Source: Asia Times

The Changing Approach of the Afghan Taliban

Farzad Ramezani Bonesh: is the chief editor of the International Center for

Peace Studies based in Iran and the UK.

Although the Taliban include different groups and individuals, many are

now asking if we are seeing a flow of “neo-Taliban” away from the

organization. After the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Mullah

Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was chosen as the new head. Some prominent

members of the Taliban supported his election, and others questioned it.

This problem also arose with the succession of Hibatullah Akhundzada as

leader after Mansour was killed.

But it seems that with Akhundzada’s leadership, a significant portion of the

Taliban’s political decision-makers became more moderate. During this

period, although some of the Taliban’s more radical forces joined other

movements such as Islamic State (ISIS), the moderate and realistic faction

seems to have been able to change the group’s approach, both internally

and externally.

Also, a large number of the Taliban’s old members have been killed during

the more than two decades of war, and a new generation has arrived. These
youths have novel ideas, and the concepts of internal stability and peace

versus war are more understandable to them.

Nearly three decades of cooperation between the Taliban and extremist

groups have led the former to conclude that Afghanistan belongs to the

Afghans. In fact, the Taliban have a more moderate framework, seeing jihad

as a means for overthrowing the Afghan government and expelling foreign

forces, while ISIS and other extremist groups have the idea of dominating

the world and establishing an Islamic caliphate.

For example, while in ISIS’ view, Afghanistan is part of a broader region

known as Velayat Khorasan, the Taliban have gradually abandoned their

transnational views and ideas and are thinking of an Islamic emirate in

Afghanistan itself, rather than an Islamic caliphate spanning the region or

even the world.

There are also other important differences in religion, the views of

minorities, the Islamic Caliphate or the Islamic Emirate, and so on.

Therefore, it seems that given the great losses it suffered because of its links

to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden (overthrow of the Taliban government),

the group now does not want Afghanistan to be a battleground between

other movements. Therefore, it has separated itself from international

terrorist groups.
In this regard, it should be noted that the Taliban have now come to the

conclusion that the timing of the withdrawal of foreign troops from

Afghanistan is significantly linked to the severance of ties between the

Taliban and groups such as al-Qaeda.

Dominance of the political faction

The Taliban can be seen as divided into military and political factions, but

during the two decades of conflict with the government and the West, the

political faction seems to have overcome the military part.

Tolerance of other Afghan tribes

The Taliban once occupied about 90% of Afghanistan’s territory. They seem

to have come to the understanding little by little that any power in

Afghanistan that has called for a monopoly has not succeeded, so a widely

acceptable government is essential. Therefore, the group tries to introduce

itself as an important part of Afghan society, not the whole of it.

In this regard, it seems that the Afghan Taliban intend to correct some of

the trends of the past in their relationship with ethnic and religious

minorities such as Shiites and Hazaras. In fact, the Taliban (tactically or

strategically) have decided to involve the rest of the tribes in the

government, and have even tried to recruit members from tribes other than

the majority Pashtuns, such as Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks.

Pakistan’s role

For two and a half decades, Pakistan has played a significant role in the

positioning of the Afghan Taliban, and many have even linked the Taliban

to a structural relationship with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. But

for the past decade or so, the Afghan Taliban no longer appeared to be a

strategic tool for the Pakistani military to advance its security policy toward

Afghanistan.

In fact, the Afghan Taliban sometimes have different interests from

Pakistan in peace negotiations, such as recognition of the Durand Line and

so on. Meanwhile, the Taliban appear to be seeking to define their own

interests in Afghanistan’s geography by understanding Pakistan’s national

interests.

Kabul’s engagement with Taliban

Afghanistan’s government has been able to help reduce the Taliban’s power

and raise internal conflicts within the group by measures such as peace

talks and the inclusion of more moderate Taliban members in the

government. This has led the Taliban’s middle-class faction to be more

inclined to accept change.

Role of regional, international powers

Afghanistan’s decades-long understanding of developments inside the

country, the lack of official recognition by most countries in the 1990s, and

its relationship with regional and Islamic actors and institutions have led

the Taliban to conclude that foreign actors are only interested in pursuing

their own policies in Afghanistan. On the other hand, foreign actors’

support against ISIS led to talks with actors such as the United States,

Russia, China and Iran.

Meanwhile, the Taliban, by resorting to serious diplomacy and real

negotiations, are not, as in the past, putting all their eggs in the basket of

one particular country, and are therefore trying to be connected with a wide

array of nations ranging from East Asia to the West.

Modern global values

For the past two decades, the Taliban have tried to use social media such as

Facebook and Twitter to spread messages in several languages and to

communicate via WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram. So the Taliban have often

modified their public image and public relations, portraying themselves as

a more modern and less radical movement than in the past.

Also, with the widespread social and cultural developments in Afghanistan,

the body of the Afghan Taliban has changed, and new media and virtual

networks have been somewhat effective in changing their attitudes.

In addition, the Taliban leaders’ increased experience with other Islamic

states and the large gap between theory and practice seem to have led them

to realize that accepting women’s rights, education, and modern

interpretations of human rights in accordance with Islamic principles are

essential.

Vision

After the Taliban regime was ousted, freedom of expression, freedom of the

media, women’s enjoyment of their basic rights, and so on changed the face

of Afghanistan as a whole. In the meantime, it must be admitted that the

current Taliban are quite different from the extremists and radicals of the

1990s.

In the meantime, however, there has been no fundamental change in the

Taliban’s view of various social, political, and cultural issues. But the

political section of the Taliban now seems to be dominating the military

faction, while at the same time, we see less ideological color and increasing

nationalism in the group. In fact, changes in the Taliban are continuing at

various levels.