamic parties in the latest elections in Pakistan. These parties, always close to the Taliban, gained control of most provincial governments along the border.
By March 2004, the Taliban were feeling strong again. They threatened to launch reprisals against the US and Pakistani forces in the mountains of the South Waziristan province of Pakistan if they did not stop their military actions against the Afghan militants and their al-Qaida allies. In response, the Pakistani soldiers staged some military operations against the Taliban and al-Qaida in the region. The main battle involved about 400 Taliban and al-Qaida militants defending a surrounded stronghold. A cease-fire was agreed after both sides suffered heavy casualties. It is not clear if al-Qaida's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was there and succeeded to escape once more. In any case he was not captured.
Declassified documents released about August 20, 2005, indicate that the
U.S. Government per se was not against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,
and is believed to have told Taliban leaders in 2000 that they just wanted
the expulsion of Saudi dissident and Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Former
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William Milam is said to have met an unidentified
senior Taliban official in September 2000, and told him that the US was
not out to destroy the Taliban".