Resurrection of Taliban to benefit Pakistan

At the end of 20 years, it seemed that there was a big gap between the claim and the reality. The so-called modern well-equipped Afghan army seemed to be a paper-tiger

After two decades, the United States had to leave Afghanistan rather hastily. This departure was not a very dignified one. The exit was not voluntary although their arrival in Afghanistan was not unexpected. The world, with surprise, watched the Taliban relentlessly beheading women, stoning them to death, bombing the country’s historic archeological sites, brutally burning prisoners in iron cages, destroying educational institutions, banning music, video games etc. They confined the women who constitute half of the total nearly 40 million population inside their houses. They throttled democracy and individual freedom. This group reversed Afghanistan back to a primitive, barbaric era. And that’s why after 9/11, when the United States and its Western allies invaded Afghanistan, the general public welcomed them. Everyone’s goal is to move from darkness to light

For the past two decades, Afghan women walked the path of light. Not only the women, in a free Afghanistan, people began to express their views freely. At one point, the Taliban were driven out of the country. Although they could not be physically expelled from the country, their ‘strength’ was sapped by the United States and its Western allies. The United States built a so-called modern Afghan army of three million.

At the end of 20 years, it seemed that there was a big gap between the claim and the reality. The so-called modern well-equipped Afghan army seemed to be a paper-tiger. The governments that came to power in the last two decades with the support and assistance of the United States were corrupt. As soon as the United States announced withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan by August 31, the morale of the so-called ultra-modern Afghan army was shattered and they surrendered to the Talibans in no time. In the last 20 years, the United States lost 2,472 of its own troops and civilians in Afghanistan. 

The United States is gone, but it has left the country and its people in a state of great uncertainty. About 1.5 million Afghans have already fled the country to escape the Talibans. Among them are doctors, journalists, people who helped the western army and people of various professions. 

From the beginning until the very last day in Afghanistan, the United States had to face a hostile situation. There were a number of ‘factors’ that led to the failure of the United States to reach its goal. Although the Afghan people initially welcomed the United States and NATO forces, anti-US sentiment started growing among a large section of Afghans when innocent civilians were being killed discriminately by the US bombers. On the other hand, the Afghan governments in power for the last 20 years completely failed to reach out to the people of the country. 

On the other hand, the mysterious stand and role of the neighboring state of Pakistan. While Pakistan promised total support and cooperation to the Western forces in the fight against terrorism, in reality the Pak government including its intelligence agency, ISI, provided safe haven and assistance to Taliban and ISIS terrorists including Al Qaeda leader Bin Laden. The matter was not a secret to anyone. US-Pakistan relations became strained since the killing of Bin Laden, hiding in Pakistan since the 9/11 attacks. When the Taliban took over Kabul, their flags flew over the central mosque in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan immediately praised the Taliban, saying “Afghanistan is free from foreign occupation.” But Pakistan was on the side of the United States in the Western powers’ war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. And that’s why the Pakistani military received billions of dollars over the past 20 years from the United States to fight terrorism, even though the United States knew the lion’s share of that money went into the pockets of army generals and senior government officials. It was no secret that Pakistan was a stronghold of the Taliban. 

Jane Parlez, head of the New York Times Beijing bureau, wrote in a special report, “The United States’ relationship with Pakistan was one of duality and division. The United States has not publicly commented on the issue, despite the fact that the Taliban is gaining ground and full support for Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISS. Pakistan and the ISS think the Taliban have won. The New York-based journalist further reported that Taliban leader Khalil Haqqani used to visit Pakistan’s military headquarters in Rawalpindi regularly. After the capture of Kabul, Khalil Haqqani was seen addressing a crowd at a mosque in Kabul. His position as security chief of the Taliban government in Afghanistan is known. United States wanted that Pakistan handover Haqqani and his two allies to them. But Pakistan said, they were not aware of their position. “Tell us where they are, we will catch them in a helicopter,” Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa told CIA official Mr London. But it is not a secret that Pakistan had not only sheltered Khalil Haqqani, but also provided medical facilities on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, especially in the city of Quetta, helped Taliban fighters to receive medical treatment in hospitals in Karachi and Peshawar. Even Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar used a Pakistani passport to take part in peace talks in Doha, Qatar, the New York Times reported. 

Pakistan sees the victory of the Taliban as their victory against its arch enemy India. The day India closed its embassy in Kabul and repatriated its staff and officials, Pakistani newspapers described the incident as their “victory.” Pakistan wants India to have no influence in Afghanistan. Their idea is that India is cooperating with the Balochistan Liberation Army, which is fighting for independence in Afghanistan, to create problems in Pakistan. India denied this accusation. Needless to say that Pakistani intelligence agency was also found in ‘dirty games’ inside Bangladesh, which were highlighted in Bangladesh newspapers at various times. 

Meanwhile, in a September 31 meeting with Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal and Deputy Chief of the Taliban’s Political Office, Sher Mohammad Abbas, the Taliban leader assured that Afghan soil would never be allowed to use for terrorism against India. “India is a great and neighboring country, we want a positive relationship with them,” the Taliban leader said in a statement posted online. Now Pakistan is trying to strengthen its hand of friendship with its old ally, the Taliban, to stop India. 

Meanwhile, China, another arch-enemy of India, has praised the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan and promised to improve Afghanistan’s infrastructure. But inside, China is also a bit worried. They are concerned about the influence of Talibans re-emergence among the Muslim community of Uyghur. Afghanistan shares a border with China. China fears that the Taliban’s religious extremism will have an impact on the Uyghurs and that their movement will gain momentum. Meanwhile, several Chinese employees were killed in attacks by Islamist militants in Pakistan. China hopes its ally Pakistan will help strengthen its presence in Afghanistan, after all, India is the enemy of both Pakistan and China. The Talibans are now saying that they will not allow any terrorist activity to take place on Afghan soil or launch outside the country. But the question that comes up again is - how much can the Taliban be trusted? The ISIS group has links with the Taliban. On the other hand, the United States has gone. But their surveillance has not stopped, and US President Joe Biden has already said that surveillance will continue. Bangladesh also needs to be vigilant. Because in the past we heard the slogan on the soil of Bangladesh, ‘We will be Taliban, Bangladesh will be Afghanistan’.  

* Bikash Chowdhury is a writer and columnist