How did the Taliban Originate?

7:43 PM History , Mystery 0 Comments

                  Terrorism, today resembles that we have failed, as a civilization. It has killed thousands and thousands of people. Vitenam war, 9/11 bombings, Syrian war, 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Peshawar school attack, it left us many uncured wounds and heart-breaking scenes. Al-Queda, Taliban, IS (Islamic State), Indian Mujahideen, Tehrik-i-Taliban, Hamas are the world's deadliest terrorist groups. 

How did the Taliban originate?

                  The story of Taliban dates back to 1979. When Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan in 1973, in the name of improving their crushed economy, the conditions got worsened. Their army pillaged cities, raped women and killed those who revolted. At those conditions, a rebellion was started which resented the Soviet's army. It was called "Mujahideen" (which means ''one who fights for a Jihad" in Arabic). Taliban is a faction of it. Later, Mujahideen was supported by United States and Pakistan. Though the Taliban was started for the aim of eliminating Soviet troops, later, it turned to a "deadly monster".

Is United States responsible for Taliban?

                 Contemporarily, the cold war between United States and Soviet Union was at peeks. US feared that the USSR may become powerful if it gets hold of Central Asia. To prevent this, it helped Afghan Mujahideen militarily and financially. Under the Reagan's presidency, the Congress and CIA decided to recruit Mujahideen ("holy warriors"). It is said that US spent about $3 billion for the rebellion but never cared about retrieving the arms and how the later funds were spent.

Mujahideen in 1989

                 Pakistan supported Mujahideen as majority of the Mujahideen were Pashtuns, who are dominant in North-Western Pakistan & military. Moreover, Mujahideen promised that it would restore peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan if it comes to power.

Selig Harrison, from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said that

"The CIA made the historic mistake of encouraging Islamic groups all over the world to come to Afghanistan and the Taliban had been actively encouraged by CIA and ISI"

                  Though the USSR tried to suppress the pro-Communist movement by sending more troops, the Mujahideen, who has extreme views of Islam fought bravely and were able to bounce back all the troops to Moscow by 1989.

The Taliban Rule

                After drawing out Russian troops, Mujahideen tried to impose their stern version of Sharia (Islamic law). They were a bit successful in decreasing the crime rate, improving commerce. 

"They executed the convicted publicly, they banned the usage of television, radio and music. Men had to grow beards and those who opposed were severely punished . Women should not come out unless there is a male relative with her. Girls above the age of 10 are not allowed to go to schools."

A person whose did a theft was being amputated in a region of Pakistan

                 By 1992, the internal conflicts in Afghanistan multiplied. Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was the interim President of Mujahideen failed to control them and subsequently, ended up fighting one another. By Autumn of 1994, with the help of Pakistan military, Taliban movement (Taliban mean "Student") boosted. Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of Taliban, instructed to take up arms, capture Kandahar and advance towards Kabul. They occupied Kabul in September 1996. By 1998, they were almost in control of entire Afghanistan,

                 There were many violations of human rights and power. Taliban combined with Al-Queda, a deadly terrorist group. US, warned Taliban to surrender Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Queda. As the warnings were obdurate, US bombed the suspected sites of Al-Queda in Kenya and Tanzania. Notoriously, in 2001, despite the international requests, they destroyed the 2000 year-old historical Buddha statues of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan packing international outrage. After that, they destroyed World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 killing 3000 people (When Al-Queda was asked to surrender Osama Bin Laden, it questioned the role of him in it and the issue remains a conspiracy).

Bamiyan Buddhas - Before and After Destruction

                 In October, 2001, NATO led a military operation in Afghanistan. This is popularly called as the largest manhunt ever done. However, these two leaders escaped. Taliban regime shattered by December of the same year. In 2003, when NATO moved to Iraq, Taliban and Al-Queda re-grouped and started their voilent attacks again. In 2006, NATO deployed 40,000 soldiers to eliminate Taliban. Most of the Afghan Talibans were killed but some of them escaped to Pashtun reigns of Pakistan (Waziristan). 

NATO in Afghanistan

                    Pakistan, in order to eliminate Taliban, deployed 80,000 soldiers in the borders of Waziristan. After few wars, it recognized that fighting them would de-stabilize the. So, they signed a pact with Taliban not to attack NATO, Afghan soldiers and Pakistan. However, they crossed it when Taliban had undergone several kidnappings and killings near Red Mosque in 2006. Pakistan military shot down 100 Talibans in the mosque. This agitated Taliban, and they resorted to many suicide bombings and killings.

                From then, there were many attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the withdrawal of NATO from Afghanistan, they had increased to a larger extent. An initial encouragement from US and Pakistan had indirectly led to the development of these brutal, inhuman terrorist groups.