What is the Taliban and Afghanistan Conflict?

History of Afghanistan

What is the Taliban and Afghanistan Conflict: Before the formation of armed groups during the early 1990s, many Taliban leaders with Afghan Mujahideen fought against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

It is said that the Mujahideen got weapons & military aid from the United States. Also, at that time, the Soviets were protecting the communist leaders who planned a bloody coup in 1978 against the president, Mohammad Daoud Khan.

How Taliban Formed?

The Taliban armed group got a separate identity by the early 1990s. The group formed was named ‘Taliban‘, ‘Talib’ in the Pashto language means ‘Students’. It is believed that students of conservative schools of Afghanistan and Pakistan were part of the group.  

What is the Taliban and Afghanistan Conflict?

The Taliban achieved military success during the Afghanistan civil war, won control of Kandahar which is the biggest city after Kabul. By the year 1996, the Taliban jammed the capital & publicly hanged president Najibullah Ahmadzai.

It is said that Afghanistan was declared as an Islamic emirate & the Taliban started imposing strict Sharia, or Islamic law.

As per the law, women’s education & employment except for female doctors were too imposed. During their long time rule of six years, it is also believed that the in-power regime abused ethnic & religious minorities while the ban was also made on activities involving music, etc.

Situation after 9/11

By 1999, the UN banned the Taliban ‘coz of its link to al-Qaeda, which was framed for the 9/11 attack in New York. 

On the 7th of October, 2001 the US-led military coalition waged war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The reason for the offensive was that the US demanded the Taliban surrender Osama bin Laden, the ex Al-Qaeda’s leader ‘coz the US believed him to be the mastermind of the detrimental 9/11 attack.

Shortly, with the US coalition support, a new government came into existence in December 2001. Hamid Karzai was declared its head.

3 years later, a new constitution was formed in which women & ethnic minorities were granted their due rights thoroughly by Mohammad Zahir Shah. By the stroke of luck, in 2006, the overthrown Taliban regrouped themselves & became able enough to deploy its warriors in its battle against the coalition Army.

The Afghanistan War Cost

Since then, the Taliban has been in a consistent fight within Afghanistan. Such a many-year-long fight made great devastation with approximately more than 40,000 civilians, 64,000 Afghan military forces & 3,500+ foreign soldiers were killed throughout.

The United States has also spent $2 trillion on the war and reconstruction projects within Afghanistan, yet still, the country’s infrastructure is poor & worn out.

The Negotiations with the Taliban

In 2011, Obama allowed Taliban officials to enter Qatar. While, in 2013, the Taliban’s office was opened in Doha. In the year 2018, the Trump government began formal negotiations with the Taliban & the Afghan government remained uninvited.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, Taliban head at Doha office on 29th February 2020 signed an accord with the United States for the withdrawal of US & other foreign military forces. In addition to this, the Taliban also made a promise that they wouldn’t attack opponent forces in any way.

Current Scenario

The current U.S. president Biden announced that the US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021.

The ex-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resigned from his post on 17th August 2021 and flew away to Tajikistan. Previously on Sunday, the Taliban made an entry to the presidential palace and took their lost control back of the country.