Abdul Hafiz Mansoor: 'I Assure You the Taliban Will Never Return'

Posted: 03/21/2014 12:55 pm EDT Updated: 03/21/2014 12:59 pm EDT

Can you share with us some memories of times when your rights have been violated? I was the first victim of the post-Taliban government and system, which is supposed to stand for freedom of expression, democracy, and human rights. When the first post-Taliban government took power, I was the director of the national radio and television agency; they dismissed me immediately without any reason. This left a strong impact on me. Even though my human rights had been openly violated, it didn't crush my spirit. It didn't convince me to sit at home and be silent. Since then, I have been stronger in my criticisms of the government. I even stood for presidential election in 2004. What are the important achievements in post-Taliban Afghanistan? The holding of elections, an important hallmark of democracy in any country, is an achievement. The citizens have been given the right to elect their representatives for the first time, without consideration for ethnicity, language, gender and religion. Achievements have been made in the area of women's rights. Their rights have been enshrined in the laws of Afghanistan; a step which has recognized women as firstclass citizens of this country. We are, however, far from an ideal situation. Another achievement concerns education and public consciousness. We have realized the importance of knowledge and education. What gives you hope for the future? Consciousness and political awareness amongst the people has increased. They have realized that the path to becoming independent, and to living in prosperity and peace comes through work, education, and service. They have also realized that none of those benefits would be achieved without cooperating with the international community. The people have had a taste of equal citizenship. Everybody wants to take part in political and social decision-making. These are great achievements. What do you fear most today? My fear is that the politicians may do something to isolate Afghanistan once again and to sever its relations with the international community. What are the biggest challenges facing Afghanistan?

First, there are the games played by the political groups ruling Afghanistan. Administrative corruption has almost paralyzed the entire country. The upcoming elections are another major challenge. There is a possibility that some major power lords could succeed in these elections and divert the country from its current course of decentralizing politics. Will the present-day Afghanistan allow a recurrence of the closing of schools to girls and the blocking of women's social participation? I assure you the Taliban will never return. They have been defeated with respect to this very question of closing the schools to girls, for example. Their social policies were sterile in general; they did not have a proper understanding of Afghanistan's history and its place in the world. They were merely a whip for revenge, destruction, and ruin. The Taliban are not compatible with the people of Afghanistan and their desires for a modern society. What are some of the major factors that deter women's participation in social, economic, political, and cultural spheres? A major problem is the conservative interpretation of women's status in religion, which views women as a second, inferior sex. Women's presence in society is another challenge. The prevailing norms still see women's employment outside of the home as a shameful thing. On this view, women's work indicates a lack of honor for men. Finally, there is the problem of the culture of impunity, which is intertwined with tribal traditions and has given a free license to many people to suppress and degrade women. What do the women of Afghanistan want? One thing women seek is a true revision of the interpretation of religion, to fairly examine their real status under Islam. Advances on an economic level would raise consciousness and bring happiness and self-confidence to women. If women can enjoy a good income, they can then concentrate on promoting their status. Which sources and centres of power can women rely on to promote their rights and demands? Religion is an important source. Widespread religious reforms can be very useful to promote women's rights and demands. We must start from the pulpit. People should be told about women's rights and their status in Islam from the top of the pulpit. At the same time, we ought to look to other countries as role models. We should consider the way women's identity is conceptualized in other Islamic countries. Reforms are the only reasonable way forward for our country. Reforms need to be undertaken in every field to strengthen women's identity.

What have you done in your personal and professional life to fight against discrimination? In the public domain, my work is limited to legislation and writing. I have defended gender equality in all my intellectual activities. In the private domain, my daughters, just like my sons, are studying. I have abolished every kind of gender discrimination in our home. A few weeks ago, I did everything within my power to defend the inheritance right of one of our female relatives. I'm pleased to say we were successful and she received what it was her right to receive. "Unveiling Afghanistan, the Unheard Voices of Progress" is a campaign byArmanshahr/OPEN ASIA and FIDH, which explores views held by Afghan civil society actors. Over 50 days, 50 influential social, political, and cultural actors hope to spark conversation and debate about building a society that is inclusive of women's and human rights in Afghanistan.

Image Credit: REUTERS/Ahmad Masood 1 2

Yes, The Taliban Are Terrorists

It is time for Washington to put objective facts above political wishful thinking and recognize the Taliban as a terror organization.
By Aziz Hakimi March 25, 2014

The story is heartbreaking. A Facebook status update on July 16, 2013, from Ahmad Sardar, the Afghan journalist in Kabul. Nelofar, his 5-year-old daughter asks her dad, Do the Taliban kill animals too? The father answers no, and the little girl says: I wish we were animals. Little Nelofar is dead now, brutally murdered by the Taliban shot in the head together with her dad, her mom and her 8-year-old brother. Of Nelofars family, only her 2-year-old brother has miraculously survived, in a coma with three bullets in his body.

On March 20, 2014, on the eve of the Persian New Year, the Taliban managed to enter the highly fortified Serena Hotel, located just a kilometer away from the Afghan presidential palace, where Nelofar and her family were celebrating the Nawrooz, the arrival of the spring and of the New Year. The Taliban suicide mission left nine people dead and many more injured before Afghan forces killed the four attackers, who had managed to sneak pistols and ammunition inside the hotel, despite the tight security measures. This is certainly not the first ruthless killing of civilians by the Taliban and, as Afghans know, it will not be the last. Every attack has been accompanied by widespread resentment of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has on numerous occasions called the Taliban his dissident brothers. Many Afghans accuse Karzai of turning a blind eye to the massacres of civilians by the Taliban in the hearts of the Afghan capital and other major cities. Karzai never directly condemns the Taliban for the killings. Instead, he and other officials release statements that refer to the killers as the enemies of peace and stability, an absurd and overused phrase that carries no real sense of condemnation toward the Taliban themselves. Some inside the government have privately told journalists that they are officially being asked by the presidents office to use such ambiguous expressions. The deadly attack on the Serena Hotel occurred on the same day that yet more Taliban fighters were freed from Bagram Prison, complete control of which was transferred to the Afghan government exactly a year ago. Since, then, most of the prisoners considered dangerous members of the Taliban have been let go without formal trial and over the strong protests of both U.S. officials and a majority of the Afghan people. Despite the fact that the Talibans use of deadly force against the civilian population is widely branded as terrorist attacks inside and outside of Afghanistan, neither the Afghan government nor the U.S. officially recognizes the Taliban as a terrorist organization. The U.S. policy of not including the Taliban on its list of terror entities has been purely political. Washington saw it as ruining its chances of some kind of rapprochement with so-called moderate Taliban. In October 2012, the Americans finally gave up hope of reaching a deal through secret contacts, angering the Afghan president and exacerbating the deterioration of his relations with the United States. However, even this failure has evidently yet to convince the Americans that the time has come to change policy.

Few Afghans think the Taliban is simply an insurgent group, or that it represents a Pashtun movement, as was once suggested by the late Richard Holbrooke. It is true that many Taliban are Pashtuns, but not all Pashtuns are Taliban. The Afghan government will not recognize the Taliban as a terrorist organization the influence of the groups empathizers and anti-Western figures within the government ensures that. Some Afghan military officials and officers say privately that the policies of the central government bind their hands, restraining them from employing their full capabilities in the fight against the Taliban. Last year, Karzai, enraged by what he saw as civilian casualties during an air raid requested by the Afghan Army, decreed that Afghan forces would be forbidden to use NATOs air support during operations against the Taliban. The decree, many Afghan officers believe, has only emboldened the Taliban to broaden the use of ordinary villagers as human shields in their attacks on Afghan and international forces. There is no sign that Karzai will put aside his vain hopes of winning the hearts and minds of his dissident brothers; not even at the cost of the many lives taken during the bloodshed perpetuated by the Taliban on a daily basis. Karzai has lost the faith and trust of the Afghan people on this. It is an open secret that Mr. Karzais refusal to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement with the Americans is purely political, with an eye to winning the Talibans favor. In February, Aimal Faizi, the presidents spokesperson, speaking with The New York Times, claimed that the Afghan government was in secret contact with the Taliban and that they were encouraged by the Presidents stance on the Bilateral Security Agreement and his speeches afterwards. In his speeches, Karzai has bitterly criticized the U.S. and NATO, insinuating that it was their presence in Afghanistan that was the main cause of insecurity and instability. The Afghan public meanwhile worry that the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan will mean a return of the Taliban to power. There is an increasing need for the international community, led by the United States, to take a clear stance with regards to the Taliban. In short, it is time for Washington to put objective facts above political wishful thinking and officially recognize the Taliban as a terror organization. Many other members of the international community would then surely follow suit, resulting in real and effective pressure on the Taliban and its supporters, both inside Afghanistan and at a regional level. Acknowledging the Taliban as a terrorist entity will also facilitate more cooperation between the international community in their fight against terrorism, based on universal legal conventions and international law.

Little Nelofar was surely not the only Afghan child to be so frightened of the Taliban; the fear has paled the face of every Afghan. The first step in overcoming that fear, however deep and complex, is for people to know what they are dealing with: insurgents or terrorists. Aziz Hakimi is an Afghan writer and journalist based in London. He is the editor of Afghanistan Monitor, a Farsi-language website dedicated to Afghan news and analysis.

Pakistan opens direct talks with Taliban

(AFP) March 26 Miranshah Pakistani officials held their first direct talks with senior Taliban members on Wednesday as part of peace efforts to end their seven-year insurgency, though no immediate breakthroughs were announced. The government opened negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) last month and meetings so far have been conducted between go-betweens for the two sides. Extending a Taliban ceasefire due to expire next week was seen as a top priority in Wednesday's talks held in the tribal region of North Waziristan -- the first to directly involve government officials and Taliban leaders. But the militant group's spokesman told AFP after the meeting that he had no news to share. "I am yet to see Shura members who held talks with the government team and I will share the details later once I have a meeting with them," said Shahidullah Shahid. The government last week formed a new four-member committee for the direct contact, which met with four members of the Taliban Shura (council). Wednesday's talks took place in a border village in the restive North Waziristan tribal district, according to one security official. A government official in Islamabad said committees on both sides were "expected to exchange a list of demands". The Taliban have asked the government to release from jail 300 people, including women, children and men they say are non-combatants. The peace talks were a key campaign pledge for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before he was elected to office for a third time last year. But analysts are sceptical about their chances for success, given the Taliban's demands for nationwide sharia law and a withdrawal of troops from the lawless tribal zones. Many regional deals between the military and the Taliban have failed in the past. Moreover, attacks claimed by splinter factions have continued during talks and despite the Taliban ceasefire.