Q+A: Ten years on, who are the Taliban today?
By Chris Allbritton and Martin Petty(Reuters) - A decade ago, when American bomber jets and special forces forced the Taliban regime from power in Afghanistan, the movement which was born in the religious schools of Pakistan's tribal belts seemed shattered, never to return.
Since then, the various groups and factions of the Taliban -- which means "students" in Arabic and Pashto -- have split, regrouped and coalesced into an effective if diffuse guerrilla movement operating in two countries.
They believe Afghanistan and Pakistan should be ruled by strict Islamic law. They are likely to have a prominent voice in any peace settlement on the future of Afghanistan, and have already helped destabilize Pakistan.
Here are some questions and answers about who the Taliban factions are, and how the fight against them is going:
WHO ARE THE TALIBAN?
The Taliban include several loosely allied factions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The biggest are the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Pakistani Taliban.
The Afghan Taliban rose to prominence in 1994 under the leadership of Mullah Omar, a former imam and mujahideen guerrilla, whose army of young and fanatical fighters seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 but were ousted by U.S.-backed forces five years later.
Often referred to in shorthand as the Quetta Shura because of its leadership's base in exile, it prefers to call itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of about 13 groups in Pakistan's northwest and western tribal areas. Established in December 2007, it is blamed for many suicide bombings across Pakistan. It has also struck American targets in Afghanistan, and it shares some resources and ideology with the Afghan Taliban.
The Haqqani network, based in the lawless tribal areas of the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, is perhaps the most politically worrying for the United States. The Haqqanis are battling for control over their traditional power base in eastern Afghanistan, spread over Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces.
Leader Jalaluddin Haqqani rose to power as a mujahideen leader in the fight against Soviet troops in the 1980s. He allied with the Afghan Taliban after Omar seized Kabul.
Mullah Omar is still the nominal head of the entire Taliban movement and most other factions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan swear loyalty to him as Amir-ul-Mu'minin, or "Leader of the Faithful."
HOW DO THESE GROUPS OPERATE?
Given the dispersed nature of the groups, the Taliban factions often act like franchises, comprised of myriad regional cells that operate independently at the local level, but which follow the grand strategy and Islamic principles of the movement's shadowy leadership -- primarily Omar's.
A Taliban cell at village level might typically have 10-50 part-time fighters and plenty more local mercenaries.
All three major factions share an ideology of jihad, or holy war. They often share resources, safe houses and fighters, with the Haqqanis often serving as the communications channel.
WHERE ARE THE TALIBAN BASED?
Militant cells are scattered all across both countries but in Afghanistan are particularly strong in the south, southwest and the eastern frontier with Pakistan, where coalition forces have struggled to flush them out.
In Pakistan, they operate in the borderlands known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and in the northwest of the country bordering Afghanistan.
The leadership of all three factions is likely to be in Pakistan. Mullah Omar is believed to be based in Quetta, a Pakistani city about 130 km (81 miles) from the Afghan border, but both the Afghan Taliban and Islamabad deny this.
The Haqqanis are primarily active in North Waziristan in Pakistan, and Paktia, Paktika and Khost in Afghanistan. This central area allows them to funnel men and ammunition into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and their wounded back to safe havens on the eastern side of the border.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational leader, recently told Reuters his group is no longer based in Pakistan but is secure in Afghanistan.
The TTP is based in South Waziristan and throughout the tribal areas. The Pakistan military has been attacking their positions, but attacks and suicide bombings are still relatively common. Some TTP fighters operate in Afghanistan alongside the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqanis.
HOW MUCH SUPPORT DO THESE GROUPS HAVE?
In many parts of Afghanistan, and particularly among ethnic Tajiks and Hazaras in the north and northeast, many of whom suffered under their rule, the Afghan Taliban are reviled.
To some Pashtuns, however, they are seen as defenders of Islam, battling foreign invaders. This view of the Afghan Taliban is also widely held in Pakistan.
The TTP enjoys very little support in either country, however, because it is blamed for killing up to 35,000 Pakistan civilians, troops and policemen.
Many Afghans and American officials accuse Pakistan's spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of providing support to the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.
Pakistan denies this, but admits to "contacts" with the Haqqanis and other groups. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point report says Pakistan often uses the group as a conduit between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban leadership.
Analysts say Pakistan maintains contact and possible support because it wants to limit Indian influence in Afghanistan after NATO forces leave.
WHAT'S THE STATE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST THE AFGHAN TALIBAN?
NATO-led and Afghan forces have reported success in securing parts of the country but there is no guarantee they can keep the Taliban at bay, especially beyond the planned withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
Last month's assassination of former president and Afghanistan's top peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani was a blow to a fledgling reconciliation process that the government and much of the international community had hoped would lead to dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.
The involvement of Pakistan, with its influence over the Taliban, is seen as crucial to any negotiation process but as long as ties with the United States remain strained, it is unlikely the different parties can come to the table any time soon.
WHAT'S THE STATE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST THE TTP?
Pakistani leaders said after an all-party meeting attended by top military and intelligence officials last month they would seek reconciliation with militants to end the insurgency.
This led the TTP to say it would consider talks with the Pakistani government if an Arab country such as Saudi Arabia were involved.
Previous peace agreements with militants have usually resulted in Pakistan ceding control over swaths of territory to them with a pledge to maintain the peace, agreements almost always broken by the militants. (Sources: Reuters, Council on Foreign Relations, Military Review, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point)
(Editing by Daniel Magnowski)
===============================================
No comments:
Post a Comment