Taliban Research Articles

Вывод войск США из Афганистана и проблемы безопасности в Центральной Азии

The intensification of the armed conflict in Afghanistan in connection with the withdrawal of US troops and its allies and coming to power in Kabul of the radical Taliban movement (terrorist organization banned in Russia) creates security challenges for the post-Soviet states of Central Asia. These challenges can be characterized as “new old” challenges, since the countries of the region have faced them in one way or another in the past decades. Nevertheless, the seizure of power in this country by the Taliban and the consolidation of the Taliban along the borders of the Central Asian countries, provoked by the withdrawal of foreign military contingents from Afghanistan, create a number of risks for neighboring states (problems of border security, danger of growing extremist sentiments, drug trafficking and other types of smuggling, refugee problem, etc.).

Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan: A Politico-Religious Perspective

This research delves into the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) established by Taliban in Afghanistan in September 1996 after the Afghan civil war. Though, IEA collapsed in December 2001 when the USA dislodged it by laying blame on the 9/11 events. The rule of Taliban was an important era in the history of Afghanistan in particular, and for the whole world in general. Respective research presents a detailed background of the ascendancy of Taliban in Afghanistan and taking over its reign. Moreover, this research discusses the politico-religious background of IEA and also analyzes the aforementioned two aspects of IEA. Finally, this research briefly discusses the factors that led to the ouster of IEA from power in Afghanistan in 2001.

India-Pakistan-Afghanistan Triad: A Case Study of Classical Realism

India and Pakistan have their own political and economic aims in Afghanistan since inception. The association between Pakistan and Afghanistan have always remained uneven. This is due to the convergence and divergence of interest of both the states. Indian factor has played its greater role in the strained relationship between both the states. Hostile Indian presence on the Afghanistan border is a matter of security concern for Pakistan. Taliban factor always remained a threat for India. India signed strategic partnership deal with Afghanistan and became the sixth largest donor to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is getting greater economic benefits from India and in return has provided its land for terrorist activities against Pakistan. Pakistan on the other hand has played very effective role in bringing Afghan Taliban and United states to the negotiation table for achieving peace in Afghanistan. This paper utilizes the classical realism theory to explain the political and economic interests of India and Afghanistan and also explains the strained Pak Afghan relations ever since due to the involvement of Indian factor. So this triad always remained in conflict and on trajectory of uneven relationship.

The Taliban and the Naqshbandi Tariqa: New Threats to Central Asia

The article is devoted to the study of the possible strategy of the Taliban movement in the Central Asian region. Special attention is paid to the study of contacts of this group with Islamic international extremist organizations. The author predicts the strengthening of manifestations of international extremism in Central Asia as a new springboard for the implementation of state projects of Islamic radicals.

More attacks or more services? Insurgent groups’ behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia

ABSTRACT Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, service-providing insurgent groups have responded differently, with some initiating more attacks amid ongoing destabilisation while others have immediately veered towards precautionary measures such as initiating public awareness campaigns and setting up quarantine centres. What drives these divergent responses? Relying on publicly available and semi-private sources, this article examines how the Taliban in Afghanistan, Ha'ayt Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria, and Al-Shabaab in Somalia have operationalised their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reveal that the divergent responses are rooted in the framing of the pandemic discourse. The Taliban and HTS both interpreted it as a calamity that needs responding to and repurposed their activities accordingly by stepping up their attacks against combatants while concomitantly exploiting the humanitarian vacuum created by the pandemic by delivering health services. However, as the pandemic surged, the two groups gradually scaled down their combatant targeting and prioritised delivering health services to bolster their legitimacy and build popular support for their proto-states. By contrast, Al-Shabaab labelled the pandemic as a Western and Chinese ‘problem’, and made no visible changes to their operations in response to the crisis, only belatedly beginning to offer health services as the pandemic worsened.

The Taliban is actively developing relationships with regional powers as it makes territorial gains in Afghanistan

The Taliban is actively developing relationships with regional powers as it makes territorial gains in Afghanistan

Taliban movement and its role in regional political processes

Taliban movement and its role in regional political processes

The Urgency of Guaranteeing the Protection of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan Post-Taliban Leadership Based on International Human Rights Principles

Human rights are rights that humans have solely because they are human. After the leadership of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the world community is worried about the protection of human rights for the female population in Afghanistan. The reason is that many human rights violations were committed against the female population in Afghanistan that were carried out during the current leadership of the Taliban, such as restrictions on access to education and prohibitions from working. Of course, this problem is enough to get the world's attention because it is considered to violate international human rights principles, which include the principle of equality, the principle of non-discrimination, and the principle of state obligations. Based on this, there is a sense of concern from countries in the world to voice this conflict in various world forums and organizations, one example is The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for gender equality or commonly known as UN Women, namely the United Nations agency defending gender equality and empowering women in the world.

No, Afghanistan Is Not Really Vietnam All Over Again

On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Afghan Taliban signed an agreement in Doha, Qatar, bringing the United States potentially closer to ending the war in Afghanistan than at any point in the conflict's eighteen-year history. After months of military escalations, negotiations, and recriminations, the United States agreed to a token withdrawal of several thousand forces by August 2020 and to remove all remaining forces by May 2021. The Afghan government had been cut out of the talks, but the United States also vowed to encourage it to release thousands of Taliban prisoners and to enter into its own negotiations with the Taliban in order to pave the way to a permanent ceasefire agreement. For its part, the Taliban agreed to negotiate with Kabul after the troop withdrawals began and to halt cooperation with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

The Taliban Reader. War, Islam and Politics, edited by Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn, 2018

The Taliban Reader. War, Islam and Politics, edited by Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn, 2018

ETHNICITY OR RELIGION? THE GENESIS OF THE TALIBAN MOVEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN

Since the emergence of the Taliban in the national scene of Afghanistan, speculations have abounded around whether to call the movement a Pashtun nationalist movement or should it be termed as a radical Islamic movement having supra ethnic tendencies? It can be viewed that the Taliban movement in Afghanistan neither has its origin directly in the Pashtun tribal culture nor in the tradition of Islam. The leaders of the movement tend to use both these identities voluntarily based on circumstances. Depending on the aims and objectives in a given situation, both these identities are instrumentalized by the Taliban leaders to recruit more fighters and also to carry on with the political aspect of strategic decision making. Moreover, in the post 2001 scenario Afghan Taliban's principal ambition is to fight for national liberation against the presence of foreign forces and their local allies in Afghanistan under the banner of ‘divinely decreed Jihad’.

The Afghan Peace Agreement: Repercussions for South Asia


 
 
 A historic peace deal was reached between the Afghan Taliban and the U.S. government in the hope of ending the decades-old war in Afghanistan. America’s protracted war in Afghanistan is expected to come to an end with the life loss of millions of civilians, thousands of American troops, and billions of dollars. This peace deal is significant in a way that never in history, has a sitting government negotiated with a violent non-state actor, let alone reaching a peace deal with them. This would act as a precedent for such agreements in the future with other non-state actors to restore peace and stability around the globe. However, whether this deal is good enough to sustain peace will be apparent in the future. How the Afghan peace deal will play out in the future is yet to be seen, but the fact that two conflicting parties made it work after years of negotiations is an effort that needs to be acknowledged. The legitimacy of this deal would be derived from the indigenous support from domestic stakeholders and regional powers. The people of Afghanistan have suffered the most in a tug of war between the Taliban and the U.S. government. They deserve a homeland where they can live and work freely without any fear. Thousands of Afghans have been displaced as a result of this war, and this new deal will provide opportunities for the rehabilitation of Afghan refugees. It is high time that Afghanistan closes its woeful war-stricken chapter and embarks upon a road towards development. The Afghan peace deal has the potential to provide stability to an already turbulent South Asian region. With one less threat to deal with, the countries in the region can focus on mitigating other prospective threats to peace and security in South Asia.
 
 

The Coronavirus, the War on Terrorism, and the Taliban in Afghanistan

In this focus essay I discuss how the Taliban understand coronavirus in Afghanistan. I make the point that they see it as a political event of significance for establishing their legitimacy, as well as to press the US and the Afghan government to come to their terms in the War on Terrorism.

On the relations between the US and the Afghan Taliban

The relationship between the United States and the Taliban since 1994 can be categorized into four stages, that is, friendly engagement, disputes and escalation of differences, head-on military confrontation, and fighting while negotiating. This paper briefly outlines the historical context of the relationship, expounds on the main factors that have shaped US–Taliban relations at different stages, and explores three major variables, namely, practical interests, religions and ideologies, and third-party factors. This paper argues that the 2020 peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban might open a new chapter in US–Taliban relations, but the withdrawal of US troops does not mean the US will leave Afghanistan entirely. Given the complicated situations on the ground, the peace agreement does not guarantee real peace in Afghanistan, either.

Анализ перспективы разоружения, демобилизации и реинтеграции фундаменталь-ного исламистского движения «Талибан» в Афганистане

Анализ перспективы разоружения, демобилизации и реинтеграции фундаменталь-ного исламистского движения «Талибан» в Афганистане

Military adaptation and organisational convergence in war: Insurgents and international forces in Afghanistan

ABSTRACT Existing studies focus on explaining how militaries adapt in different ways to the challenges of war. However, organisation theory suggests that competition and normative pressure will lead overtime to convergence within particular business and policy sectors, as optimal ways of organizing and operating are learned and emulated. I examine this dynamic in the context of the conflict between the Afghan Taliban and the British Army. That there should be convergence in modes of operation or organizational form between these two very different opponents seems most improbable. Yet, as this article shows, convergence did occur as the conflict wore on.

Pakistan-United States Relations in Trump Era and FATF

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has become a modern diplomatic instrument for the United States of America to use it the way it wants for. As the U.S. led Afghan peace process embraced the victory, Washington, Afghan Taliban and Kabul government have agreed upon limited ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan soil. Pakistani authorities are equally ready to cease the movement, amid the challenges posed by the FATF, by facilitating U.S.-Taliban peace deal in Qatar on Feb 29, 2020, the biggest development happened ever in South Asian region. It happened for the first time of grinding warfare since the U.S. invasion in 2001 which is considered to be a vital step to end the insurgency altogether in the region. Pentagon finally accepted Islamabad’s stance that there is no military solution to the Afghan imbroglio. Pakistani authorities, through Afghan authorities, are said to be taking over Pakistani Taliban purportedly operating from Afghanistan. After playing a key role in brokering the said peace deal, the challenge of FATF as a diplomatic tool to pile up pressure on Islamabad to mold its role in favour of the US and the Taliban talks.

Terrorism in Central Asia: Security Implications for Russia

End of the cold war following the disintegration of the Soviet Union witnessed unprecedented increase in militancy and terrorism prompted by internal and external forces. This was also fuelled by factors like religious fundamentalism and ethno-nationalist chauvinism. The newly independent countries of the Central Asian region encountered myriad problems like terrorism, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, organized crime, separatism, and ethnic conflicts. Given the geographical proximity and historicity, Central Asia is regarded as Russia’s own backyard and a “soft underbelly”. The near-abroad security developments in the Central Asian republics have great influence on Russia and could create a complex environment detrimental to its security interests. The Russian approach to this challenge is of great importance for the stability of the whole area. Any negative developments in Central Asian Regions and Afghanistan would have serious security implications for Russia. A stable and friendly government in Afghanistan and Central Asian states would prove beneficial to Russian security, including the on ongoing separatist movements in Chechnya and Dagestan. Therefore it is imperative that Russia and Central Asian states act collectively to counter religious radicalism and foster regional stability. This article examines some factors responsible for breeding terrorism and religious extremism in Central Asian Republics and its security implications onRussia such as Central Asian threats, US presence in Central Asia and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Peace Process: From Terrible Times to Glimpse of Hope

The potential of peace as of now is resting on four pillars of proposed peace deal which include ceasefire, counter-terrorism, troop withdrawal and intra-Afghan negotiations. Appointment of former Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as chief negotiator to lead the peace process on behalf of Afghan Taliban is a sigh of relief. His influence over Taliban’s of Afghanistan being the most respected leader after former Mullah Umer is without any doubt an important endeavor to forestall challenges to lasting peace. This paper makes the point that sustainability of peace process in Afghanistan is vested on the foundations of trust between Taliban and United States, which due to prevailing geo-political conditions is less likely to achieve. The fundamental demand of the Taliban has been withdrawal of the US troops, whereas the Americans have never demanded concrete guarantees from Taliban since they have been called terrorists from the very beginning. The draft of the proposed deal had reflected US demand as denying safe heaven to non-state actors that Taliban themselves would like to ensure. Taking the lead from geopolitical landscape of Afghanistan, this study had undertaken an analysis from the failures of previous peace dialogues to reflect insights on the ongoing peace talk between Taliban and United States. The study is deductive in nature and has applied Regional Complex Security Theory of Barry Buzan with subjective interpretations to delve upon the parameters associated with the complications of Afghan peace process.

COUNTERING MEASURES OF TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN

Terrorism and sectarian violence has started since the creation of the Pakistan. Terrorism is the deliberate use of unlawful force or violence to achieve goal that is political or ideological nature. Special Anti-terrorist courts enforce the Anti-terrorism laws of the Pakistan and system nominates organizations and people consisted with terrorism. Different factors are responsible to make Anti-Terrorism law. A number of extremist challenges faced by Pakistan that are ethnic and religious groups. The Pakistan government established committees to encourage sectarian harmony and religious tolerance. Pakistan support Taliban in Afghanistan, which make the way safe for militancy and also for terrorists. The anti-terrorism law has massive implication on Pakistan by different ways. Pakistan has been effected economically, politically, socially and militarily. According to Pakistan Finance Ministry, that counter terrorism campaign has caused unemployment in affected areas, which increased poverty. The listing of these proscribes organizations is also one of the factor to make anti-terrorism law. To gauge the impacts of anti-terrorism law, so there is technological impediment inhabits a particular incident of terrorists. Due to this hurdle unintended results happened and they transferred the attack. This law also desisted the activities of those groups who are involved in funds rising, money laundering and participation in terrorist activities. This law has sustainable effect on civil freedom rights and values. Some decision maker was also condemned this act on account of personal liberties. The additional powers of this act have been produced inimical result to combat terrorism.