The Taliban is an Islamic and political
movement in Afghanistan and also parts of Pakistan that have been waging an
insurgency or jihad within Afghanistan. The Taliban held the power of the
country from 1996 to 2001 and is famous for its strict imposition of Sharia law
(Ayoob & Ugur, 2013). However, the international Muslim community, as well
as the rest of world, have remained critical and in disagreement with the
political grouping. The spiritual leader and the supreme commander since its
ascension to power were Mohammed Omar until 2013 when he died and was later
replaced by Mullah Akhtar Mansour in 2015 (Katzman, 2016). There were
unconfirmed reports that Mansour was either killed or severely wounded, but the
Taliban remained stable. By 2015, it had over a dozen militant groupings that
supported Taliban each with its agendas that varied. The origin of the group
could be traced to the 1990s but was fully unified in 1994 following the
capture of Kandahar. During the leadership of Mohammed Omar, the movement
spread throughout Afghanistan successfully being able to secure power from the
Mujahidin warlords accused of being corrupt thus had lost support from the
majority of the Afghans (Katzman, 2016).
Taliban remained in power until 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the
United States that triggered the response of the international community led by
the US. The American-led invasion toppled the Taliban government and they later
regrouped as an insurgency. The activities of the Taliban while in power and
even after their fall from power have had severe consequences on the Pakistan
and Afghanistan governments. The Taliban had adverse effects on the government
operations, the people, religion as well as the military of Pakistan and the
neighboring Afghanistan.
During the governing of the Taliban in
Afghanistan, it received severe sanctions and international foreign policy in
the country. It is this that affected the governance of Taliban and also later
had an effect on the government of the country with many countries to date not
yet reopening embassies and other international relations with the country
(Griffiths, 2001). It makes it challenging and also futile in some cases for
the government of the day to come up with policies and other laws that may
involve the international community due to the Taliban threat that is present
in the country. In fact, between 1996 to 2001 that the Taliban governed
Afghanistan, there were only three countries that formally acknowledged the
Taliban the legitimate government of Afghanistan (Griffiths, 2001). Among these
countries were Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and the Saudi Arabia. It is
the support of policies and also the refusal of Pakistan to work with the
international community against the Taliban that led to the sanctioning of the
Pakistani government as well (Siddiqui, 2009). Pakistan’s government was
criticized and perceived as being allied with the Taliban, who were seen as
being enemies to global pace since they totally refused to work with NATO
forces in the fight against the Al Qaeda (Griffiths, 2001).
The Taliban’s system and ideologies on
the Islamic religion led to a serious shift in perception among individuals
especially those in non-Islamic states. The Taliban majorly hosted in Pakistan,
and the Afghanistan believe in the enforcement of extremist religious practices
(Barfield, 2012). They enforced harsh and inhumane Sharia laws and also
advocated for the Jihadist wars. As a result of this, they received
international criticism and condemnation among many nations that perceived the
treatment of the people by the Taliban cruel and against the human rights
(Latifa, 2001). They were particularly brutal against women that did not follow
the religious practices and rule imposed by the ruling governance (Latifa,
2001). In some cases, the women were public prosecuted if suspected of engaging
in infidelity and they supported their practices as being an Islamic law
(Barfield, 2012). It is this that adversely affected the Islamic religions with
individuals from such states facing discrimination and prejudice as they were
perceived as being as extreme as the Taliban were at the time.
The Taliban caused apprehension, fear
and anxiety among the civilians due to the atrocities that they engaged in and
also left the populace to the harsh reality that came with the sanctions that
Afghanistan as well as Pakistan received as they were pressured to help in
flushing out the Al Qaeda. During the governance of the Taliban in Afghanistan,
they committed massacres against the civilians that opposed their rule, denied
the food supplies to a population of over 160,000 starving individuals and also
conducted a policy of scorched earth (Barfield, 2012). They burnt vast areas of
fertile lands with the aim of destroying tens of thousands of homes and also
with the intention of using starvation as a weapon to suppress any form of
opposition to their rule and control.
Following the 9/11 attacks the United
Nations accused the group of harboring terrorism and also engaging in terrorism
as they went under as an insurgency following their removal from power. They
used terrorism as a particular tactic and political goal. In fact, the Taliban
were the major allies that supported and also harbored Osama Bin Laden and
despite the talks and peace treaties that the United States and other countries
tried to strike to flush out Bin Laden, the Taliban were adamant and remained
allied to the Al Qaeda (Griffiths, 2001). The Al-Qaeda, on the other hand, was
responsible for various terrorist attacks including the 9/11 and the Kenyan
bombings of the US embassy. It is this that has had an impact on the people and
also the religions in the Afghanistan and by extension in Pakistan due to the
polarity of the country field by the presence of Taliban within its borders as
well (Barfield, 2012). It has made the country lose support and also changed
the perception of individuals in the international scene against the Pakistan
and Afghanistan nationals. In the current society, the majority of Pakistan and
Afghanistan immigrants are subjected to prejudice and discrimination as they
are attached to the terrorism witnessed in their mother countries. Furthermore,
Islam has also been subject to criticism as individuals began attachji9ng it to
terrorism and thus adversely affecting the religion (Barfield, 2012).
The Taliban are responsible for
thousands of civilian lives lost in the country since the US-led invasion in
the country in 2001 to date. The United Nations indicate that the Taliban and
their allies have led to over 75% of the Afghan civilian casualties in 2010,
and by the year 2012 the number had risen to 2012 (Katzman, 2016). It is
because the Taliban commonly seek for hideouts in villages and some cases
populated areas where they committed massacres for those that oppose them. They
also attract airstrikes of some areas by as the troops attempt to flush them
out only to find out that the area had a lot of civilians leading to an
increased casualties. According to the Human Rights Watch, the Taliban
bombings, and other attacks that they staged against the civilians in an
attempt to force the government to surrender to their demands led to severe
casualties. The attacks sharply rose in 2006 where there were over 669 Afghan
civilians killed. There was increased use of suicide bombers in Pakistan and
Afghanistan by the year 2008 targeting unarmed civilian aid workers (Katzman,
2016).
The Pakistani Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) and the military have also been allegedly in some cases as
being great allies to the Taliban and are even accused of providing support to
them during their founding and also their time in power (Rashid, 2000). They
are accused of continued to support the Taliban even in the current time where
it is an insurgency. However, the Pakistani government holds that it dropped
all the support that to the group after the 9/11 attacks (Ayoob & Ugur,
2013). It is a debate that has affected the way that the international
community perceives the Pakistani government and the poor image has resulted to
the strained of international relations of the country. The Taliban has also
affected the policy formulation of the Pakistani government that is always
careful on the side that they offer their support. It is because of the growing
fear that the Taliban is growing rapidly on the Pakistani territory and more so
on the northern border (Katzman, 2016). As a result of the US plan to exit from
the area and leave the Afghanistan government to handle the insurgency, the
Pakistanis are skeptical on the ability of the existing governance, military
and resources to manage the insurgency on their own. On the other hand, they
are afraid of offering any form of direct support to the Taliban and face the
sanctions that could be detrimental to the economy and in turn adversely affect
the lives of the citizens (Ayoob & Ugur, 2013). The citizens, on the other
hand, are affected by the rising insurgency in their territories and hence the
option of the government and also the public to be allied to the Taliban as a
safety precaution and also to secure their interests. It is this dilemma that
has had an effect on the foreign policy adoption of the Afghanistan government
and also of the Pakistani.
The military of Pakistan has also lost
its shine due to the attachments to with Al-Qaeda a terrorist organization and
also its attachment to many atrocities committed around the middle east. There
is also a growing divide between those that support and those that oppose the
Taliban within the Pakistan military leading to its weakening and also to its
having a bad image and branded as being part of the insurgency (Siddiqui,
2009). The UN pointed out that in 2000; the Pakistani military was the single
biggest supporters of the Taliban group. The secretary-general of the United
Nations criticized the UN as being in violation of the international sanctions
against the Taliban (Katzman, 2016).
The Taliban further led to the outcry
of the Afghanistan and Pakistan civilians and governments due to the high
rising cases of human trafficking that they engaged within the two countries.
There were reports of several Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders that ran networks
of human trafficking by abducting people especially women and selling them into
sex slavery in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Latifa, 2001). The biggest targets of
the business were the Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara and other ethnic groups in the
countries.
The Taliban war in Afghanistan has, in
turn, turned the Pakistan into a battleground for the militants and also
threatens destabilization of the Pakistani government. It has also led to the
massive loss of lives in the countries, hunger and deterioration of the economy
that has a direct impact on the general population (Siddiqui, 2009). The tribal
areas in Pakistan border became the home of a lethal combination of Al-Qaeda
operatives, Afghan and Pakistan Taliban and also other Jihadist groups that
fight on both sides of the border. It is the effect of the rise fall and the
ultimate insurgency of the Taliban that has led to the increased polarization
of the Pakistan borders and also the country in general (Siddiqui, 2009).
Due to the violent nature of the
Taliban, it led to the alienation of Afghanistan and also parts of Pakistan
from the rest of world, and this resulted in a severe and hard outcome on the
people of Afghanistan and also the prevailing governments. There was the
massive loss of civilian rights and also increased intimidation making human
rights almost nonexistent (Griffiths, 2001). There is also an increased level
of illiteracy among girls and also the boys due to the paralysis of the
education sector following the Taliban rule and also their mutiny that threw
the countries in mayhem. The women were prevented from working except in
medical fields as the men were required to grow beards that could not be
trimmed. As a result of the suppression that happened during the Taliban rule
and also the continued intimidation that comes with its presence, there is an increased
demand for education and reduction in professional to take up jobs with time.
It is this that has affected the governance of the countries leading to the
government making policies to provide the basic needs for developing the
countries any further.
The impact of the Taliban was not
unique to Afghanistan but was also immense among the Pakistanis. The extremist
policies and violence that characterized the Taliban rule and also is witnessed
in the insurgency led to the polarization of the states and also the continued
growth of the Jihadist Islam. It is this that led to the direct effect of the
religion, led to the increased suffering and poverty among the people and loss
of lives among the military (Siddiqui, 2009). The Pakistan Military accused of supporting
the Taliban has also witnessed increased polarity within it and has faced
negative image from the rest of the world. The Taliban further alienated the
countries from the remainder of the world with many countries instituting
sanctions and changing their foreign policy against Afghanistan and Pakistani
governments. It is this that has led to the negative impact on the governance,
defense and the quality of life for the citizens of the countries (Moj, 2015).
Therefore, the Taliban had adverse effects on the government operations, the
people, religion as well as the military of Pakistan and the neighboring
Afghanistan.
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