The document provides background information on the Taliban in Afghanistan. It discusses the history of Afghanistan and the ethnic composition of its population. It describes the Afghan state, geography, and lack of infrastructure. It covers the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the US response in supporting mujahedeen fighters. After the Soviets withdrew in 1989, various factions including the Taliban fought for control of the country amid anarchy. The Taliban rose to power in 1996 and were overthrown by US forces in 2001 after harboring al-Qaeda. The document analyzes the Taliban's ideology, leadership structure, control of the economy through taxation and opium, and fight against them by other factions and international forces. It also notes the presence of the Islamic State in

1. The Taliban in Afghanistan
Prof. Dr. Bordás Mária
National University of Public Service
Faculty of Public Governance and International
Studies
2020.

2. History of Afghanistan
• Part of the Mogul Empire (the third Muslim empire)
• 1747: kingdom
- Shah: Ahmad Sah Durrai: chief of an Afghan tribe
- United the Afghan tribes
• 19th century: under British influence, but it could not annex,
so it was not a colony
- Pashtu population determining (on the recent area of South
Afghanistan and North Pakistan)
- Determined the border: the British divided the Pasthun areas
between Afghanistan and Pakistan (virtual border even
recently, there is nor border in fact)

3. Ethnic composition of Afghanistan
Population:
Sunni:
- Pashtu: 42%
- Tadjik: 27%
- Uzbek: 9 %
Shiia:
- Hazara: 8%

4. The Afghan State
• Pashtu:
- Nomadic tribes
- Traditional life style
• Geography and economy:
- Rocky mountains
- Rich in natural resources, but no infrastructure to exploit
- No infrastructural public services (electricity, water supply,
telecommunication, roads)
• Local Islamic schools (madrasse) – financed by Saudi
millionaries – children learn only Quran and radical Islamist
theories

5. Madrassas in Pakistan

6. The Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan
• 1973: A relative of the Zahir shah overthrew the
shah
• 1978: the communist party (Afghan Democratic
Party) acquired the political power – Afghan
Democratic Republic – president: Taraki
• Reforms: secularization, land sharing, equality of
women
• Dictatorship and corrupt governance
• Soviet Union: invaded the country in 1979

7. Response of the US
- CIA: supported the mujahedin movement to fight
against the Soviets (by training and weaponing them)
- Mudjahedin movement: uprising of the country
population against the Soviets - other mudjahedins
(it means: Muslim warriors) joined them from other
Muslim countries, as well, to help them
- Role of the ISI (Pakistani Intelligence Services):
supported this effort – hoped to control the Afhgan
pasthu territories, if the Soviet Union will be expelled
from the country
- 1992: the Soviet-supported Nadzsibullah
government was overthrowned – 1989: Sovjet army
withdrew from he country

8. Anarchy in the Country
• Interim government – Mudjahedin control since
1992
• The tribes, mujahedins and the Talibs fought with
each other (Talib: warrior from the Pasthu
people, they were educated in madrassas, and
fanatic radical Islamist believers)
• 1996: Talib control – estableshed the Afghanistan
Islamic Emirates (only 3 counties recognized:
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE)
• 1999: supporting the al-Qaeda, but ideological
differences, they did not operate together

9. • 2001: US attack to revenge the terrorist attack of
9/11
- Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda were hiding in South
Afghanistan (Tora Bora mountins), as the guest of
Omar molla (the first leader of the Taliban) and
the Taliban did not want to extradite bin Laden to
the USA government
- The reason: according to the ancient Pashtu
customs (Pashtunwali) the Pashtu have to protect
their guest by all means, even if it requires their
lives

10. US policy - fairly
contradictory

11. Negotiation with the Taliban
• It seems to be impossible: those Talib leaders,
who wanted to make peace with the West
were killed by the fanatic Talib leaders
• After this: the Taliban apponinted even more
fanatic leaders in order to hinder any
negotiation with the USA
• The Trump government: for the first time
could make an agreement with the Taliban (it
is queried if they in fact keep their promises)

13. Policy of the Trump Administration
in Afganistan
• The Trump government began to negotiate with the
Taliban – it’d ligitimaze them, while they are on the
international list of terrorist organizations
• Reason:
- The USA could not stabilize the political situation after
it had invaded Afghanistan in 2001, however spent
huge amount of money for the state-building
- Many American soldiers died due to the guerilla
warfare of the Taliban
• American public opinion is against to spend more
money for the state building and sacrifice more
American soldiers

14. The Taliban
• During the Soviet invasion it was a movement
against the Soviets
• Simple country people: educated in the local
Islamic schools (madrassa) financed by Saudi
millionaires – they learned only vahhabism-
salafism idology
• Pashtunwali: Pashtu tribal customary law (protect
the honesty of the family, revenge, apologize,
protect the guest, join forces against the external
enemy)
• Radical Islam – sharia law

15. Taliban: the representative of
Primitive Islam
• They totally prohibited community life:
- Music, dance, movie, internet, sport, laughing
- Women: strict dress-code (obligatory to wear burka,
which hides the whole body, even the eyes), they
cannot be in public places, no education, no work,
• Terror:
- Who violates these rules: public executions (stoning,
shooting) amputations
- They attack the other ethnic groups in Afghanistan
- Destroyed the cultural memorials (Bámijan valley
Buddha statutes

16. Burka – Obligatory Wearing for the
Afghan Women

17. Buddhas of Bamiyan – was destroyed by
the Taliban

18. Leadership of the Taliban
• Omar molla (first and former leader of Taliban): religious
leader – had central political power – was a simple peasant
• His legitimacy: based on oath (bay’ah)
- 1994: Appeared in the relics of Mohamed on the top of a
building and declared himself as the Leader of the Faithful
Muslims: Amir al-mu’minin
- Leadership with no control (said his spokeman)
• Local administration: by the tribal leaders
• Allience between the jirga (tribal council) and the molla –
consultation, but the jirga implements the orders of the
molla
• Centre: Kandahar (South Afghanistan) – Omar molla never
went to the capitol, Kabul

19. The Council of Elders: Jirga

20. The first Molla: Mohammed Omar
• He founded the Taliban in 1994
• De facto was the head of the
state from 1996 to late 2001 -
Islamic State of Afghanistan
• After 9/11, when the USA had
invaded Afghanistan he left to
Pakistan
• Hiding as potato trader
• Died on 23 April 2013 (natural
causes), but it was kept in secret
for 3 years by the Taliban

21. Omar Molla

22. The Second Molla: Akhtar Mohammad
Mansour
On 21 May 2016, Mansour was killed by a
U.S. combat drone strike in Pakistan

23. The Recent Molla: Hibatullah Akhundzada
• Former head of the
Taliban's Islamic courts
• Former deputy for Mansour.
• From 25 May 2016 - leader
• Sirajuddin Haqqani: his first
deputy
• Molla Mohammad Yaqoob, the
son of the former Taliban
leader, Mullah Omar: his
second deputy.

24. Hirearchy of the
Taliban

25. State System of the Taliban
• Leader: molla (unlimited power) – based on
Primitive Radical Islam, state and religious leader
• Tribal leaders’s organization: jirga, the Shura
council):
- Decision with the religious leaders
- They are responsible to their people
- Pashtu customery law (Pashtunwali) – legislation
- Administration function
• Jurisdiction: jirga and ulema sharia courts
• Local administration: cells

26. Jirga

27. Taliban flag
There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.

28. Local Talib Cells as the Local Public
Administration
• Cell- Network: the cells terrorize the local population (Pashtu
and Turkmen, Hazara, Tadjik people)
• Establishment of cell-network:
- 10-15 fighters declare they are Talib
- Then the centre will recognize the cell
- The cell will follow the will of the centre – cooperation with
them
- Cell will be entitled by the centre to control the local people
• Cells’ tasks: gathering information, cooperation with other
cells, implement the commands of the centre
• Rights: to get financial support and weapons from the centre,
autonomy in controlling the local population

29. Power Style of the Taliban
• Decentralized vs. tight structure
• Central will: from the religious and state leader (molla)
• Shura Council (Jirga): strategic plan – command to the
regional leaders – fethva (directive) to the cells
• Cells: autonomous decisions in the framework of the
fethvas – warfare and local administration
• Vertical and horizontal connections
• Very efficient and fast warfare: tradition – culture of
fight (if there is no external enemy, i.e. the West or the
Soviet Union, they fight with each other)

30. Ideology of the Taliban
• Fanatic radical Islam (only the leaders)
• Recruiting: using traditional Pashtun customs, i.e.
solidarity, culture of fight, guerrilla warfare
• Cells: the members do not have religious
motivation, but desire for career, having own cell,
job, glory, power, and revenge something, etc.
• Combination of sharia, militant Islamism, Salafi
Jihadism with Pashtun social and cultural norms
• On the list of the international terrorist
organizations!!! (prisoners of Guantanamo Island)

31. Talib Prisoners in the American
Guantanamo Island

32. Success of the Taliban
• Terrorizing the population
• Fanatic: excludes any compromise,
negotiations (having new more and more
young fanatic leaders)
• Good fighters (Pashtu tradition: to unify their
efforts in case of external enemies) – high
level guerilla warfare
• Some local populations support Pashtu
tradition (Talibs are from Pasthu people)

33. Tribal Areas

34. Tribes in Afghanistan
• Almost the half of the population is Pashtu (Talibs are
coming from here, and controls he most part of the
country)
• There are other tribes, as well, from the Tadjik,
Turkmen, Hazara and other ethnic groups
• Afghanistan was never a centralized state –
wardlords (leaders of the tribes) has autonomy in
their lands
• The central political-state power is weak – Western
Allience tried to establsih a strong government that
could control the whole territory of the state, but it
failed (e.g. Karzaj, son of a Pasthu tribal leaders was
appointed as prime minister by the CIA )

35. Economy of the Taliban
Controlling the economy: source of financial
resources
- High taxes to business firms, roads, airports,
trade
- Donations: International aids – financial support
from bin Laden, Pakistan, Saudi millionaires
- Monopolizing the poppy cultivation
- Expropriation of opium production and illegal
trade

36. Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation
under the Taliban, 1994–2016 (hectares)

39. Fight against the Taliban
• 1999: economic and air blockade by the UN
• 1996: Establishment of the Afghan Northern Allience –
(Uzbeg, Tadjik, Hazara tribes) – in order to squizee out
the Taliban to South Afghanistan
• Since 2001, the US attack (revenge of 9/11)
- Hámid Karzai: president (son of Pashtu tribal leader) –
Loya Jirga approved his appointment, but was sent by
the CIA
- Afghan Islamic Republic was establsihed with the help
of the Western countries – weak government, can
control only the surrounding area of Kabul, the capital
- NATO military forces – 2014: USA withdrawal
- Pakistan: fight against the Talibans in FATA (tribal
areas), but supports the radical Islam

40. Taliban and Islamic State Controlled
Territories

41. Presence of the Islamic State in
Afghanistan
• Islamic State (ISIS) – went to Afghnistan after they had been defeated
in Iraq and Syria, establishing their new state, the Khorasan Province
in Afghanistan
• January 2015: they found a safe heaven in the country, operating in
spots, controls sufficiant territory in Afghanistan
• ISIS implements terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
(also in Western countries)

42. New Islamic State in Afghanistan: the
Khorassan Province

44. Questions?