Afghanistan: the Taliban resurgent

The Taliban emerged in 1994 as a response to the lawlessness that gripped southern Afghanistan. Soon afterwards their small band of fighters had seized control of Kandahar, bringing peace to the city for the first time in years. Mullah Omar who, according to some accounts, comes from the Deh Rawood district of Uruzgan province, was chosen to head the movement. There, in October 2007, religious and tribal leaders gathered as the governor tried to win local hearts and minds.

The Taliban were initially seen as saviours and by 1996 they had seized Kabul from the Mujahideen factions that had torn it apart. Mullah Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, a former spokesman for Mullah Omar and foreign minister in the Taliban government, has great memories of those early days. “We had no other purpose, it was just to give the country freedom,” he said. After arriving in the capital they hung the mutilated corpses of Mohammed Najibullah, the president of the old Communist regime, and his brother on public display. It was an act of relief, anger and celebration, and a warning of things to come.

In the first few years after the US-led invasion, the Taliban opted to fade away and bide their time. With the warlords back in power, corruption rife in government offices, criminality spreading and foreign soldiers arresting and killing innocent civilians, it didn’t take long for many people in the south and east to want their return. An influx of alcohol, prostitution, drug addiction and Western-style fashions also caused resentment among some sections of Kabul society.

In the summer of 2005 the insurgency effectively began and by the winter religious leaders across Kandahar were declaring jihad. A few months later, some imams in Kabul were expressing similar views. “The only thing people can do is fight against the government and I am telling them they can do that. They can pick up a gun and fight against the government,” declared Abdullah, a cleric in the city. “Real mullahs, imams and anyone with a knowledge of Islam has to say it’s time for jihad.” By 2007 the capital was under siege and suicide bombings were commonplace. This attack on a bus carrying police recruits killed more than 30 people.

The south was once again the Taliban’s heartland, with Helmand witnessing fierce battles between insurgents and foreign troops. It was, said the most senior British commander in Afghanistan, worse than anything UK soldiers had seen since the Korean War. But the rebels remained defiant. “In the daytime we are farmers, at night we are Taliban,” this insurgent from the province said.

While the West continues to portray the Taliban as a group of extremists and terrorists, the view here is markedly different. Among Pashtuns in particular, there is often widespread support for a movement regarded as defending their country, culture and Islam. To understand why it is necessary to talk to men like Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, who served as the Taliban regime’s ambassador to Pakistan before being detained at Bagram Air Base and Guantanamo Bay. “At the time of the Taliban if someone killed another person it was possible to capture him, send him to court, punish him and execute him,” he said. “Today, if someone goes to a village and kills 100 people, tomorrow he is given more privileges by the government. The Americans and the world community brought the warlords to power. They are supporting them for their benefit against the Taliban, but they know these people are not liked.”

The struggle against occupation is passed on like a family heirloom, often going from generation to generation. Fathers prepare for death by telling their sons to continue the jihad. Brothers vow to avenge the killing of brothers. The more the Taliban are hit with force, the more they seem to respond in kind.

Zahir Jan is only a young man, but already he talks like a veteran of guerrilla warfare. He comes from Garmsir in Helmand and is determined to fight until he is in paradise or he and his colleagues are victorious. “You know, the Taliban and the Americans are as different as fire and water. Maybe the water will kill the fire or the fire will kill the water, but one of these things has to happen,” he said. “If the foreigners did not have their planes, then within five days I guarantee we would be in the avenues of Kabul.”

The Taliban are not the only insurgents. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister of Afghanistan and the CIA’s favourite client during the Soviet occupation, is now leading the militant wing of Hizb-e-Islami against the government and foreign troops in parts of the north and east. The group delivered this letter to a policewoman in Kapisa province. A couple of the lines say, “If we catch her we will kill her and we will bury her children alive. It should be a lesson for her and for others.”

Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi is a former Taliban commander and now an MP. He believes there must be negotiations with senior insurgent leaders including Mullah Omar, Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani. “If the Americans send some engineers we know they are here for reconstruction. If they send some doctors we know they are here to work in hospitals. If they send some soldiers then we know they are here to fight,” he said.

The Taliban’s leadership, including Mullah Omar, is widely believed to be living in Pakistan. The movement also uses recruits from across the border to bolster its numbers. They are men like Abed who came all the way from the Punjab to be a suicide bomber here. He was told he would be able to kill Americans, but instead he was sent on a mission to blow up Afghan soldiers. He turned himself in and is now in Pul-e-Charkhi prison, Kabul.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are increasingly the insurgent’s weapon of choice, rather than suicide attacks or ambushes. The sheer power of some of these bombs is enough to destroy even the most heavily armoured military vehicles.

The Taliban are now stronger than ever. American and NATO Soldiers are dying at record rates and there is still no end to the war in sight. If anything, the fighting appears destined to intensify in the weeks and years ahead. Mullah Abdul Ghafar, a Taliban commander in Helmand’s Sangin district, summed it up well. “We will kill anyone, even if he is my brother, if he is working with the foreigners,” he said.