Taliban

TheTaliban(/ˈtælɪbæn,ˈtɑːlɪbɑːn/;Pashto:طَالِبَانْ,romanized:Tālibān,lit.'students'), which also refers to itself by itsstatename, theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan,is an Afghan political and militant movement with an ideology comprising elements ofPashtun nationalismand theDeobandi movementofIslamic fundamentalism.It ruled approximately 75% of Afghanistanfrom 1996 to 2001, before it was overthrown by anAmerican invasionafter theSeptember 11 attackscarried out by the Taliban's allyal-Qaeda. The Talibanrecaptured Kabulin August 2021 following the departure ofcoalition forces, after 20 years ofTaliban insurgency, and now controls the entire country. The Taliban governmentis not recognized by any countryand has been internationally condemned for restrictinghuman rights, includingwomen's rights to work and have aneducation.
The Taliban emerged in 1994 as a prominent faction in theAfghan Civil Warand largely consisted of students from thePashtunareas of east and south Afghanistan, who had been educated intraditional Islamic schools(madāris). Under the leadership ofMullah Omar(r.1996–2001), the movement spread through most of Afghanistan, shifting power away from theMujahideenwarlords. In 1996, the group established the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban's government was opposed by theNorthern Alliancemilitia, which seized parts of northeast Afghanistan and maintained international recognition as a continuation of theIslamic State of Afghanistan.
During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban enforced a strict interpretation ofSharia, or Islamic law,and were widely condemned for massacres against Afghan civilians, harsh discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, denial of UN food supplies to starving civilians, destruction of cultural monuments, banning women from school and most employment, and prohibition of mostmusic.The Taliban committed acultural genocideagainst Afghans by destroying their historical and cultural texts, artifacts and sculptures.The Taliban held control of most of the country until the United States invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001. Many members of the Taliban fled to neighboring Pakistan.
After being overthrown, the Taliban launched an insurgency to fight the US-backedIslamic Republic of Afghanistanand theNATO-ledInternational Security Assistance Force(ISAF) in theWar in Afghanistan. In May 2002, exiled members formed theCouncil of Leadersbased inQuetta, Pakistan. UnderHibatullah Akhundzada's leadership, in May 2021, the Taliban launched amilitary offensive, that culminated in the fall of Kabul in August 2021 and the Taliban regaining control. The Islamic Republic was dissolved and theIslamic Emiratereestablished. Following their return to power, the Afghanistan government budget lost 80% of its funding and food insecurity became widespread.The Taliban returned Afghanistan to many policies implemented under its previous rule, including banning women from holding almost any jobs, requiring women to wear head-to-toe coverings such as theburqa, blocking women from travelling without male guardians, banning female speech and banning all education for girls.
The wordTalibanis Pashto,طَالِباَنْ(ṭālibān), meaning "students", the plural ofṭālib. This is aloanwordfrom Arabicطَالِبْ(ṭālib), using the Pashto plural ending-ānاَنْ.(In Arabicطَالِبَانْ(ṭālibān) means not "students" but rather "two students", as it is adualform, the Arabic plural beingطُلَّابْ(ṭullāb)—occasionally causing some confusion to Arabic speakers.) Since becoming a loanword in English,Taliban, besides a plural noun referring to the group, has also been used as a singular noun referring to an individual. For example,John Walker Lindhhas been referred to as "an American Taliban" rather than "an American Talib" in domestic media. This is different in Afghanistan, where a member or a supporter of the group is referred to as aTalib(طَالِبْ) or its pluralTalib-ha(طَالِبْهَا). In other definitions, Taliban means 'seekers'.
In English, the spellingTalibanhas gained predominance over the spellingTaleban.InAmerican English, thedefinite articleis used, the group is referred to as "the Taliban", rather than "Taliban". In English-language media in Pakistan, the definite article is always omitted.BothPakistaniandIndian English-language media tend to name the group "Afghan Taliban",thus distinguishing it from thePakistani Taliban. Additionally, in Pakistan, the wordTalibansis often used when referring to more than one Taliban member.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban is frequently called theگرُوهْ طَالِبَانْ(Goroh-e Taleban), Dari term which means 'Taliban group'.As per Dari/Persian grammar, there is no "the" prefix. Meanwhile, in Pashto, adetermineris normally used and as a result, the group is normally referred to as per Pashto grammar:دَ طَالِبَانْ(Da Taliban) orدَ طَالِبَانُو(Da Talibano).
After the Soviet Unionintervened and occupied Afghanistanin 1979, Islamic mujahideen fighters waged a war against Soviet forces. During theSoviet–Afghan War, nearly all of the Taliban's original leaders had fought for either theHezb-i Islami Khalisor theHarakat-i Inqilab-e Islamifactions of the Mujahideen.
Pakistan's PresidentMuhammad Zia-ul-Haqfeared that the Soviets were also planning to invadeBalochistan, Pakistan, so he sentAkhtar Abdur Rahmanto Saudi Arabia to garner support for the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation forces. A while later, the USCIAand the Saudi ArabianGeneral Intelligence Directorate(GID) funnelled funding and equipment through the PakistaniInter-Service Intelligence Agency(ISI) to the Afghan mujahideen.About 90,000 Afghans, including Mullah Omar, were trained by Pakistan's ISI during the 1980s.
In April 1992, after the fall of theSoviet-backed régimeofMohammad Najibullah, many Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement, thePeshawar Accord, which created theIslamic State of Afghanistanand appointed an interim government for a transitional period.Gulbuddin Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin,Hezbe Wahdat, andIttihad-i Islamidid not participate. The state was paralysed from the start, due to rival groups contending for total power overKabuland Afghanistan.
Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin party refused to recognise the interim government, and in April infiltrated Kabul to take power for itself, thus starting this civil war. In May, Hekmatyar started attacks against government forces and Kabul.Hekmatyar received operational, financial and military support from Pakistan's ISI.With that help, Hekmatyar's forces were able to destroy half of Kabul.Iran assisted the Hezbe Wahdat forces ofAbdul-Ali Mazari. Saudi Arabia supported the Ittihad-i Islami faction.The conflict between these militias also escalated into war.
Due to this sudden initiation of civil war, working government departments, police units or a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities were committed by individuals inside different factions.Ceasefires, negotiated by representatives of the Islamic State's newly appointed Defense MinisterAhmad Shah Massoud, PresidentSibghatullah Mojaddediand later PresidentBurhanuddin Rabbani(the interim government), or officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commonly collapsed within days.The countryside in northern Afghanistan, parts of which were under the control of Defense Minister Massoud, remained calm and some reconstruction took place. The city of Herat under the rule of Islamic State allyIsmail Khanalso witnessed relative calm.Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was neither under the control of foreign-backed militias nor the government in Kabul, but was ruled by local leaders such asGul Agha Sherzaiand their militias.
The Taliban movement originated inPashtun nationalism, and its ideological underpinnings are with that of broader Afghan society. The Taliban's roots lie in the religious schools ofKandaharand were influenced significantly by foreign support, particularly from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, during the Soviet–Afghan War. They emerged in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, capturing Kandahar and expanding their control across the country; they became involved in a war with theNorthern Alliance. The international response to the Taliban varied, with some countries providing support while others opposed and did not recognize their regime.
During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban implemented strict religious regulations, notably affecting women's rights and cultural heritage. This period included significant ethnic persecution and the destruction of theBuddhas of Bamiyan. After the US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban were ousted from power but regrouped and launched an insurgency that lasted two decades.
The Taliban returned to power in 2021 following theUS withdrawal. Their efforts to establish the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan continue, with education policies and international relations, including internal and external challenges faced by the Taliban regime.
In mid 2021, the Taliban led a major offensive in Afghanistan during the withdrawal of US troops from the country, which gave them control of over half of Afghanistan's 421 districts as of 23 July 2021.By mid-August 2021, the Taliban controlled every major city in Afghanistan; following thenear seizure of the capital Kabul, the Taliban occupied thePresidential Palaceafter the incumbent PresidentAshraf Ghanifled Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates.Ghani's Asylum was confirmed by theUAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperationon 18 August 2021.Remaining Afghan forces under the leadership ofAmrullah Saleh,Ahmad Massoud, andBismillah Khan Mohammadiretreated to Panjshir to continue resistance.
The Taliban had "seized power from an established government backed by some of the world's best-equipped militaries"; and as an ideological insurgent movement dedicated to "bringing about a truly Islamic state" its victory has been compared to that of theChinese Communist Revolutionin 1949 orIranian Revolutionof 1979, with their "sweeping" remake of society. However, as of 2021–2022, senior Taliban leaders  have emphasized the "softness" of their revolution and how they desired "good relations" with the United States, in discussions with American journalist Jon Lee Anderson.
Anderson notes that the Taliban's war against any "graven images", so vigorous in their early rule, has been abandoned, perhaps made impossible by smartphones and Instagram. One local observer (Sayed Hamid Gailani) has argued the Taliban have not killed "a lot" of people after returning to power. Women are seen out on the street, Zabihullah Mujahid (acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture) noted there are still women working in a number of government ministries, and claimed that girls will be allowed to attend secondary education when bank funds are unfrozen and the government can fund "separate" spaces and transportation for them.
When asked about the slaughter of Hazara Shia by the first Taliban régime, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban nominee for Ambassador to the U.N. told Anderson "The Hazara Shia for us are also Muslim. We believe we are one, like flowers in a garden."In late 2021, journalists fromThe New York Timesembeddedwith a six-man Taliban unit tasked with protecting the Shi'iteSakhi Shrinein Kabul from theIslamic State, noting "how seriously the men appeared to take their assignment." The unit's commander said that "We do not care which ethnic group we serve, our goal is to serve and provide security for Afghans."In response to "international criticism" over lack of diversity, an ethnic Hazara was appointed deputy health minister, and an ethnic Tajik appointed deputy trade minister.
On the other hand, theMinistry of Women's Affairshas been closed and its building is the new home ofMinistry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. According to Anderson, some women still employed by the government are "being forced to sign in at their jobs and then go home, to create the illusion of equity"; and the appointment of ethnic minorities has been dismissed by an "adviser to the Taliban" as tokenism.
Reports have "circulated" of
According to aHuman Rights Watch's report released in November 2021, the Taliban killed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former members of the Afghan security forces in the three months since the takeover in just the four provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, and Kunduz. According to the report, the Taliban identified targets for arrest and execution through intelligence operations and access to employment records that were left behind. Former members of the security forces were also killed by the Taliban within days of registering with them to receive a letter guaranteeing their safety.
Despite Taliban claims that the ISIS has been defeated, IS carried out suicide bombings in October 2021 at Shia mosquesin Kunduzand Kandahar, killing over 115 people. As of late 2021, there were still "sticky bomb" explosions "every few days" in the capital Kabul.
Explanations for the relative moderation of the new Taliban government and statements from its officials such as – "We have started a new page. We do not want to be entangled with the past,"–?include that it did not expect to take over the country so quickly and still had "problems to work out among" their factions";that $7 billion in Afghan government funds in US banks has been frozen, and that the 80% of the previous government's budget that came from "the United States, its partners, or international lenders", has been shut off, creating  serious economic crisis; according to the U.N. World Food Program country director, Mary Ellen McGroarty, as of late 2021, early 2022 "22.8 million Afghans are already severely food insecure, and seven million of them are one step away from famine"; and that the world community  has "unanimously" asked the Taliban "to form an inclusive government, ensure the rights of women and minorities and guarantee that Afghanistan will no more serve as the launching pad for global terrorist operations", before it recognizes the Taliban government.In conversation with journalist Anderson, senior Taliban leaders implied that the harsh application of sharia during their first era of rule in the 1990s was necessary because of the "depravity" and "chaos" that remained from the  Soviet occupation, but that now  "mercy and compassion" were the order of the day.This was contradicted by former senior members of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, one of which who told Anderson, "they will do anything to convince the international community to give them financing, but eventually I'll be forced to wear the burqa again. They are just waiting."
After Taliban retook power in 2021, border clashes erupted between the Taliban with its neighbors includesIranandPakistan, leading to casualties on both sides.
In the early months of Taliban rule, international journalists have had some access to Afghanistan. In February 2022, several international journalists, includingAndrew Northwere detained. TheCommittee to Protect Journalistsdescribed their detention as "a sad reflection of the overall decline of press freedom and increasing attacks on journalists under Taliban rule."The journalists were released after several days.Subsequently, watchdog organizations have continued to document a number of arrests of local journalists, as well as barring access to international journalists.
The country's small community ofSikhs- who form Afghanistan's second largest religion- as well asHindus, have reportedly been prevented from celebrating their holidays as of 2023 by the Taliban government.Despite this, the Taliban in a later statement praised the communities and assured that their private land and property will be secured.In April 2024, the former sole Sikh member of parliament,Narendra Singh Khalsa, returned to Afghanistan for the first time since the collapse of the Republic.
In September 2021, the government orderedprimary schoolsto reopen for both sexes and announced plans to reopensecondary schoolsfor male students, without committing to do the same for female students.While the Taliban stated that femalecollegestudents will be able to resumehigher educationprovided that they are segregated from male students (and professors, when possible),The Guardiannoted that "if the high schools do not reopen for girls, the commitments to allow university education would become meaningless once the current cohort of students graduated."Higher Education MinisterAbdul Baqi Haqqanisaid that female university students will be required to observe properhijab, but did not specify if this required covering the face.
Kabul Universityreopened in February 2022, with female students attending in the morning and males in the afternoon. Other than the closure of the music department, few changes to the curriculum were reported.Female students were officially required to wear anabayaand a hijab to attend, although some wore ashawlinstead. Attendance was reportedly low on the first day.
In March 2022, the Taliban abruptly halted plans to allow girls to resume secondary school education even when separated from males.At the time,The Washington Postreported that apart from university students, "sixth is now the highest grade girls may attend". The Afghan Ministry of Education cited the lack of an acceptable design for female student uniforms.
On December 20, 2022, in violation of their prior promises, the Taliban banned female students from attending higher education institutions with immediate effect.The following day, December 21, 2022, the Taliban instituted a ban on all education for all girls and women around the country alongside a ban on female staff in schools, including teaching professions. Teaching was one of the last few remaining professions open to women.
The Taliban's ideology has been described as an "innovative form ofshariacombining Pashtun tribal codes",orPashtunwali, with radical Deobandi interpretations of Islam favoured byJamiat Ulema-e-Islamand its splinter groups.Their ideology was a departure from theIslamismof theanti-Soviet mujahideen rulersand the radical Islamistsinspired by theSayyid Qutb(Ikhwan).The Taliban have said they aim to restore peace and security to Afghanistan, including Western troops leaving, and to enforceSharia, or Islamic law, once in power.
According to journalistAhmed Rashid, at least in the first years of their rule, the Taliban adopted Deobandi and Islamist anti-nationalist beliefs, and they opposed "tribal and feudal structures", removing traditional tribal or feudal leaders from leadership roles.
The Taliban strictly enforced their ideology in major cities like Herat, Kabul, and Kandahar. But in rural areas, the Taliban had little direct control, and as a result, they promoted villagejirgas, so in rural areas, they did not enforce their ideology as stringently as they enforced it in cities.
The Taliban's religious/political philosophy, especially during its first régime from 1996 to 2001, was heavily advised and influenced byGrand MuftiRashid Ahmed Ludhianviand his works. Its operating political and religious principles since its founding, however, was modelled on those ofAbul A'la Maududiand theJamaat-e-Islamimovement.
The Taliban, being largely Pashtun tribesmen, frequently follow a pre-Islamic cultural tribal code which is focused on preserving honour.Pashtunwalistrongly influences decisions in regards to other social matters. It is best described as subconscious social values and attitudes which promote various qualities such as bravery, preserving honour, being hospitable to all guests, seeking revenge and justice if one has been wronged, and providing sanctuary to anyone who seeks refuge, even if it is an enemy. However, non-Pashtuns and others usually criticize some of the values such as the Pashtun practice of equally dividing inheritances among sons, even though the Qur'an clearly states that women are supposed to receive one-half of a man's share.
According to Ali A. Jalali and Lester Grau, the Taliban "received extensive support from Pashtuns across the country who thought that the movement might restore their national dominance. Even Pashtun intellectuals in the West, who differed with the Taliban on many issues, expressed support for the movement on purely ethnic grounds."
Written works published by the group's Commission of Cultural Affairs includingIslami Adalat,De Mujahid Toorah –  De Jihad Shari Misalay, and Guidance to the Mujahideenoutlined the core of the Taliban Islamic Movement's philosophy regarding jihad, sharia, organization, and conduct.The Taliban régime interpreted theSharialaw in accordance with theHanafischool of Islamic jurisprudenceand the religious edicts of Mullah Omar.The Taliban, Mullah Omar in particular, emphasised dreams as a means of revelation.
The Taliban forbade the consumption of pork and alcohol, the use of many types of consumer technology such as music with instrumentalaccompaniments,television,filming,and the Internet, as well as most forms of art such as paintings or photography,participation insports,includingfootballandchess;Recreationalactivities such askite-flying and the keeping of pigeons and other pets were also forbidden, and the birds were killed according to the Taliban's rules.Movie theatres were closed and repurposed as mosques.The celebration of theWesternandIranian New Yearswas also forbidden.Taking photographs and displaying pictures and portraits were also forbidden, because the Taliban considered them forms ofidolatry.This extended even to "blacking out illustrations on packages of baby soap in shops and painting over road-crossing signs for livestock.
Women were banned from working,girls were forbidden to attend schools or universities,were required to observepurdah(physical separation of the sexes) andawrah(concealing the body with clothing), and to be accompanied by male relatives outside their households; those who violated these restrictions were punished.Men were forbidden to shave their beards and they were also required to let them grow and keep them long according to the Taliban's rules, and they were also required to wear turbans outside their households.Prayerwas made compulsory and those men who did not respect the religious obligation after theazaanwere arrested.Gamblingwas banned,and the Taliban punished thieves byamputating their hands or feet.In 2000, the Taliban's leader Mullah Omar officially bannedopium cultivationand drug trafficking in Afghanistan;the Taliban succeeded in nearly eradicating the majority of the opium production (99%) by 2001.During the Taliban's governance of Afghanistan, drug users and dealers were both severely persecuted.
In 1999, Mullah Omar issued a decree in which he called for the protection of theBuddha statuesatBamyan, two 6th-century monumental statues of standingbuddhaswhich were carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in theHazarajatregion of central Afghanistan. But in March 2001, the Taliban destroyed the statues, following a decree by Mullah Omar which stated: "all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed."
Yahya Massoud, brother of the anti-Taliban and resistance leaderAhmad Shah Massoud, recalls the following incident after the destruction of the Buddha statues at Bamyan:
The Afghan custom ofbacha bazi, a form ofpederasticsexual slavery,child sexual abuseandpedophiliawhich is traditionally practiced in various provinces of Afghanistan between older men and young adolescent "dancing boys", was also forbidden under the six-year rule of the Taliban régime.Under the rule of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it carried thedeath penalty.
The practice remained illegal during the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's rule, but the laws were seldom enforced against powerful offenders andpolicehad reportedly been complicit in related crimes.A controversy arose during the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's rule, after allegations surfaced that US government forces in Afghanistan after the invasion of the country deliberately ignoredbacha bazi.The US military responded by claiming the abuse was largely the responsibility of the "local Afghan government".The Taliban has criticized the US role in the abuse of Afghan children.
Unlike other Islamic fundamentalist organizations, the Taliban are notSalafists. Although wealthy Arab nations had brought SalafistMadrasasto Afghanistan during the Soviet war in the 1980s, the Taliban's strict Deobandi leadership suppressed the Salafi movement in Afghanistan after it first came to power in the 1990s. Following the 2001 US invasion, the Taliban and Salafists joined forces in order to wage a common war against NATO forces, but Salafists were relegated to small groups which were under the Taliban's command.
The Taliban are averse to debating doctrine with other Muslims and "did not allow even Muslim reporters to question [their] edicts or to discuss interpretations of theQur'an."
Following the Taliban victory, a nationwide campaign was launched against influential Salafi factions suspected of past ties to theISIS–K. The Taliban closed most Salafi mosques and seminaries in 16 provinces, includingNangarhar, and detainedclericsit accused of supporting the Islamic State.
During the period of thefirst Taliban rule(1996 to 2001), the Taliban attempted to sway Shias, particularlyHazaras, to their side, making deals with a number of Shia political figures, as well as securing the support of some Shia religious scholars.One of these wasUstad Muhammad Akbari, a Shia Hazara politician who separated from Abdul-Ali Mazari'sIslamic Unity Partyto form theNational Islamic Unity Party, thereafter politically aligning himself and his group, which gained the support of the majority of Islamic Unity Party members in theHazara hinterland,with the Taliban.Another significant Shia political figure in the administration of the first Islamic Emirate was Sayed Gardizi, aSayed HazarafromGardiz, who was appointed as thewuluswal(district governor) ofYakawlang district, being the only Shia to hold the position of district governor during the period of the first Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
At the same time, however, certain incidents caused distrust between the Taliban and Afghan Shias. The1998 Mazar-i-Sharif massacrewas the most significant, having taken place in response to ethnic Uzbek warlordAbdur-Rashid Dustum's betrayal and subsequent massacre of Taliban fighters, as well as false rumors that Hazaras had beheaded senior Taliban leader Mawlawi Ihsanullah Ihsan at the grave of Abdul-Ali Mazari, which led to the massacre of a significant number of Hazaras.The commander responsible for the massacre, Abdul-Manan Niazi, later became notable for his opposition to the Taliban's leadership, having formed the rebelliousHigh Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistanin 2015, before being killed, reportedly by the Taliban themselves.
The desire of the Taliban leadership to expand the group's relations with Afghan Shias continued after the American invasion of Afghanistan and the group's return to insurgency. Some time following theAmerican Invasion of Iraqin 2003, the Taliban published "A Message to the Mujahid People of Iraq and Afghanistan" by Mullah Omar, in which he condemned sectarianism whilst jointly addressing the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, saying:
Multiple Hazara Shia Taliban commanders took part in the Taliban insurgency, primarily from Bamyan andDaikundiprovinces. Among theQarabaghi tribeof Shia Hazaras, a number of fighters voluntarily joined the Taliban, due to their close relations with the nearby Taliban-supporting Sunni Pashtun population. Additionally, a pro-government Shia Hazara militia fromGizab districtof Daikundi province, called Fedayi, defected and pledged allegiance to the Taliban a few years prior to 2016, with a reported size of 50 fighters.
In reaction to the2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings, which targeted Shia Afghans in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban published "Sectarian Killings; A Dangerous Enemy Conspiracy" by Taliban officialAbdul-Qahhar Balkhi, in which he stated:
In recent years, the Taliban have once again attempted to court Shiites, appointing a Shia cleric as a regional governor and recruiting Hazaras to fight against ISIS–K, in order to distance themselves from their past reputation and improve their relations with the Shia-ledGovernment of Iran.After the 2021 Taliban offensive, which led to the restoration of the Islamic Emirate, senior Taliban officials, including Deputy Prime MinisterAbdul Salam Hanafiand Foreign MinisterAmir Khan Muttaqi, have stressed the importance of unity between Shiites and Sunnis in Afghanistan and promised to protect the Shiite community.TheMinistry of Virtue and Vicehave also agreed to hire ShiaUlamain order to implement the ministry's religious edicts.In general, the Taliban has maintained peace with most Muslims in the Shiite community,although the 2022Balkhab uprisingresulted in the deaths of some Hazaras.
The Taliban's ideology is not static. Before its capture of Kabul, members of the Taliban talked about stepping aside once a government of "good Muslims" took power and once law and order were restored. The decision-making process of the Taliban in Kandahar was modelled on the Pashtun tribal council (jirga), together with what was believed to be the early Islamic model. Discussion was followed by the building of a consensus by the believers.
As the Taliban's power grew, Mullah Omar made decisions without consulting thejirgaor visiting other parts of the country. He visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while he was in power. Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil explained:
Another sign that the Taliban's ideology was evolving was Mullah Omar's 1999 decree in which he called for the protection of the Buddha statues at Bamyan and the destruction of them in 2001.
The authorAhmed Rashidsuggests that the devastation and hardship which resulted from theSoviet invasionand the period which followed it influenced the Taliban's ideology.It is said that the Taliban did not include scholars who were learned in Islamic law and history. The refugee students, brought up in a totally male society, not only had no education in mathematics, science, history or geography, but also had no traditional skills of farming, herding, or handicraft-making, nor even knowledge of their tribal and clan lineages.In such an environment, war meant employment, peace meant unemployment. Dominating women simply affirmed manhood. For their leadership, rigidfundamentalismwas a matter not only of principle, but also of political survival. Taliban leaders "repeatedly told" Rashid that "if they gave women greater freedom or a chance to go to school, they would lose the support of their rank and file."
The Taliban have been criticized for their strictness towards those who disobeyed their imposed rules, and Mullah Omar has been criticized for titling himselfAmir al-Mu'minin.
Mullah Omar was criticized for calling himself Amir al-Mu'minin on the grounds that he lacked scholarly learning, tribal pedigree, or connections to theProphet's family. Sanction for the title traditionally required the support of all of the country'sulema, whereas only some 1,200 Pashtun Taliban-supporting Mullahs had declared that Omar was the Amir. According to Ahmed Rashid, "no Afghan had adopted the title since 1834, when KingDost Mohammed Khanassumed the title before he declared jihad against theSikhkingdom inPeshawar. But Dost Mohammed was fighting foreigners, while Omar had declared jihad against other Afghans."
Another criticism was that the Taliban called their 20% tax on truckloads of opium "zakat", which is traditionally limited to 2.5% of the zakat-payers' disposable income (or wealth).
The Taliban have been compared to the 7th-centuryKharijiteswho developed extreme doctrines which set them apart from both mainstreamSunniand Shiʿa Muslims. The Kharijites were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach totakfir, whereby they declared that other Muslims wereunbelieversand deemed them worthy of death.
In particular, the Taliban have been accused oftakfirtowards Shia. After the August 1998 slaughter of 8,000 mostly Shia Hazara non-combatants in Mazar-i-Sharif, MullahAbdul Manan Niazi, the Taliban commander of the attack and the new governor of Mazar, who was later killed by the Taliban after forming the rebellious High Council of the Islamic Emirate,declared from Mazar's central mosque:
Carter Malkasian, in one of the first comprehensive historical works on the Afghan war, argues that the Taliban are oversimplified in most portrayals. While Malkasian thinks that "oppressive" remains the best word to describe them, he points out that the Taliban managed to do what multiple governments and political players failed to: bring order and unity to the "ungovernable land". The Taliban curbed the atrocities and excesses of the Warlord period of the civil war from 1992–1996. Malkasian further argues that the Taliban's imposing of Islamic ideals upon the Afghan tribal system was innovative and a key reason for their success and durability. Given that traditional sources of authority had been shown to be weak in the long period of civil war, only religion had proved strong in Afghanistan. In a period of 40 years of constant conflict, the traditionalist Islam of the Taliban proved to be far more stable, even if the order they brought was "an impoverished peace".
The Taliban have been internationally condemned for their harsh enforcement of their interpretation of IslamicSharialaw, which has resulted in their brutal treatment of many Afghans. During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban enforced a strict interpretation ofSharia, or Islamic law.The Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to 160,000 starving civilians, and conducted a policy ofscorched earth, burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes. While the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, they banned activities and media including paintings, photography, and movies that depicted people or other living things. They also prohibited music with instrumentalaccompaniments, with the exception of thedaf, a type offrame drum.The Taliban prevented girls and young women from attending school, banned women from working jobs outside of healthcare (male doctors were prohibited from treating women), and required that women be accompanied by a male relative and wear aburqaat all times when in public. If women broke certain rules, they were publiclywhippedorexecuted.The Taliban harshly discriminated against religious and ethnic minorities during their rule and they have also committed acultural genocideagainst the people of Afghanistan by destroying numerous monuments, including the famous 1500-year-old Buddhas of Bamiyan. According to the United Nations, the Taliban and their allies were responsible for 76% of Afghancivilian casualtiesin 2010, and 80% in 2011 and 2012.The group is internally funded by its involvement in the illegal drug trade which it participates in by producing and trafficking innarcoticssuch as heroin,extortion, and kidnapping for ransom.They also seized control of mining operations in the mid-2010s that were illegal under the previous government.
According to a 55-page report by the United Nations, the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematicmassacresagainst civilians. UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001. They also said, that "[t]hese have been highly systematic and they all lead back to the [Taliban] Ministry of Defense or to Mullah Omar himself." "These are the same type of war crimes as were committed in Bosnia and should be prosecuted in international courts", one UN official was quoted as saying. The documents also reveal the role of Arab and Pakistani support troops in these killings. Bin Laden's so-called055 Brigadewas responsible for mass-killings of Afghan civilians. The report by the United Nations quotes "eyewitnesses in many villages describing Arab fighters carrying long knives used for slitting throats and skinning people". The Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, in late 2011 stated that cruel behaviour under and by the Taliban had been "necessary".
In 1998, the United Nations accused the Taliban of denying emergency food by the UN'sWorld Food Programmeto 160,000 hungry and starving people "for political and military reasons".The UN said the Taliban were starving people for their military agenda and using humanitarian assistance as a weapon of war.
On 8 August 1998, the Taliban launched an attack on Mazar-i-Sharif. Of 1500 defenders only 100 survived the engagement. Once in control the Taliban began to kill people indiscriminately. At first shooting people in the street, they soon began to target Hazaras. Women were raped, and thousands of people were locked in containers and left to suffocate. Thisethnic cleansingleft an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people dead. At this timeten Iranian diplomatsand a journalist were killed. Iran assumed the Taliban had murdered them, and mobilised its army, deploying men along the border with Afghanistan. By the middle of September there were 250,000 Iranian personnel stationed on the border. Pakistan mediated and the bodies were returned to Tehran towards the end of the month. The killings of the diplomats had been carried out bySipah-e-Sahaba, a Pakistani Sunni group with close ties to the ISI. They burned orchards, crops and destroyed irrigation systems, and forced more than 100,000 people from their homes with hundreds of men, women and children still unaccounted for.
In a major effort to retake theShomali Plainsto the north of Kabul from the United Front, the Taliban indiscriminately killed civilians, while uprooting and expelling the population. Among others, Kamal Hossein, a special reporter for the UN, reported on these and otherwar crimes. InIstalif, a town famous for handmade potteries and which was home to more than 45,000 people, the Taliban gave 24 hours' notice to the population to leave, then completely razed the town leaving the people destitute.
In 1999, the town ofBamianwas taken, hundreds of men, women and children were executed. Houses were razed and some were used for forced labour. There was a further massacre at the town ofYakaolangin January 2001. An estimated 300 people were murdered, along with two delegations of Hazara elders who had tried to intercede.
By 1999, the Taliban had forced hundreds of thousands of people from the Shomali Plains and other regions conducting a policy of scorched earth burning homes, farm land and gardens.
Several Taliban and al-Qaeda commanders ran a network of human trafficking, abducting ethnic minority women and selling them intosex slaveryin Afghanistan and Pakistan.Timemagazine writes: "The Taliban often argued that the restrictions they placed on women were actually a way of revering and protecting the opposite sex. The behavior of the Taliban during the six years they expanded their rule in Afghanistan made a mockery of that claim."
The targets for human trafficking were especially women from theTajik,Uzbek, Hazara and other non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Some women preferred to commit suicide over slavery, killing themselves. During one Taliban and al-Qaeda offensive in 1999 in the Shomali Plains alone, more than 600 women were kidnapped.Arab and Pakistani al-Qaeda militants, with local Taliban forces, forced them into trucks and buses.Timemagazine writes: "The trail of the missing Shomali women leads to Jalalabad, not far from the Pakistan border. There, according to eyewitnesses, the women were penned up inside Sar Shahi camp in the desert. The more desirable among them were selected and taken away. Some were trucked to Peshawar with the apparent complicity of Pakistani border guards. Others were taken to Khost, where bin Laden had several training camps." Officials from relief agencies say, the trail of many of the vanished women leads to Pakistan where they were sold to brothels or into private households to be kept as slaves.
Brutal repression of womenwas widespread under the Taliban and it received significant international condemnation.Abuses were myriad and violently enforced by thereligious police.For example, the Taliban issued edicts forbidding women from being educated, forcing girls to leave schools and colleges.Women who were leaving their houses were required to be accompanied by a male relative and were obligated to wear theburqa,a traditional dress covering the entire body except for a small slit out of which to see.Those women who were accused of disobedience were publicly beaten. In one instance, a young woman named Sohaila was charged with adultery after she was caught walking with a man who was not a relative; she was publicly flogged inGhazi Stadium, receiving 100 lashes.Female employment was restricted to the medical sector, where male medical personnel were prohibited from treating women and girls.This extensive ban on the employment of women further resulted in the widespread closure of primary schools, as almost all teachers prior to the Taliban's rise had been women, further restricting access to education not only to girls but also to boys. Restrictions became especially severe after the Taliban took control of the capital. In February 1998, for instance, religious police forced all women off the streets of Kabul and issued new regulations which ordered people to blacken their windows so that women would not be visible from outside.
In December 2024, the Taliban's health ministry banned women from being trained innursingandmidwifery, according to media reports confirmed byThe Guardian.This was a reversal of an earlier February 2024 decision to permit basic medical training for women.According toNPR, the health ministry had lobbied for an exemption from the general ban on women's education in the healthcare sector because "in some provinces, the Taliban does not allow women to seek treatment from male medical professionals."The Taliban's ban on basic medical training for women was widely condemned by human rights organizations as a danger to the health and well-being of Afghan women and children, with Afghanistan already having among thehighest maternal mortality ratios in the worldaccording to 2020 data, before the Taliban's 2021 seizure of power.For example, Heather Barr of Human Right Watch stated: "If you ban women from being treated by male healthcare professionals, and then you ban women from training to become healthcare professionals, the consequences are clear: women will not have access to healthcare and will die as a result."TheOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) stated that the ban "is profoundly discriminatory, short-sighted and puts the lives of women and girls at risk in multiple ways."
According to the United Nations, the Taliban and its allies were responsible for 76% of civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2009, 75% in 2010 and 80% in 2011.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Taliban's bombings and other attacks which have led to civilian casualties "sharply escalated in 2006" when "at least 669 Afghan civilians were killed in at least 350 armed attacks, most of which appear to have been intentionally launched at non-combatants."
The United Nations reported that the number of civilians killed by both the Taliban and pro-government forces in the war rose nearly 50% between 2007 and 2009. The high number of civilians killed by the Taliban is blamed in part on their increasing use ofimprovised explosive devices(IEDs), "for instance, 16 IEDs have been planted in girls' schools" by the Taliban.
In 2009, ColonelRichard Kemp, formerly Commander of British forces in Afghanistan and the intelligence coordinator for the British government, drew parallels between the tactics and strategy ofHamasinGazato those of the Taliban. Kemp wrote:
HindusandSikhshave lived in Afghanistan sincehistoric timesand they were prominent minorities in Afghanistan, well-established in terms of academics and businesses.After the Afghan Civil War they started to migrate to India and other nations.After the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, they imposed strictSharialaws which discriminated against Hindus and Sikhs and caused the size of Afghanistan's Hindu and Sikh populations to fall at a very rapid rate because they emigrated from Afghanistan and establisheddiasporasin the Western world.The Taliban issued decrees that forbade non-Muslims from building places of worship but allowed them to worship at existing holy sites, forbade non-Muslims from criticizing Muslims, ordered non-Muslims to identify their houses by placing a yellow cloth on their rooftops, forbade non-Muslims from living in the same residence as Muslims, and required that non-Muslim women wear a yellow dress with a special mark so that Muslims could keep their distance from them (Hindus and Sikhs were mainly targeted).The Taliban announced in May 2001 that it would force Afghanistan's Hindu population to wear special badges, which has been compared to the treatment of Jews inNazi Germany.In general, the Taliban treated the Sikhs better than Afghan Shiites, Hindus and Christians.
Along with Hindus, the smallChristian communitywas also persecuted by the Taliban.Violence against Western aid workers and Christians was common during the Afghan conflict.
On several occasions between 2008 and 2012, the Taliban claimed that they assassinated Western and Afghani medical or aid workers in Afghanistan, because theyfeared that the polio vaccine would make Muslim children sterile, because they suspected that the 'medical workers' were really spies, or because they suspected that the medical workers wereproselytizingChristianity.
In August 2008, three Western women (British, Canadian, US) who were working for theaid group'International Rescue Committee' were murdered in Kabul. The Taliban claimed that they killed them because they were foreign spies.In October 2008, the British womanGayle Williamsworking for Christian UK charity 'SERVE Afghanistan' – focusing on training and education for disabled persons – was murdered near Kabul. Taliban claimed they killed her because her organisation "was preaching Christianity in Afghanistan".In all 2008 until October, 29 aid workers, 5 of whom non-Afghanis, were killed in Afghanistan.
In August 2010, the Taliban claimed that they murdered 10 medical aid workers while they were passing throughBadakhshan Provinceon their way from Kabul toNuristan Province– but the Afghan Islamic party/militiaHezb-e Islami Gulbuddinhas also claimed responsibility for those killings. The victims were six Americans, one Briton, one German and two Afghanis, working for a self-proclaimed "non-profit, Christian organization" which is named 'International Assistance Mission'. The Taliban stated that they murdered them because they were proselytizing Christianity and possessing which were translated into the Dari language when they were encountered. IAM contended that they "were not missionaries".
In December 2012, unidentified gunmen killed four female UN polio-workers inKarachiin Pakistan; the Western news media suggested that there was a connection between the outspokenness of the Taliban and objections to and suspicions of such 'polio vaccinations'.Eventually in 2012, a Pakistani Taliban commander inNorth Waziristanin Pakistan banned polio vaccinations,and in March 2013, the Afghan government was forced to suspend its vaccination efforts inNuristan Provincebecause the Taliban was extremely influential in the province.However, in May 2013, the Taliban's leaders changed their stance on polio vaccinations, saying that the vaccine is the only way to prevent polio and they also stated that they will work with immunization volunteers as long as polio workers are "unbiased" and "harmonized with the regional conditions, Islamic values and local cultural traditions."
During the first period of Taliban rule, only two known Jews were left in Afghanistan,Zablon Simintovand Isaac Levy (c. 1920–2005). Levy relied on charity to survive, while Simintov ran a store selling carpets and jewelry until 2001. They lived on opposite sides of the dilapidated Kabul synagogue. They kept denouncing each other to the authorities, and both spent time in jail for continuously "arguing". The Taliban also confiscated the synagogue'sTorah scroll. However, the two men were later released from prison when Taliban officials became annoyed by their arguing.After August 2021, the last Jew Simintov and his relative left Afghanistan, ended centuries of Jewish presence in the country.
Before the Taliban came to power, education was highly regarded in Afghanistan andKabul Universityattracted students from Asia and theMiddle East. However, the Taliban imposed restrictions on modern education, banned the education of females, only allowed Islamic religious schools to stay open and only encouraged the teaching of the Qur'an. Around half of all of the schools in Afghanistan were destroyed.The Taliban have carried out brutal attacks on teachers and students and they have also threatened parents and teachers.As per a 1998 UNICEF report, 9 out of 10 girls and 2 out of 3 boys did not enroll in schools. By 2000, fewer than 4–5% of all Afghan children were being educated at the primary school level and even fewer of them were being educated at higher secondary and university levels.
Attacks on educational institutions, students and teachers and the forced enforcement of Islamic teachings have even continued after the Taliban were deposed from power. In December 2017,United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) reported that over 1,000 schools had been destroyed, damaged or occupied and 100 teachers and students had been killed by the Taliban.
The Taliban have committed acultural genocideagainst the Afghan people by destroying their historical and cultural texts, artifacts and sculptures.
In the early 1990s, theNational Museum of Afghanistanwas attacked and looted numerous times, resulting in the loss of 70% of the 100,000 artifacts ofAfghan cultureandhistorywhich were then on display.
On 11 August 1998, the Taliban destroyed thePuli KhumriPublic Library. The library contained a collection of over 55,000 books and old manuscripts, one of the most valuable and beautiful collections of Afghanistan's cultural works according to the Afghan people.
On 2 March 2001, the Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed with dynamite, on orders from the Taliban's leader Mullah Omar.
In October of the same year, the Taliban "took sledgehammers and axes to thousands of years’ worth of artifacts"in the National Museum of Afghanistan, destroying at least 2,750 ancient works of art.
Afghanistan has a rich musical culture, wheremusicplays an important part in social functions like births and marriages and it has also played a major role in uniting an ethnically diverse country.However, since it came to power and even after it was deposed, the Taliban has banned most music, including cultural folk music, and it has also attacked and killed a number of musicians.
During their first rule of Afghanistan which lasted from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned many recreational activities and games, such asassociation football,kite flying, andchess. Mediums of entertainment such as televisions,cinemas, music with instrumentalaccompaniments,VCRsandsatellite disheswere also banned.Also included on the list of banned items were "musical instrumentsand accessories" and all visual representation of living creatures.However, thedaf, a type offrame drum, wasn't banned.
It was reported that when Afghan children were caught kiting, a highly popular activity, they were beaten.WhenKhaled Hosseinilearned through a 1999 news report that the Taliban had banned kite flying, a restriction he found particularly cruel, the news "struck a personal chord" for him, as he had grown up with the sport while living in Afghanistan. Hosseini was motivated to write a 25-page short story about two boys who fly kites in Kabul that he later developed into his first novel,The Kite Runner.
According to the testimony ofGuantanamo captivesbefore theirCombatant Status Review Tribunals, the Taliban, in addition to conscripting men to serve as soldiers, also conscripted men to staff its civil service – both done at gunpoint.
According to a report from Oxford University, the Taliban made widespread use of the conscription of children in 1997, 1998 and 1999.The report states that during the civil war that preceded the Taliban régime, thousands of orphaned boys joined various militia for "employment, food, shelter, protection and economic opportunity." The report said that during its initial period, the Taliban "long depended upon cohorts of youth". Witnesses stated that each land-owning family had to provide one young man and $500 in expenses. In August of that year 5000 students aged between 15 and 35 left madrassas in Pakistan to join the Taliban.
According toJon Lee Andersonthe Taliban government is "said to be profoundly divided" between the Kandahar faction and theHaqqani network, with a mysterious dispearance of deputy Prime MinisterAbdul Ghani Baradarfor "several days" in mid-September 2021 explained by rumours of injury after a brawl with other Taliban.The Kandahar faction is named for the city that Mullah Omar came from and where he founded the Taliban, and is described as "insular" and "rural", interested "primarily" with "ruling its home turf". It includesHaibatullah Akhundzada,Mullah Yaqoob,Abdul Ghani Baradar(see below).
The family-basedHaqqani network, by contrast are "closely linked to Pakistan's secret services", "interested in global jihad", with its founder (Jalaluddin Haqqani) "connected" the Taliban withOsama bin Laden.It is named for its founderJalaluddin Haqqaniand is currently led bySirajuddin Haqqani, and includes Khalil Haqqani, Mawlawi Mohammad Salim Saad.With  Sirajuddin Haqqani as acting interior minister, as of February 2022, the network has control of "a preponderance of security positions in Afghanistan".
Taliban leadership have denied tension between factions. Suhail Shaheen states "there isoneTaliban", and Zabihullah Mujahid (acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture), even maintains "there is no Haqqani network."
The top members of the Taliban as an insurgency, as of August 2021, are:
All the top leadership of the Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns, more specifically those belonging of theGhilzaiconfederation.
Until his death in 2013, Mullah Mullah Omar was the supreme commander of the Taliban.Mullah Akhtar Mansourwas elected as his replacement in 2015,and following Mansour's killing in a May 2016 US drone strike, MawlawiHibatullah Akhundzadabecame the group's leader.
The Taliban initially enjoyed goodwill from Afghans weary of the warlords' corruption, brutality, and incessant fighting.This popularity was not universal, particularly among non-Pashtuns.
In 2001, the Taliban,de jure, controlled 85% of Afghanistan.De factothe areas under its direct control were mainly Afghanistan's major cities and highways. Tribalkhansand warlords hadde factodirect control over various small towns, villages, and rural areas.
Rashid described the Taliban government as "a secret society run byKandaharis... mysterious, secretive, and dictatorial."They did not hold elections, as their spokesman explained:
They modelled their decision-making process on the Pashtun tribal council (jirga), together with what they believed to be the early Islamic model. Discussion was followed by a building of a consensus by the "believers".Before capturing Kabul, there was talk of stepping aside once a government of "good Muslims" took power, and law and order were restored.
As the Taliban's power grew, decisions were made by Mullah Omar without consulting thejirgaand without consulting other parts of the country. He visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while in power. Instead of an election, their leader's legitimacy came from an oath of allegiance ("Bay'ah"), in imitation of the Prophet and the first fourCaliphs. On 4 April 1996, Mullah Omar had "theCloak of the Prophet Mohammed" taken from its shrine for the first time in 60 years. Wrapping himself in the relic, he appeared on the roof of a building in the center of Kandahar while hundreds of Pashtunmullahsbelow shouted "Amir al-Mu'minin!" (Commander of the Faithful), in a pledge of support. Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil explained:
The Taliban were very reluctant to share power, and since their ranks were overwhelmingly Pashtun they ruled as overlords over the 60% of Afghans from other ethnic groups. In local government, such as Kabul city councilor Herat,Taliban loyalists, not locals, dominated, even when the Pashto-speaking Taliban could not communicate with the roughly half of the population who spoke Dari or other non-Pashtun tongues.Critics complained that this "lack of local representation in urban administration made the Taliban appear as an occupying force."
Consistent with the governance of the early Muslims was the absence of state institutions and the absence of "a methodology for command and control", both of which are standard today, even in non-Westernized states. The Taliban did not issue press releases or policy statements, nor did they hold regular press conferences. The basis for this structure wasGrand MuftiRashid Ahmed Ludhianvi'sObedience to the Amir,as he served as a mentor to the Taliban's leadership.The outside world and most Afghans did not even know what their leaders looked like, because photography was banned.The "regular army" resembled a lashkar or traditional tribalmilitiaforce with only 25,000 men (of whom 11,000 were non-Afghans).
Cabinet ministers and deputies were mullahs with a "madrasaheducation". Several of them, such as the Minister of Health and the Governor of the State bank, were primarily military commanders who left their administrative posts and fought whenever they were needed. Military reverses that trapped them behind enemy lines or led to their deaths increased the chaos in the national administration.At the national level, "all senior Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara bureaucrats" were replaced "with Pashtuns, whether qualified or not". Consequently, the ministries "by and large ceased to function".
The Ministry of Finance did not have a budget nor did it have a "qualified economist or banker". Mullah Omar collected and dispersed cash without bookkeeping.
The Kabul money markets responded positively during the first weeks of the Taliban occupation (1996). But theAfghanisoon fell in value. They imposed a 50% tax on any company operating in the country, and those who failed to pay were attacked. They also imposed a 6% import tax on anything brought into the country, and by 1998 had control of the major airports and border crossings which allowed them to establish a monopoly on all trade. By 2001, the per capita income of the 25 million population was under $200, and the country was close to total economic collapse. As of 2007 the economy had begun to recover, with estimated foreign reserves of three billion dollars and a 13% increase in economic growth.
Under the Transit treaty between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a massive network for smuggling developed. It had an estimated turnover of 2.5 billion dollars with the Taliban receiving between $100 and $130 million per year. These operations along with the trade from theGolden Crescentfinanced the war in Afghanistan and also had the side effect of destroying start up industries in Pakistan.Ahmed Rashidalso explained that the Afghan Transit Trade agreed on by Pakistan was "the largest official source of revenue for the Taliban."
Between 1996 and 1999, Mullah Omar reversed his opinions on the drug trade, apparently as it only harmedkafirs. The Taliban controlled 96% of Afghanistan's poppy fields and made opium its largest source of taxation. Taxes on opium exports became one of the mainstays of Taliban income and their war economy. According to Rashid, "drug money funded the weapons, ammunition and fuel for the war." InThe New York Times, the Finance Minister of the United Front,Wahidullah Sabawoon, declared the Taliban had no annual budget but that they "appeared to spend US$300 million a year, nearly all of it on war." He added that the Taliban had come to increasingly rely on three sources of money: "poppy, the Pakistanis and bin Laden."
In an economic sense it seems he had little choice, as the war of attrition continued with the Northern Alliance the income from continued opium production was all that prevented the country from starvation. By 2000, Afghanistan accounted for an estimated 75% of the world's supply and in 2000 grew an estimated 3276 tonnes of opium from poppy cultivation on 82,171 hectares. At this juncture Omar passed a decree banning the cultivation of opium, and production dropped to an estimated 74 metric tonnes from poppy cultivation on 1,685 hectares. Many observers say the ban – which came in a bid for international recognition at the United Nations – was only issued in order to raise opium prices and increase profit from the sale of large existing stockpiles. 1999 had yielded a record crop and had been followed by a lower but still large 2000 harvest. The trafficking of accumulated stocks by the Taliban continued in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, the UN mentioned the "existence of significant stocks of opiates accumulated during previous years of bumper harvests." In September 2001 – before the 11 September attacks against the United States – the Taliban allegedly authorised Afghan peasants to sow opium again.
There was also an environmental toll to the country, heavy deforestation from the illegal trade in timber with hundreds of acres of pine and cedar forests inKunar ProvinceandPaktyabeing cleared. Throughout the country millions of acres were denuded to supply timber to the Pakistani markets, with no attempt made at reforestation, which has led to significant environmental damage. By 2001, when theAfghan Interim Administrationtook power the country's infrastructure was in ruins, Telecommunications had failed, the road network was destroyed and Ministry of Finance buildings were in such a state of disrepair some were on the verge of collapse. On 6 July 1999, then presidentBill Clintonsigned into effect executive order 13129. This order implemented a complete ban on any trade between America and the Taliban régime and on 10 August they froze £5,000,000 in Ariana assets. On 19 December 2000, UN resolution 1333 was passed. It called for all assets to be frozen and for all states to close any offices belonging to the Taliban. This included the offices ofAriana Afghan Airlines. In 1999, the UN had passed resolution 1267 which had banned all international flights by Ariana apart from preapproved humanitarian missions.
According to the lawsuit, filed in December 2019 in theD.C. District Courton behalf ofGold Star families, some USdefense contractorsinvolved in Afghanistan made illegal "protection payments" to the Taliban, funding a "Taliban-led terrorist insurgency" that killed or wounded thousands of Americans in Afghanistan.In 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the "protection money" was "one of the major sources of funding for the Taliban."
It is estimated that in 2020 the Taliban had an income of $1.6 billion, mostly from drugs, mining, extortion and taxes, donations and exports.
On 2 November 2021, the Taliban required that all economic transactions in Afghanistan useAfghanisand banned the use of all foreign currency.
In 2022 construction on theQosh Tepa Canalbegan in northern Afghanistan.
On 20 April 2024, the Taliban decided to abolish Afghanistan's pension system asHibatullah Akhundzadaclaimed it was “un-Islamic”, which prompted protests by retirees and older veterans of theAfghan Armed ForcesinKabul. The protest was dispersed by the Taliban.
During the war, the Taliban were supported by several militant outfits which include theHaqqani network,Al-Qaedaand theIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Several countries like China, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia allegedly support the Taliban.However, all of their governments deny providing any support to the Taliban. Likewise, the Taliban also deny receiving any foreign support from any country.At its peak, formaldiplomatic recognitionof the Taliban's government was acknowledged by three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In the past, the United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan were also alleged to have provided support to the Taliban. It is designated by some countries as a terrorist organization.
During its time in power (1996–2001), at its height ruling 90% of Afghanistan, the Taliban régime, or Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, gained diplomatic recognition from only three states: the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, all of which provided substantial aid. The most other nations and organizations, including the United Nations, recognised the government of theIslamic State of Afghanistan(1992–2002) (parts of whom were part of theUnited Front, also called Northern Alliance) as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Regarding its relations with the rest of the world, the Taliban's Emirate of Afghanistan held apolicyofisolationism: "The Taliban believe in non-interference in the affairs of other countries and similarly desire no outside interference in their country's internal affairs".
Traditionally, the Taliban were supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, while Iran, Russia, Turkey, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan formed an anti-Taliban alliance and supported the Northern Alliance.After the fall of the Taliban régime at the end of 2001, the composition of the Taliban supporters changed. According to a study by scholar Antonio Giustozzi, in the years 2005 to 2015 most of the financial support came from the states Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, and Qatar, as well as from private donors from Saudi Arabia, from al-Qaeda and, for a short period of time, from the Islamic State.About 54 percent of the funding came from foreign governments, 10 percent from private donors from abroad, and 16 percent from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. In 2014, the amount of external support was close to $900 million.
Following the Taliban's ascension to power, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's model ofgovernancehas been widely criticized by the international community, despite the government's repeated calls for international recognition and engagement. Acting Prime MinisterMohammad Hassan Akhundstated that his interim administration has met all conditions required for official recognition.In a bid to gain recognition, the Taliban sent a letter in September 2021 to the UN to acceptSuhail ShaheenasPermanent Representativeof the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – a request that had already been rejected by theUN Credentials Committeein 2021.
With regards to international relations after theTaliban seizure of Afghanistanin 2021, Taliban spokespersonSuhail Shaheentold the Russian news agencySputnik: "Of course, we won't have any relations withIsrael. We want to have relations with other countries; Israel is not among these countries. We would like to have relations with all the regional countries and neighbouring countries as well asAsiancountries."
On 10 October 2021, Russia hosted the Taliban for talks inMoscowin an effort to boost its influence acrossCentral Asia. Officials from 10 different countries – Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran and five formerlySoviet Central Asianstates – attended the talks, which were held during the Taliban's first official trip to Europe since their return to power in mid-August 2021.The Taliban won backing from the 10 regional powers for the idea of a United Nations donor conference to help the country stave off economic collapse and a humanitarian catastrophe, calling for the UN to convene such a conference as soon as possible to help rebuild the country. Russian officials also called for action againstIslamic State(IS) fighters, who Russia said have started to increase their presence in Afghanistan since the Taliban's takeover. The Taliban delegation, which was led by Deputy Prime MinisterAbdul Salam Hanafi, said that "Isolating Afghanistan is in no one's interests," arguing that the extremist group did not pose any security threat to any other country. The Taliban asked the international community to recognize its government,but no country has yet recognized the new Afghan government.
On 23 January 2022, a Taliban delegation arrived inOslo, and closed-door meetings were held during the Taliban's first official trip to Western Europe and second official trip to Europe since their return to power.Western diplomats told the Taliban thathumanitarian aidto Afghanistan would be tied to an improvement inhuman rights.The Taliban delegation, led by acting Foreign MinisterAmir Khan Muttaqi, met senior French foreign ministry officials, Britain's special envoyNigel Casey,EU Special Representativefor Afghanistan and members of theNorwegian foreign ministry. This followed the announcement by the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee that the committee would extend a travel ban exemption until 21 March 2022 for 14 listed Taliban members to continue attending talks, along with a limited asset-freeze exemption for the financing of exempted travel.However, theAfghan Foreign MinisterAmir Khan Muttaqi said that the international community's call for the formation of an inclusive government was a political "excuse" after the 3-day Oslo visit.
At the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on 26 January 2022, Norwegian Prime MinisterJonas Gahr Storesaid the Oslo talks appeared to have been "serious" and "genuine". Norway says the talks do "not represent a legitimisation or recognition of the Taliban".In the same meeting, the Russian Federation's delegate said attempts to engage the Taliban through coercion are counter-productive, calling on Western states and donors to return frozen funds.China's representative said the fact that aid deliveries have not improved since the adoption of UNSC 2615 (2021) proves that the issue has been politicized, as some parties seek to use assistance as a bargaining chip.
Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, the Russian Federation, and China were the first countries to accept thediplomatic credentialsof Taliban-appointed envoys, although this is not equivalent to official recognition.
On 4 July 2024, the Russian presidentVladimir Putinstated that Taliban is an ally of Russia in the fight against terrorism.
In November 2024, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry announced that Taliban officials would attend the2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference(COP29), marking the country's first participation since the Taliban regained control in 2021. Afghanistan had been unable to attend previous climate summits due to the lack of international recognition of the Taliban government. Despite this, the Taliban's environmental officials emphasized that climate change should be viewed as a humanitarian issue rather than a political one, arguing that addressing it transcends political disputes.
After thefall of the Assad regimein Syria, the Taliban congratulated theSyrian oppositionand "the people of Syria", hoping for "a peaceful, unified and stable system".
The Taliban movement is officially illegal in the following countries to date:
Former:
Despite the aid of United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) given (see§ Afghanistan during Taliban rule), the Taliban's attitude in 1996–2001 toward the UN and NGOs was often one of suspicion. The UN did not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, most foreign donors and aid workers were non-Muslims, and the Taliban vented fundamental objections to the sort of 'help' the UN offered. As the Taliban's Attorney General Maulvi Jalil-ullah Maulvizada put it in 1997:
In July 1998, the Taliban closed "all NGO offices" by force after those organisations refused to move to a bombed-out formerPolytechnicCollege as ordered.One month later the UN offices were also shut down.
Around 2000, the UN drew up sanctions against officials and leaders of Taliban, because of their harbouring Osama bin Laden. Several of the Taliban leaders have subsequently been killed.
In 2009,British Foreign SecretaryEd Milibandand US SecretaryHillary Clintoncalled for talks with 'regular Taliban fighters' while bypassing their top leaders who supposedly were 'committed to global jihad'.Kai Eide, the top UN official in Afghanistan, called for talks with Taliban at the highest level, suggesting Mullah Omar – even though Omar dismissed such overtures as long as foreign troops were in Afghanistan.
In 2010, the UN lifted sanctions on the Taliban, and requested that Taliban leaders and others be removed from terrorism watch lists. In 2010 the US and Europe announced support for President Karzai's latest attempt to negotiate peace with the Taliban.
The Taliban were portrayed inKhaled Hosseini's popular 2003 novelThe Kite Runnerand its 2007film adaption. The Taliban have also been portrayed in American film, most notably inLone Survivor(2013) which is based on a real-life story.Hindi cinemahave also portrayed the Taliban inKabul Express(2006),andEscape from Taliban(2003) which is based on a real-life novelA Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife,whose authorSushmita Banerjeewas shot dead by the Taliban in 2013.