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The story of the Taliban is complicated,
and just like every other story, there are two sides to it. When the members
of the Taliban first revealed themselves, they gave the world the impression
that they had come to rid Afghanistan of its problems. At first, even the
ousted government of today, recognized the Taliban as a legitimate Afghan
force that wanted to rid corruption and disorder. However, as time passed,
the true nature of the Taliban was revealed. Soon, the Taliban became known
as a militia that used a mixture of Kalashnikovs, false Islam, foreign
money, and opium to get its way.
Who are these men of the Taliban?
Where did they come from? What do they want to do with Afghanistan? These
are but a few of the questions present in the minds of civilized people
everywhere.
Members of the Taliban claim that
they are students of Islam, and that all they want to do is to bring Afghanistan
under Islamic rule. They claim that their movement began in September of
1994, in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. At that time, they say
Kandahar was plagued by groups that robbed, killed, and raped the populace.
One man by the name of Mullah Mohammad Omar wanted to end these reprehensible
acts, and so he started this reform movement.
As wonderful as this story might
sound, the evidence points in the opposite direction. In reality, the Taliban
is a military and political force trained and built by Pakistan. While
it is true that the Talib foot soldiers are young Afghans who studied in religious
schools in Pakistan during the Soviet war, the higher officials
of the Taliban are made up of former communist government officials and
puppets controlled by Saudia Arabia and Pakistan. There are even Pakistanis
amongst them. Both Asiaweek (Not so hidden hand, 11/25/96), and Times Magazine
(Friends of the Taliban (November, 1996) presented stories of Pakistanis
captured amongst the Talib fighters. Time Magazine even published photographs
of Pakistani prisoners, who were captured by the Afghan government, led
by President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The Taliban were trained by the
Frontier Constabulary, a para-military force of the Interior Ministry of
Pakistan. At that time it was headed by Gen. Nasrullah Babar. The ISI,
were not involved in the earlier stages of Taliban development, but they definitely
had a hand in the later stages. After Pakistan properly prepared
the Taliban, they spread the news that the Taliban is a group fighting
the corruption amongst the Mujahideen, on grounds of Islamic convictions
and the need to establish peace in that country.
Today, the Taliban leaders claim
that the government led by President Rabbani was illegitimate and unislamic.
They even branded the famous Mujahideen Commander Ahmad Shah Masood a criminal.
Wherever the Taliban conquered, destruction and oppression has followed.
So far, they have destroyed historic artwork in Herat, burned villages,
committed atrocities against the Shias of Afghanistan, closed schools for
girls, banned women from work, started an opium boom, and oppressed men
not belonging to their group. In Kabul, they even gathered up hundreds
of young men to use as human mine shields.
Pakistan created the Taliban, for
the purpose of having indirect control over the policies made in Afghanistan.
If Pakistan successfully installs a puppet regime in Afghanistan, they
will benefit economically, the Durand treaty will be extended, and Afghanistan
will continue to live occupied and in the dark ages.
History teaches us that foreigners
do not have much luck in conquering the Afghan people. The British failed
in the late 1800s and early 1900s and the Soviets failed recently. In fact,
one of the factors that brought an end to the Soviet Empire was the defeat
of the Red Army in Afghanistan. History tends to repeat itself: most likely,
Pakistan will face the same doom.
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