Who is the Taliban and How did it Rise?

 With the Taliban's capture of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the Taliban's control over the power of the whole of Afghanistan has been confirmed. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and top leaders and officials of his administration have left the country. Taliban fighters continue to capture key places in Kabul. With this, the world is giving slogans of Save Afghanistan by remembering the barbaric rule of Taliban 20 years ago. After all, who are these Taliban people and how did it rise? How did the Taliban become so powerful?

Rise of the Taliban

In the 1990s, when Soviet troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Taleban was born in northern Pakistan. The Taliban, which was led by Pashtuns in Afghanistan, appeared on the scene in 1994. It is believed that the Taliban emerged first through religious gatherings or madrasas. The majority of the money came from Saudi Arabia. There had been conflict between various factions after the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in the 1980s. People were also affected by the Mujahideen. The Afghan people welcomed the Taliban's emergence in such an environment.

The Taleban was popular initially because they prevented corruption and disorder, and made areas under their control secure so people could do business. Soon, the Taliban expanded their reach from south-west Afghanistan. The Taliban seized Herat, a province bordering Iran, in September 1995. The Taliban seized Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, one year later by overthrowing Burhanuddin Rabbani's government. In 1998, almost 90 percent of Afghanistan was under Taliban control.

Allusions of torture

Gradually, the Taliban came to be accused of cultural abuse and human rights violations. The Taliban, for example, destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues in 2001, despite international condemnation. The Taliban claimed that they would create a peaceful and secure environment in the Pashtun region at the Pak-Afghan border and then implement Sharia. Both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban enforced or enforced Islamic law punishments such as the execution of murder convicts and the amputations of thieves. Women were required to wear a burqa while men were expected to maintain a beard. The Taleban was also strict about TV, music, and cinema and prohibited girls under 10 years old from attending school.

Rise to Power

In Pashto, the Taliban (or "students") was an entity that emerged in the 1990s after the withdrawal of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The majority Pashtun movement was believed to have emerged in religious seminaries, which were largely funded by Saudi Arabian money and preached a hardline Sunni Islam.

Taliban made a promise in Pashtun regions straddling Afghanistan and Pakistan to restore security and peace, and to enforce Sharia (Islamic law) once they were in power.

The Taliban quickly expanded their reach from south-western Afghanistan. They seized the bordering Iranian province of Herat in September 1995. Just one year later in 1996, the Taliban seized Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. This was exactly one year after President Burhanuddin Rasbani, one of the founder fathers of the Afghan mujahideen who resisted Soviet occupation. In 1998, almost 90% of Afghanistan was under Taliban control.

Afghans, tired of the excesses of the mujahideen and infighting that followed the Soviets' departure, welcomed the Taliban to their ranks when they first arrived on the scene. Their success in eradicating corruption and curbing lawlessness was what made them popular. This allowed for commerce to thrive on the roads and areas they controlled.

The Taliban supported or introduced punishments that were consistent with Sharia law. These included public executions for convicted murderers and other adulterers as well as amputations for theft-related convictions. Women were required to wear the full-covering burka while men had to grow beards.

The Taliban also prohibited television, music, cinema, and disapproved of girls 10 years old and older going to school. They were also accused of various cultural and human rights violations. In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues, which were located in central Afghanistan. This was despite international protestations.

In 2001, after the 26/11 attack in the US, the Taliban were expelled from Afghanistan by US-led forces.

When the Taliban announced plans for a Qatar office, 2013 raised hopes of a negotiated cease-fire. However, mistrust on both sides continued to be high and violence continued.

The Taliban confessed in August 2015 that they had concealed Mullah Omar’s death, reportedly due to health problems at a Pakistani hospital. This was allegedly for over two years. Following weeks of infighting, the Taliban claimed they had rallied around Mullah Mansour who had been Mullah Omar's deputy.

Around the same time, Taliban also seized control over a provincial capital, their first since 2001's defeat. They took control of Kunduz, a strategically important city.

Mullah Mansour, who was killed in a drone strike by the US in May 2016, was replaced by Mawlawi Hibatullah Ashundzada. He remains in charge of the group.

How to Take control?

The Taliban began to terrorize Afghan civilians in the year that followed the US-Taliban agreement of February 2020. This was the culmination a long period of direct talks.

Journalists, judges, peace activists, women at the top of the power pyramid were all targets that suggested that the Taliban hadn't changed their extremist ideology but only their strategy.

In April 2021, Joe Biden, the US president, declared that all American forces would be leaving Afghanistan by September 21st, despite grave concerns from Afghan officials about the government's vulnerability towards the Taliban, two decades after the fall of the World Trade Center.

Although Pakistan has denied being the architect of the Taliban enterprise many times, there is no doubt that many Afghans who joined the movement initially were educated at madrassas (religious schools in Pakistan)

Along with Saudi Arabia (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan was one of three countries that recognized the Taliban while they were in power in Afghanistan. It was also the country that severed diplomatic ties with the group.

The Taliban threatened to destabilize Pakistan in areas they controlled in the northwest at one time. The most prominent and widely condemned attack by the Pakistani Taliban was the one that Malala Yousafzai, a schoolgirl, was attempting to return home from school in Mingora in October 2012.

Two years after the massacre at the Peshawar school, a major military offensive was launched to reduce the influence of the Taliban in Pakistan. US drone strikes in 2013 killed at least three of the key figures in the Pakistani Taliban, including their leader Hakimullah Mesud.

Al-Qaeda's'sanctuary.

In the aftermath of the New York 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Taliban in Afghanistan attracted the attention of the entire world. They were accused of being a refuge for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda group.

A US-led military coalition attacked Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. The Taliban regime collapsed within the first week of December. Despite one of the most extensive manhunts anywhere, Mullah Mohammad Obmar, the group's former leader, and other senior figures including Bin Laden managed to evade capture.

According to reports, many senior Taliban leaders sought refuge in Quetta, Pakistan. From there they reportedly guided the Taliban. Islamabad denied the existence of the so-called "Quetta Shura".

Despite increasing numbers of foreign troops, the Taliban slowly regained their power in Afghanistan and expanded it. This made large areas of Afghanistan insecure and violence returned to levels not seen in Afghanistan since 2001.

Numerous Taliban attacks were made on Kabul. In September 2012, they also raided the Camp Bastion base of Nato.

After two decades of war and defeating a superpower, the Taliban took control of vast areas of territory before overthrowing a Kabul government after a withdrawal of a foreign power.

They made it across Afghanistan in 10 days and took their first provincial capital on the 6th of August. They were at Kabul's gates by 15 August.

They accelerated at lightning speed, causing thousands to flee their homes. Many arrived in Kabul, while others headed for neighbouring countries.

The Taliban's victory marks the end of almost 20 years of US-led coalition presence in Afghanistan.