If you’ve been looking at the news these days, you’ll find that it’s far from goody.
Afghanistan’s recent political situation has shocked nations all over the world, for the long-feared Taliban has seized control of the country once again after 20 years of US military rule.
Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, was overrun by Taliban fighters on 15 August, who swarmed the presidential palace and claimed it for themselves.
Citizens and international audiences alike are concerned over the future of the country’s people under such an oppressive austere regime that the Taliban once ran with from 1996 to 2001.
It even led to desperate Afghans holding on for dear life to planes leaving the country at the Kabul Airport, resulting in several deaths.
You may be wondering, who exactly are the Taliban, and why would a government formed by them be absolutely terrifying?
Some Fought Against The Soviet Union
Let’s go back to 1979, when all of this first started.
The Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan that year to seize control of the country.
However, their reign didn’t last very long, for resistance fighters supported by the US known as the mujahedeen quickly defeated them and chased them out (yes, it’s all part of the Cold War).
After their victory, some of these mujahedeen fighters came together to form a faction in a time where political control was unclear and factions fought for control.
Then Established In 1994
The Taliban was born in 1994, with a name meaning “students” in the Pashto language.
They aimed to restore Islamic law, also known as Sharia, in Afghanistan, but they had their own ideas and interpretations as to what that meant.
Cities fell under their control as they fought through them from their south-western base, eventually running over 90% of Afghanistan by 1998.
Kabul, the capital city, fell to them in 1996, and from then the oppressive Taliban rule began.
Ruled With Violence
A really terrifying era had come for Afghanistan then.
Under their strict ideologies, the Taliban assigned extreme and brutal punishment to those who had committed crimes.
Murderers and adulterers faced public execution sentences, and thieves were amputated.
Various unjustified violent killings also took place, not only then, but even now.
So you can see why Afghans are so frightened that they were willing to risk their lives to leave the country anyway.
No Tolerance For Other Religions
Taliban rule also clamped down on people of other religions other than their version of Islam.
They went as far as to invade cities where people of other religious beliefs mostly resided, and murdered many of them.
One man even described his experience of being a prisoner under such an attack, and how he was made to plant bombs on his own hometown’s Buddhist relics.
Known as the Bamiyan Buddhists, the huge statues had been a famous symbol of Buddhism carved into the side of sandstone cliffs built in the 6th century.
Of course, the Taliban never wanted for other ideologies to seep into the minds of Afghans – they also placed a ban on anything related to media, with no music, no television, or cinemas.
No Women’s Rights
Women’s rights have come so far in the 21st century, but back in the 90s, it was but a far cry for those in many countries.
And sadly, the Taliban’s idea of greatness did not have a place for women in them.
Women were banned from going to work and had their rights to education stripped, for they were expected to only play background roles in society, something that would enrage many today.
They were also required to cover their faces at all times while outside or face punishment, and were never allowed to go out alone.
If unmarried women were seen with other men, they both risked punishment as well.
After their reign ended in 2001, women regained most of their rights to return to society.
Today, although the Taliban promised to retain women’s rights to work and study, it has been reported that several women have already been forced out of their jobs – leaving females everywhere living in fear.
Shielded Al Qaeda
Everyone would remember the 9/11 attacks on the twin World Trade Center towers, one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in history.
Al Qaeda, an extremist group formed by Osama bin Laden, had been behind the attacks.
What does this have to do with the Taliban, though?
Well, they were the ones who actually offered Afghanistan up as a safe haven for Osama bin Laden, who operated the group’s activities from inside the country as a base.
As a result, the US and allied forces invaded Afghanistan, aiming to stop their activities as the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US.
The Taliban’s five-year reign thus came to an end then, with officials fleeing the country, and that was also the beginning of the 20-year Afghanistan war.
Continued Growing Over 20 Years
Although the Taliban was no longer governing the country, they were far from gone.
They swiftly reformed as an insurgent group, aimed at opposing the current governmental rule, with assistance from the Pakistan military.
At this time, the US military had taken over control of the country’s governmental situation, placing a new Afghan government in charge, which many Afghans did not come to trust.
Slowly but surely, the Taliban were regaining support from people in the countrysides, with more joining their ranks.
One can only imagine the amount of heinous planning and takeovers they continued doing while growing stronger over the last 20 years, evading the American forces.
Struck Deals With The US
In 2017, the Taliban finally showed their hand again, sending an open letter to then President Donald Trump and asking the US to withdraw their troops in Afghanistan.
To which Trump actually took up the offer, launching several peace talks since then aimed at finding a conclusion.
It took years, but in 2020, both sides signed a peace deal, where the Taliban promised to prevent anyone, including Al Qaeda, to threaten the US’ safety using Afghanistan.
The US had to withdraw their armies and release Taliban prisoners in exchange.
Of course, by this time, the Taliban started to get bolder and bolder with their control.
And Slowly Seizing Cities
Violence continued to rage on as the Taliban went around the country, seizing control of many cities once again.
It became no more than an assassination program as they went around killing people of influence, including judges, journalists and activists when they least expected it.
This was but part of their rapidly increasing rise back to power, eliminating those against them.
Easily Back To Power
As if the trillions of dollars and years of training the US spent on building resistance with the Afghan troops were nothing, the Taliban easily returned to power.
They were allegedly faced with little resistance in their raids, even though the Afghan troops had almost triple the amount of manpower the Taliban had.
US forces had begin to leave Afghanistan and were planning to clear out by 11 September, to which experts predicted that it would take the Taliban six months to regain full control.
Oh boy, were they wrong.
After capturing one of Afghanistan’s large provincial capitals, the Taliban managed to take over Kabul in just nine days, an alarming speed.
They were able to regain control of the presidential palace for the first time in 20 years as even the current president Ashraf Ghani promptly fled the country.
Although the Taliban promised that women would still retain some of their rights, and that they would commit to being peaceful, distrust and fear still run rampant in the country.
Read Also:
- 10 Facts About the Sudden Takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban That Could Mean the End of a 20-Year War
- In 2009, Lee Kuan Yew Had ‘Predicted’ The Outcome of the Afghanistan War
Featured Image: Getmilitaryphotos / Shutterstock.com