Who are the Taliban? How did it start ruling Afghanistan? When did US troops enter?

Afghanistan is rocked with the rapid gains by the Taliban, with the insurgents controlling at least half of the total 34 provincial capitals and two-third of the entire nation. While the United States has ramped up its withdrawal from the country and is hoping to complete the mission by August 31, reports have stated that the Taliban has reimposed the repressive laws on women and other residents that define its iron fist rule decades ago. The peace negotiations between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban, brokered by the US, taking place in Doha, have been stalled even though participants are urged to ramp up the process. 

Who are the Taliban?

The Taliban was founded in southern Afghanistan by Mullah Mohammad Omar. He was a member of a Pashtun tribe and became a mujahedeen commander that helped to tackle the Soviets out of Afghanistan back in 1989. In 1994, Mullah Omar formed the group in Kandahar with nearly 50 followers who eventually emerged to challenge the instability, corruption and crime that had engulfed the nation at the time of post-Soviet-era civil war.

The Taliban then rapidly captured Kandahar and seized Kabul back in 1996 as Afghans grew disenchanted with the nation’s insecurity. This became the defining period of the insurgent group’s “iron fist” rule, including the imposition of repressive laws, including banning television and music. Taliban also restricted the girls in the country from receiving an education while forcing the women to wear head-to-toe coverings called ‘Burqas’. 

When did US troops enter Afghanistan?

The Taliban provided Osama bin Laden with the sanctuary as he planned the September 11 terrorist attacks. Eventually, when the Taliban refused the demands by the United States to hand over bin Laden, American forces had invaded Afghanistan and then rapidly toppled Mullah Omar’s government in 2001. As per Wall Street Journal report, Mullah Omar, along with other leaders of the insurgent group, found security in neighbouring Pakistan while the kickstarted an insurgent campaign to regain power in the South Asian country. 

In decades-old history, after the group entered the talks in February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a historic deal that laid out the 14-month timetable for the United States to withdraw all of its forces from the war-stricken nation which the Afghan government now ruled. Meanwhile, the talks between the Afghan government and the insurgents began, but they appear to have reached a stalemate. Among other promises between the Taliban and the US, it was also included that al-Qaeda and other militants were not allowed to operate in the areas the insurgents already controlled. 

However, notably, in the year that followed the momentous signing of the US and Taliban deal, the extremist groups continue to target the Afghan security forces and civilians. Now, as the United States prepare to leave the country after almost two decades, the group is resurgent and is advancing rapidly across the nation. The Taliban means “students” in the Pashto language.

Image Credit: AP