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21-03-2015, 11:50

The Taliban

In 1994 the Muslim student group Taliban became the most powerful group in the war-torn country. The Taliban, consisting of Muslim fundamentalist students and clerics, believed that the ruling Rabbani government was too lenient toward the dissident guerrilla organizations and thought that the continued fighting by these guerrilla organizations stalled any peacekeeping efforts. The Taliban also believed that the government and the people of Afghanistan strayed too far from classic Islamic teachings. Thus,

Taliban members believed that they were rescuing their country from both a corrupt government and a false religious orientation.

In 1994 the Taliban began a military campaign that resulted in their occupation of half the country by February, 1995. They insisted that Afghanistan become an Islamic fundamentalist state and gained increasing control. On September 6,1995, the city of Herat fell to Taliban forces. The same day that Herat fell, the state controlled Radio Afghanistan announced that Pakistan had financed, directed, and led the Taliban forces into the city. Pakistan had never hidden its involvement in the Afghan civil war.

During President Najibullah's term, the United States sent money and arms to the mujaheddin through Pakistan. When the Cold War ended in the early 1990's, Western policy changed. The United States began to seek a peaceful solution to the Afghan unrest. Pakistan continued to support the mujaheddin.

By 1996 the Taliban had established a government in Kabul. The Taliban executed former president Najibullah. Strict Islamic rule was imposed and the laws were strictly enforced by armed police. Local Islamic judges handled judicial matters. Punishments were given according to traditional practices, including public executions and amputations of hands and feet. Burha-nuddin Rabbani fled to northern Afghanistan, where anti-Taliban forces known as the Northern Alliance launched a rebellion.

The Taliban continued to receive aid, monetary backing, and moral support from Pakistan. Much of the Taliban philosophy had been developed by Afghan refugees in Pakistan during the years 1979 to 1989. Saudi Arabia and some of the Arab Gulf states had also backed the Taliban forces.

In the southern Pashtun areas of Afghanistan, the Taliban regime was welcomed because it brought some prospect of peace. The Pashtun people also supported the Taliban as a way to stop the increasing political power of the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and other non-Pashtun controlled parties. The strict Islamic policies enforced by the Taliban in Kabul and Herat outraged the urban population but did not particularly affect the conservative southern Pashtun villages.

Iran backed the political leaders of the Northern Alliance who were fighting the Taliban. Other countries that supported the

Northern Alliance included Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, and India. The United States continued to distance itself from the Taliban. Western interests and involvement in Afghan affairs had flagged when the Soviet threat was removed. The high cost of maintaining its military forces in Afghanistan played a significant role in the downfall of the Soviet Union.

Another problem that Afghans had to overcome was the loss of some foreign aid because of the planting and cultivation of opium poppies. Jalalabad, located east of Kabul near the Pakistani border, was well known for its poppy orchards and misuse of foreign funds throughout the 1990's. In 1993 more than 58,000 acres of poppies were sighted by satellite. Afghanistan became established as a major supplier of heroin. Many countries wanted to see a government emerge that would attempt to control the drug problem.

In 1997 the United Nations made a plea to all nations to stop interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs. Reference was made to the fact that the continuing internal conflict provided a safe haven for international terrorists and criminals. As long as the war continued, the promotion, production, and distribution of heroin would continue unchecked. Afghan violations of human rights were also addressed by the United Nations. A special envoy was sent to Afghanistan to assess peacemaking efforts and activities.

The strict Taliban regime continued. As an example of the control of the organization, on May 7, 1997, the Taliban announced the criminalization of the use of paper bags, claiming that the bags could contain recycled Korans. The Islamic Sharia law imposed by the Taliban prohibited alcohol, videotapes, music, television, and social activities between the sexes.

Women in Afghanistan were not allowed many basic civil liberties and rights. By October, 1997, they had practically been removed from public life. No woman could take a job outside the home or leave the home without a male relative as an escort. Afghan women did not receive adequate medical attention, because they were barred from the main hospitals in Kabul. The despair felt by most Afghan women could not adequately be assessed or expressed as the Taliban's strict rule continued.

By January, 1998, the Taliban had lost much of its power in the north of the country. The bitter military struggle continued with the return from exile of General Abdul Rashid Dostam from Turkey, who established his former power base. Because of the strict Taliban blockade, many people north of Kabul faced famine conditions in 1998. The northern resistance to Taliban control remained intense. The Shiite elements of the Northern Alliance continued to be the most committed to destroying the regime of the Taliban. Burhanuddin Rabbani remained as president.

Visitors were discouraged from visiting Afghanistan in 1998. Intense military activity was prevalent north of Kabul. Close to ten million land mines posed a danger to residents and visitors. Before her death in 1997, Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, focused international attention on the horrors of land mines in Afghanistan and the dangers faced by the local population.

An earthquake in February, 1998, increased the misery of the Afghan people. Rustaq in the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan suffered a devastating earthquake that killed four to five thousand people. Almost fifteen thousand people were left homeless. This earthquake, coupled with the famine conditions experienced by the Hazara population in Bamiyan and central Afghanistan, contributed to the political instability of the country.



 

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