South East Asia

The history of the Taliban

On Sunday, the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan after a few weeks of stunning military victories.

The armed group had been toppled in a US-led invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on US soil, but it gradually regained strength, carrying out numerous attacks on foreign as well as Afghan forces in the past 20 years.

The Taliban, which means “students” in the Pashto language, is trying to project a more moderate image this time around, but observers in Afghanistan and internationally remain sceptical. On Tuesday, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid promised to protect women’s rights and press freedom in the first news conference since the takeover.
The beginning

Afghans need to accept Taliban rule, says Hashmat Ghani

Hashmat Ghani, whose brother – former President Ashraf Ghani – fled the country last week, tells Al Jazeera that it is necessary to accept the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan to avoid instability.

Hashmat Ghani, brother of Afghanistan’s deposed President Ashraf Ghani, says he has accepted the Taliban’s takeover of the country but has called for the formation of an inclusive government.

Taliban appoint obscure figures in senior intelligence and security positions

A NUMBER OF OBSCURE figures, largely unknown to Western observers, have been appointed to senior security and intelligence positions by the Taliban, just days after their return to power in Afghanistan. Some of the names of senior officials have been made public by news agencies in the Middle East. Others were publicized on Tuesday by Pajhwok Afghan News, an independent news agency that publishes reports in Dari, Pashto and English.

Voice of jihad: Taliban spokesman in spotlight after shadowy fight

For years the Taliban’s top spokesman shunned the public eye, even as he amassed hundreds of thousands of followers online where he live-tweeted the insurgency.

But days after the Taliban captured Kabul following the collapse of the US-backed government, Zabihullah Mujahid presented himself to the public for the first time in a surprise press conference in the Afghan capital.

Afghan Interpreters in Hiding, Desperate to Get Out

Desperate mass evacuation efforts in Afghanistan make it clear nothing went according to plan. There are multiple tragedies unfolding all at once. Will every American get out? How many Afghan nationals, who were promised American protection, will be rescued? And what about the future of everyone else under Taliban rule, especially women and girls?

One group of Afghans deserving of special mention are the thousands of interpreters who were the ears and voices of Americans for the last 20 years. They were given assurances of help, including the chance to get Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) for themselves and their families to come to the United States. Now is the time they need to cash in on those promises.

Ahmadullah Sediqi served as an interpreter for four years in Afghanistan and came to the United States on an SIV in 2014. Now he’s a Special Immigrant Visas Ambassador, helping others get their visas with the organization No One Left Behind. He describes the dire situation interpreters face right now as the visa process is in shambles and the Taliban takes hold of the country.

CIA Chief Held Meeting with Taliban Leader in Kabul: US Media

The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns held a secret meeting with the Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday, according to the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is expected to decide as soon as Tuesday on whether to extend an Aug. 31 deadline to airlift Americans and their allies to safety.

Taliban Rejects Proposal to Extend US Evacuation Process

The Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a press conference on Tuesday said they would not agree to an extension of a looming August 31 deadline to evacuate Afghans from Hamid Karzai International Airport, even as the US President Joseph Biden is expected to soon announce his decision on the extension of the US forces’ presence in Kabul.

Taliban and Al Qaeda: If there’s no war, there won’t be an alliance

The U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan was about counterterrorism. Had it not been for a traumatic terrorist attack in the United States, 20 years of U.S. warfare in Afghanistan never would have occurred. Most Americans would have been oblivious to events there, and U.S. policymakers would have given the country only the minimal attention it had received ever since U.S.-aided mujahedin chased out the Soviets in 1989. During those 20 years of war the United States did pick up some obligations to individual Afghans who aided it, but otherwise everything else about refashioning the internal affairs of Afghanistan represented mission creep.

How Afghanistan withdrawal could lead to a harder policy against China

Biden is getting attacked on all sides for putting its ‘credibility’ on the Taiwan issue at risk. Will he cave to it?

In an interview on Wednesday, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked President Biden whether the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan called into question the credibility of America’s commitment to its allies and partners, particularly Taiwan. “Look, America cannot be trusted now,” Stephanopoulos suggested. “America does not keep its promises.”