“Taliban” also said as “Taleban” is a conservative radical and religious faction that got its roots from the Afghan war, the political fragmentation of the Mujahideen, and got its name after it seized Kabul. This group follows a much more conservative and strongly radicalized form of Islamic rule. It derived its name from the students who got trained in madrasas that were established as a place for refugees to rest in the outskirts of Pakistan.
Their Roots And Their Regime
The Taliban was a force that was implemented to bring back the social order in the year 1994. They were able to conquer all but a small part of Afghanistan with the help of the state’s southern Pashtun ethnic group and like-minded ultra-conservative Islamic elements around the world. Even though they gained popularity and support, many of the non-Pashtun ethnic groups resisted the upliftment of this group but they all went to no avail. The notable groups against this uprising were the Hazara, the Tajik, and the Uzbek — in the north, west, and central parts of the country who saw the growth of the Pashtun ethnic group.
But all around the world the social policies followed by the group were criticized and opposed as they included many inhumane rules. Some of the notable ones were the exclusion or the very limited participation of women in the fields of employment and education, the destruction of historical monuments that were not related to the religion of Islam, and implementing inhuman and harsh criminal punishments like the severing of hands to death.
A very few countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates gave recognition for their regime. Alongside all these was the haven it provided for all the Islamic militants around the world especially the once-famous Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al -Qaeda and the mastermind of several terrorist attacks against the American regime. The notable attacks were the September 11 World Trade Center attack in New York City and the Pentagon attack on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. The Taliban refused to give up on the Al- Qaeda leaders and thus, unleashed a military confrontation of the United States and other powers.
The Fight
The fight for power and against the allied forces made by the United States and NATO continued for long driven years after them being thrown. The Taliban organization was funded in many ways but, the most notable one being the opium trade that had reached its highest peaks after their fall in the following years.
After being expelled from their home Kandahār, it was noted that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar continued his operations and fights from a location unknown to the officials. Many believed he resided in Pakistan even though most of them denied this statement. It was later discovered that Mullah Mohammad Omar died from a hospital that was located in Pakistan. The successor of this group was Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was later killed by an airstrike in May 2016 that was organized and managed by the US Air Force. After this strike, Haibatullah Akhundzada led this group but his role was not in the military section and was in the political and religious spheres.
The militant side of this group was under the direction of Sirajuddin who worked as the deputy leader of the Taliban. He was also a member of the Haqqani network.
As the Taliban kept on fighting against these joined forces and the inability of the central government led by Pres. Hamid Karzai to control and have power all along the country paved the way for the idea of reconciliation with the Taliban forces. Those officials who worked for Pres. Hamid Karzai met with the leader and an official public contract was made under the governance of Pres. Ashraf Ghani. Even though they had the idea that the government was fundamentally illegitimate, they wanted to strike out and lash out against the forces who installed it, which was mainly the United States
The New Regime of the Taliban
As there were only a few countries that had a diplomatic relationship with both of these realms, tagging them along with the United States as well as the Taliban began their talks in 2018. The major idea that led to this talk was the friendly reconciliation of the central government and the Taliban. It was solely focused on the withdrawal of the U.S troops situated in Afghanistan that helped the Afghan police and military to fight against such forces. In 2019, officials from the central government, as well as representatives of the Taliban, made the first step by agreeing on certain generalized principles that focused on reconciliation shortly. Even though the representatives were not authorized, this was considered the first healing step.
As the United States and Taliban were closing up a pact and listing out the details of the said pact, all the plans went vain with the assassination of a U.S. service member. The later meetings were called off due to this attack. These events happened in early September of 2019.
In the late days of February 2020, the Taliban signed the agreement to prevent al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; also called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria [ISIS]) from conducting their activities in Afghanistan. According to this deal, they had to talk with the central government. The other important factor about this deal was the withdrawal of the US troops within 14 months. This process began in March. The negotiations by the central government and Taliban began on September 12 after a slight delay of a promise sealed by the United States.
Few Final Words
After the slow withdrawal of the troops, the Taliban began its seizure of the districts of Afghanistan and targeted all the provincial capitals. By mid-August, they were able to capture all the important areas of Afghanistan including Kabul which was mainly due to lack of efficiency and coordination of the central government.