The Taliban have been in control of Afghanistan for the last three years, in their second stint to rule this unfortunate country. The US and other NATO forces left Afghanistan in a hurry in August 2021 after being in the country for almost 20 years.
In the first instance, the Taliban under their supreme leader Mullah Omar had taken control of the country in the fall of 1996 after a devastating civil war that had brought the country to the brink of total annihilation. Mullah Omar ruled from Kandahar and had supported and protected the band of fanatics called Al-Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden. The aim and objective of Osama was to manage the expulsion of the USA from Asia and the Middle East. Osama managed to launch the spectacular attacks of 9/11 destroying the World Trade Center and damaging the Pentagon building in Washington DC. The US hit back with everything they had and managed to uproot the Taliban Government of Mullah Omar in Kabul.
After this, the country was ruled by a Western backed government with the military presence of the United States and some other NATO countries to prop up their proxy government in Kabul. After decades of efforts in Afghanistan the American forces were totally unable to destroy the power of the Taliban in fact the power and popularity of the Taliban kept on increasing during the American occupation of the country. As in the case of Vietnam, the Americans decided to end their involvement and leave the country but again like Vietnam it was a sudden unplanned hasty and disorderly departure, leaving behind billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware including aircraft and helicopters. Ashraf Ghani the American-installed president fled the country in a hurry and in August 2021.
Afghanistan is still a country with a government believing in an archaic obscurantist political philosophy. It is a severely divided society still unsure of their aims and objectives and the only point of consensus is their belief in the extremist version of Sharia law. The Taliban victory was celebrated in the streets of Afghanistan but even three years after taking charge the Taliban government has not been recognized by a single country in the world, and today they are living in complete isolation without diplomatic or trade relations with any nation in the world. They still believe in the concept of waging Jihad and imposing their version of Islam on the world.
The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is now safely ensconced in Afghanistan, from where they have waged a ceaseless war on Pakistan. In June 2023, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn published a report saying that the number of terror attacks had increased by 73 percent during the first 21 months since the Afghan Taliban came to power on August 15, 2021. According to the newspaper, the number of people killed in terror attacks during the 21-month period from August 2021 to April 2023 rose by 138 percent. The Dawn report included all terror attacks, not only those by TTP. However, TTP's own reports also showed that its attacks had multiplied greatly since August 2021. During 2021, the TTP carried out 282 terror attacks, resulting in the killing of 509 security men and wounding 463 others. An info graphic report released in January 2022 by TTP noted that most of the 282 attacks were carried out in North Waziristan, Bajaur Agency, and South Waziristan, with, respectively 81, 62, and 33 attacks. Pakistan is once again in the line of fire and suffering serious casualties in KPK and Baluchistan but it will not be a surprise when major cities and Sindh will be targeted by the Taliban.
The new Taliban regime has imposed a harsh and cruel interpretation of Sharia law. There is no respect for women and non-Muslim minority groups. Women are denied access to education and employment, even minority ethnic groups are being targeted and all this is happening in plain sight despite the pledges to respect women and minority religious group’s fundamental rights. Taliban have transitioned from an insurgent group of fighters to a proper functional government, yet they are still struggling to provide the basic necessities of life, food or economic opportunities. The UN mission in Kabul has pointed out numerous human rights violations. Taliban officials have threatened and intimidated journalists and curbed press freedom resulting in the closure of many news organizations in the country. The Government has cracked down brutally on all forms of demonstrations, many protestors and activists have lost their lives or simply disappeared.
The Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has been brought back with a vengeance. In November 2022, they ordered civil judges to enforce their interpretation of Sharia and then they resumed public floggings and executions. Women are the worst sufferers, their fundamental rights have been trampled underfoot. Girls are not allowed to attend secondary schools, and women have been prohibited from attending or teaching at universities and they are not permitted to take up any gainful employment. In December 2022 women were prohibited from working in local or international NGOs. The UNDP has estimated that restricting women’s employment could cost up to five percent of Afghanistan’s GDP. Amnesty International has reported a drastic increase in the number of women arrested for violating discriminatory policies such as rules requiring women to only appear in public with a male chaperone and to completely cover their bodies. The rates of child marriages have increased.
The Taliban regime has also wiped out the Afghans’ standards of living that were made over two decades after the US invasion, according to the UNDP. In October 2022, according to the agency, most Afghans were living in poverty. The economy has shrunk by 30% since the Taliban takeover and an estimated 700,000 jobs have been lost. More than 90% of the population suffers from some form of food insecurity. The economic crisis has increased tremendously because almost all the countries and international agencies are not willing to have anything to do with the Taliban regime in Kabul.
In 2021, at the time of the Taliban takeover in Kabul, Pakistan’s then spy chief General Faiz Hameed was caught on camera sipping a cup of tea in Kabul and commenting “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
If wishes were horses beggars would ride – an apt phrase to describe the situation three years later, because nothing has been fine so far.