Misplaced Pages

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Taliban rule in Afghanistan) Taliban-led partially recognized government of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 This article is about the first Taliban government from 1996 to 2001. For the current state, see Afghanistan. For states with similar names, see Emirate of Afghanistan (1823–1926), Emirate of Afghanistan (1929), and Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2002). For other uses, see Islamic emirate (disambiguation).

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistanد افغانستان اسلامي امارت
Da Afġānistān Islāmī Amārāt
1996–2001
Flag Emblem of Afghanistan Emblem
Motto: 
لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
lā ʾilāha ʾillà l-Lāh, Muḥammadun rasūlu l-Lāh
"There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God"
Anthem: دا د باتورانو کور
Dā Də Bātorāno Kor
"This Is the Home of the Brave"
The Islamic Emirate in 2001, in greenThe Islamic Emirate in 2001, in green
StatusPartially-recognised government
Capitaland largest cityKabul
Official languages
Religion Sunni Islam (official)
Demonym(s)Afghan
GovernmentUnitary totalitarian theocratic Islamic emirate
Supreme Leader 
• 1996–2001 Mullah Omar
Prime Minister 
• 1996–2001 Mohammad Rabbani
• 2001 (acting) Abdul Kabir
LegislatureSupreme Council (consultative body)
Historical eraAfghan Civil War / War on Terror
• Mullah Omar proclaimed Commander of the Faithful 4 April 1996
• Capture of Kabul 27 September 1996
• Name changed to "Emirate" 29 October 1997
• Invasion begins 7 October 2001
• Fall of Kabul 13 November 2001
• Fall of Kandahar 7 December 2001
Area
• Total587,580 km (226,870 sq mi)
CurrencyAfghani
Calling code+93
ISO 3166 codeAF
Preceded by Succeeded by
Islamic State of Afghanistan
Islamic State of Afghanistan
Today part ofAfghanistan
Part of a series on the
History of Afghanistan

The palace of the emir in 1839
Timeline
Ancient
Indus Valley civilisation 2200–1800 BC
Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BC
Gandhara kingdom 1500–535 BC
Median Empire 728–550 BC
Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BC
Macedonian Empire 330–312 BC
Seleucid Empire 312–150 BC
Maurya Empire 305–180 BC
Greco-Bactrian kingdom 256–125 BC
Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD
Indo-Greek kingdom 180–90 BC
Indo-Scythian kingdom 155–80? BC
Kushan Empire 135 BC – 248 AD
Indo-Parthian kingdom 20 BC – 50? AD
Sasanian Empire 230–651
Kidarite kingdom 320–465
Rob
Alchon Huns 380–560
Hephthalite Empire 410–557
Nezak Huns 484–711
Medieval
Kabul Shahi 565–879
Principality of Chaghaniyan 7th–8th centuries
Rashidun Caliphate 652–661
Tang China 660–669
Tibetan Empire 660–842
Umayyads 661–750
Zunbils 680–870
Lawik750-977
Abbasids 750–821
Tahirids 821–873
Saffarids 863–900
Samanids 875–999
Ghaznavids 963–1187
Ghurids before 879–1215
Seljuks 1037–1194
Khwarezmids 1215–1231
Mongol Invasion 1219–1226
Chagatai Khanate 1226–1245
Qarlughids 1224–1266
Ilkhanate 1256–1335
Kartids 1245–1381
Timurids 1370–1507
Arghuns 1520–1591
Modern
Mughals 1501–1738
Safavids 1510–1709
Kunduz Khanate ?–1859
Hotak dynasty 1709–1738
Sadozai Sultanate 1716–1732
Afsharid Iran 1738–1747
Durrani Empire 1747–1823
Maimana Khanate 1747–1892
Herat 1793–1863
Principality of Qandahar1818–1855
Emirate 1823–1926
Saqqawist Emirate 1929
Kingdom 1926–1973
Daoud coup 1973
Republic 1973–1978
Saur Revolution 1978
Democratic Republic 1978–1992
Tanai coup attempt 1990
Islamic State 1992–1996
Islamic Emirate 1996–2001
US invasion 2001
Islamic State (reinstated) 2001
Interim/Transitional Administration 2001–2004
Islamic Republic (politics) 2004–2021
Islamic Emirate (reinstated) since 2021
Related historical regions
Related topics

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي امارت, Da Afġānistān Islāmī Amārāt), also referred to as the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, was a totalitarian Islamic state led by the Taliban that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. At its peak, the Taliban government controlled approximately 90% of the country, while remaining regions in the northeast were held by the Northern Alliance, which maintained broad international recognition as a continuation of the Islamic State of Afghanistan.

After the September 11 attacks and subsequent declaration of a "War on Terror" by the United States, international opposition to the regime drastically increased, with diplomatic recognition from the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan being rescinded. The Islamic Emirate ceased to exist on 7 December 2001 after being overthrown by the Northern Alliance, which had been bolstered by the ISAF coalition established after a U.S.-led invasion of the country two months prior. The Taliban continued to refer to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in official communications when it was out of power from 2001 to 2021.

History

See also: History of Afghanistan

Early history and ethnic conflict

See also: History of the Taliban

The Taliban and its rule arose from the chaos after the Soviet–Afghan War. It began as an Islamic and Pashtun politico-religious movement composed of madrasa students in southern Afghanistan. Overwhelmingly ethnic Pashtuns, the Taliban blended Pashtunwali tribal code with elements of Salafist teaching to form an anti-Western and anti-modern Islamist ideology with which it ruled. It began to receive support from neighboring Pakistan as well as from Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. A small Taliban militia first emerged near Kandahar in the spring and summer of 1994, committing vigilante acts against minor warlords, with a fund of 250,000 USD from local businessmen. They soon began to receive backing from local Durrani Pashtun leaders.

The first major military activity of the Taliban was in October–November 1994 when they marched from Maiwand in southern Afghanistan to capture Kandahar City and the surrounding provinces, losing only a few dozen men. Starting with the capture of a border crossing and a huge ammunition dump from warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a few weeks later they freed "a convoy trying to open a trade route from Pakistan to Central Asia" from another group of warlords attempting to extort money. In the next three months this hitherto "unknown force" took control of twelve of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, with Mujahideen warlords often surrendering to them without a fight and the "heavily armed population" giving up their weapons. The Taliban initially enjoyed enormous good will from Afghans weary of the corruption, brutality, and the incessant fighting of Mujahideen warlords. However, reactions and resistance would vary and increase among non-Pashtun people.

The Taliban considered many of Afghanistan's other ethnic communities as foreign. Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and comprised the vast majority of the Taliban movement. As the Taliban expanded from their southern and south-eastern strongholds, they encountered more resistance; their brand of Deobandism, incorporated with the Pashtunwali tribal code, was viewed as foreign by the other ethnic groups of Afghanistan. The Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif illustrated this ethnic tension.

Rise to power and rule

Main articles: Taliban § (Deobandi) Islamic rules, Talibanization, and Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)
A German map showing the political status of Afghanistan in the fall of 1996, just after the Taliban conquered Kabul

Spreading from Kandahar, the Taliban eventually captured Kabul in 1996. By the end of 2000, the Taliban controlled 90% of the country, aside from the opposition (Northern Alliance) strongholds found primarily in the northeast corner of Badakhshan Province. Areas under the Taliban's direct control were mainly Afghanistan's major cities and highways. Tribal khans and warlords had de facto direct control over various small towns, villages, and rural areas. The Taliban sought to establish law and order and to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, along with the religious edicts of Mullah Mohammed Omar, upon the entire country of Afghanistan.

During the five-year history of the Islamic Emirate, the Taliban regime interpreted the Sharia in accordance with the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the religious edicts of Mullah Omar. The Taliban forbade pork and alcohol, many types of consumer technology such as most music, television, and film, as well as most forms of art such as paintings or photography, male and female participation in sport, including football and chess; recreational activities such as kite-flying and keeping pigeons or other pets were also forbidden, and the birds were killed according to the Taliban's ruling. Movie theaters were closed and repurposed as mosques. Celebration of the Western and Iranian New Year was forbidden. Taking photographs and displaying pictures or portraits was forbidden, as it was considered by the Taliban as a form of idolatry. Women were banned from working, girls were forbidden to attend schools or universities, were requested to observe purdah (physical separation of the sexes) and awrah (concealing the body with clothing), and to be accompanied outside their households by male relatives; those who violated these restrictions were punished. Men were forbidden to shave their beards and required to let them grow and keep them long according to the Taliban's liking, and to wear turbans outside their households. Communists were systematically executed. Prayer was made compulsory and those who did not respect the religious obligation after the azaan were arrested. Gambling was banned, and thieves were punished by amputating their hands or feet. In 2000, the Taliban leader Mullah Omar officially banned opium cultivation and drug trafficking in Afghanistan; the Taliban succeeded in nearly eradicating the majority of the opium production (99%) by 2001. Under the Taliban governance of Afghanistan, both drug users and dealers were severely prosecuted. The Afghan custom of bacha bazi, a form of pederastic sexual slavery and pedophilia traditionally practiced in various provinces of Afghanistan, was also forbidden under the six-year reign of the Taliban regime.

Cabinet ministers and deputies were mullahs with a "madrasah education". Several of them, such as the Minister of Health and Governor of the State bank, were primarily military commanders who were ready to leave their administrative posts to fight when needed. Military reverses that trapped them behind lines or led to their deaths increased the chaos in the national administration. At the national level, "all senior Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara bureaucrats" were replaced "with Pashtuns, whether qualified or not". Consequently, the ministries "by and large ceased to function".

Rashid described the Taliban government as "a secret society run by Kandaharis ... mysterious, secretive, and dictatorial". They did not hold elections, as their spokesman explained:

The Sharia does not allow politics or political parties. That is why we give no salaries to officials or soldiers, just food, clothes, shoes, and weapons. We want to live a life like the Prophet lived 1400 years ago, and jihad is our right. We want to recreate the time of the Prophet, and we are only carrying out what the Afghan people have wanted for the past 14 years.

They modeled their decision-making process on the Pashtun tribal council (jirga), together with what they believed to be the early Islamic model. Discussion was followed by a building of a consensus by the "believers". Before capturing Kabul, there was talk of stepping aside once a government of "good Muslims" took power, and law and order were restored.

As the Taliban's power grew, decisions were made by Mullah Omar without consulting the jirga and without consulting other parts of the country. One such instance is the rejection of Loya Jirga decision about expulsion of Osama bin Laden. Mullah Omar visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while in power. Instead of an election, their leader's legitimacy came from an oath of allegiance ("Bay'ah"), in imitation of the Prophet and the first four Caliphs. On 4 April 1996, Mullah Omar had "the Cloak of Muhammad" taken from its shrine, Kirka Sharif, for the first time in 60 years. Wrapping himself in the relic, he appeared on the roof of a building in the center of Kandahar while hundreds of Pashtun mullahs below shouted "Amir al-Mu'minin!" (Commander of the Faithful), in a pledge of support. Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil explained:

Decisions are based on the advice of the Amir-ul Momineen. For us consultation is not necessary. We believe that this is in line with the Sharia. We abide by the Amir's view even if he alone takes this view. There will not be a head of state. Instead there will be an Amir al-Mu'minin. Mullah Omar will be the highest authority, and the government will not be able to implement any decision to which he does not agree. General elections are incompatible with Sharia and therefore we reject them.

The Taliban were very reluctant to share power, and since their ranks were overwhelmingly Pashtun they ruled as overlords over the 60% of Afghans from other ethnic groups. In local government, such as Kabul city council or Herat, Taliban loyalists, not locals, dominated, even when the Pashto-speaking Taliban could not communicate with the roughly half of the population who spoke Dari or other non-Pashtun tongues. Critics complained that this "lack of local representation in urban administration made the Taliban appear as an occupying force".

Fall and legacy

Main article: Taliban insurgency

The rule of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan came to an end in 2001 following the United States invasion. In May and June 2003, senior Taliban officials proclaimed the Taliban regrouped and ready for guerrilla war to expel US forces from Afghanistan. In late 2004, the then hidden Taliban leader Mohammed Omar announced an insurgency against "America and its puppets" (i.e. transitional Afghan government forces) to "regain the sovereignty of our country". Following a long insurgency, the Taliban once again took control of Afghanistan in 2021.

Government

See also: Cabinet of Afghanistan § Islamic Emirate (1996–2001)

The goal of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan during the period 1996 to 2001 was to return the order of Abdur Rahman (the Iron Emir) by the re-establishment of a state with Pashtun dominance within the northern areas. The Taliban sought to establish an Islamic government through law and order alongside a strict interpretation of Islamic law, in accordance with the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the religious guidance of Mullah Omar, upon the entire land of Afghanistan. By 1998, the Taliban controlled 90% of Afghanistan under their interpretation of Sharia.

The Taliban modelled their decision-making process on the Pashtun tribal council (jirga), together with what they believed to be the early Islamic model. Discussion was followed by a building of a consensus by the "believers". As the group's power grew, decisions were made by Mullah Omar without consulting the jirga and without consulting other parts of the country. He visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while in power. Instead of an election, their leader's legitimacy came from an oath of allegiance ("Bay'ah"), in imitation of the Prophet and the first four Caliphs. On 4 April 1996, Mullah Omar had "the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed" taken from its shrine for the first time in 60 years. Wrapping himself in the relic, he appeared on the roof of a building in the center of Kandahar while hundreds of Pashtun mullahs below shouted "Amir al-Mu'minin!" (Commander of the Faithful), in a pledge of support.

Human rights in the Emirate

See also: Human rights in Afghanistan

Role of women in the Emirate

Main article: Treatment of women by the Taliban See also: Women in Afghanistan
A member of the Taliban's religious police beating a woman in Kabul on 26 August 2001. The footage was filmed by RAWA.

During the Taliban's period of rule, brutal repression of women was widespread in the Emirate. Abuses were frequently and violently enforced by the religious police. For example, the Taliban issued edicts forbidding women from being educated, forcing girls to leave schools and colleges. Women leaving their houses were required to be accompanied by a male relative and were obligated to wear the burqa, a traditional dress covering the entire body except for a small slit out of which to see. Those accused of disobeying were publicly beaten. In one instance, a young woman named Sohaila was charged with adultery after walking with a man who was not a relative; she was publicly flogged in Ghazi Stadium, receiving 100 lashes. Female employment was restricted to the medical sector, where male medical personnel were prohibited from treating women and girls. This extensive ban on the employment of women further resulted in the widespread closure of primary schools, as almost all teachers prior to the Taliban's rise had been women, further restricting access to education not only to girls but also to boys. Restrictions became especially severe after the Taliban took control of the capital. In February 1998, for instance, religious police forced all women off the streets of Kabul and issued new regulations ordering people to blacken their windows so that women would not be visible from outside.

Ban on entertainment and recreational activities

During the Taliban rule of 1996–2001, they banned many recreational activities and games, such as football, kite flying, and chess. General entertainment such as televisions, cinemas, music with instrumental accompaniments, VCRs and satellite dishes were also banned. Also included in the list of banned items were "musical instruments and accessories" and all visual representation of living creatures.

It was reported that when Afghan children were caught kiting, a highly popular activity, they were beaten. When Khaled Hosseini learned through a 1999 news report that the Taliban had banned kite flying, a restriction he found particularly cruel, the news "struck a personal chord" for him, as he had grown up with the sport while living in Afghanistan. Hosseini was motivated to write a 25-page short story about two boys who fly kites in Kabul that he later developed into his first novel, The Kite Runner.

International relations

See also: Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Regarding its relations with the rest of the world, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan held a policy of isolationism: "The Taliban believe in non-interference in the affairs of other countries and similarly desire no outside interference in their country's internal affairs". Despite these isolationist policies, the Taliban entered in a deal for oil, electricity, and gas with Turkmenistan as part of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline.

While initially maintaining a friendly relationship, relations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Iran deteriorated in 1998 after Taliban forces seized the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif and executed Iranian diplomats. Following this incident, Iran threatened to invade Afghanistan by massing up military forces near the Afghan border but intervention by the United Nations Security Council and the United States prevented the war.

Turkmenistan adopted a position of "positive neutrality" and limited cooperation with the Taliban.

China first initiated contact with the Taliban in 1998. In November 2000, China's then-ambassador to Pakistan, Lu Shulin, became the first senior representative of a non-Muslim country to meet with Mullah Omar.

Diplomatic recognition

Between 1996 and 2001, only three widely recognized countries; Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) declared the Islamic Emirate to be the rightful government of Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate would also receive recognition from the partially recognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria; though Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov would later describe the Islamic Emirate as an "illegitimate" government. The Taliban government additionally received support from Turkmenistan, though the country did not provide the Emirate with formal recognition.

The Taliban government was not recognized by the United Nations, which instead continued to recognize the Islamic State of Afghanistan as being the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Following the declaration of a "War on Terror" by the United States after the September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda in 2001, international opposition to the Taliban regime running the Islamic Emirate drastically increased, and the only remaining diplomatic recognition by Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates was rescinded under growing pressure.

Sanctions

Main article: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267

On 15 October 1999, the UN Security Council established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and/or the Taliban. Since the US Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the sanctions were applied to individuals and organizations in all parts of the world; also targeting former members of the Taliban government.

On 27 January 2010, a United Nations sanctions committee removed five former senior Taliban officials from this list, in a move favored by Afghan president Karzai. The decision means the five will no longer be subject to an international travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo. The five men, all high-ranking members of the Taliban government:

  • Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, former foreign minister.
  • Fazal Mohammad, former deputy minister of commerce.
  • Shams-us-Safa Aminzai, former Taliban foreign affairs press officer.
  • Mohammad Musa Hottak, former deputy minister of planning.
  • Abdul Hakim Munib, former deputy minister of frontier affairs.

All had been added to the list in January or February 2001.

Bamiyan Buddhas controversy

Destruction of Buddhas, 21 March 2001

The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of central Afghanistan that were destroyed in March 2001, after the Taliban government declared that they were idols. International and local opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas.

After Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997-98), the Bamyan valley came into Taliban control, and Abdul Wahed, a local Taliban commander announced his intentions to destroy the Buddhas. Initially in July 1999, Mohammed Omar decreed in Favour of preserving the statues, with plans to establish a tourism circuit.

But in March 2001, the statues were destroyed by the Taliban following a decree issued by Mullah Omar. In a subsequent interview, Mullah Omar said: "I did not want to destroy the Bamiyan Buddha. In fact, some foreigners came to me and said they would like to conduct the repair work of the Bamiyan Buddha that had been slightly damaged due to rains. This shocked me. I thought, these callous people have no regard for thousands of living human beings – the Afghans who are dying of hunger, but they are so concerned about non-living objects like the Buddha. This was extremely deplorable. That is why I ordered its destruction. Had they come for humanitarian work, I would have never ordered the Buddha's destruction."

However, during another interview on 13 March 2001, the then Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakel stated that the destruction was not a retaliation against the economic sanctions by the international community: "We are destroying the statues in accordance with Islamic law, and it is purely a religious issue." A statement issued by the Ministry of religious affairs of the Taliban regime justified the destruction as being in accordance with Islamic law".

This prompted an international outcry from nations such as Japan, India, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Nepal, Iran, Qatar, and Russia. Even Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both of which were among only three nations to recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, voiced their opposition. The Arab branch of UNESCO, a cultural and educational agency of the United Nations, labelled the destruction as "savage".

Military

Main article: Islamic Emirate Army

The Taliban maintained 400 Soviet-built T-54/T-55 and T-62 tanks and more than 200 armored personnel carriers. The Taliban began training its own army and commanders; some were even trained by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Islamabad continued to support the Taliban, as Pakistani allies, in their push to conquer Afghanistan in the 1990s. The Islamic Army used child soldiers, many of them under 14 years old.

The air force under the Taliban maintained 5 MIG-21 MFs and 10 Sukhoi-22 fighter bombers. They held six Mil-Mi 8 helicopters, five Mi-35s, five Aero L-39C Albatrossess, six An-12s transport aircraft, among others. Their civil air service contained Boeing 727A/Bs, a Tu-154, five An-24s, and a DHC-6. All of these aircraft were destroyed by US forces during the war in Afghanistan in 2001. Most of the MIG-21 fleets ended up in an Afghan junkyard.

Conscription

Main article: Taliban conscription

According to the testimony of Guantanamo captives before their Combatant Status Review Tribunals, the Taliban, in addition to conscripting men to serve as soldiers, also conscripted men to staff its civil service – both done at gunpoint.

According to a report from Oxford University, the Taliban made widespread use of the conscription of children in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Economy

See also: Economy of Afghanistan
Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation, 1994–2016 (hectares). Before the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, opium production was almost entirely eradicated (99%) by the Taliban.

The Kabul money markets responded positively during the first weeks of the Taliban occupation. But the Afghani soon fell in value. The Taliban imposed a 50% tax on any company operating in the country, and those who failed to pay were attacked. They also imposed a 6% import tax on anything brought into the country, and by 1998 had control of the major airports and border crossings which allowed them to establish a monopoly on all trade. By 2001, the per-capita income of the 25 million population was under $200, and the country was close to total economic collapse. As of 2007, the economy had begun to recover, with estimated foreign reserves of three billion dollars and a 13% increase in economic growth.

Under the Transit treaty between Afghanistan and Pakistan a massive network for smuggling developed. It had an estimated turnover of 2.5 billion dollars with the Taliban receiving between $100 and $130 million per year. These operations along with the trade from the Golden Crescent financed the war in Afghanistan and also had the side effect of destroying start up industries in Pakistan. Ahmed Rashid also explained that the Afghan Transit Trade agreed on by Pakistan was "the largest official source of revenue for the Taliban."

Between 1996 and 1999 Mullah Omar reversed his opinions on the drug trade, apparently as it only harmed kafirs. The Taliban controlled 96% of Afghanistan's poppy fields and made opium its largest source of taxation. Taxes on opium exports became one of the mainstays of Taliban income and their war economy. According to Rashid, "drug money funded the weapons, ammunition and fuel for the war." In The New York Times, the Finance Minister of the United Front, Wahidullah Sabawoon, declared the Taliban had no annual budget but that they "appeared to spend US$300 million a year, nearly all of it on war." He added that the Taliban had come to increasingly rely on three sources of money: "poppy, the Pakistanis and bin Laden."

In an economic sense, it seems, however, he had little choice, as due to the war of attrition continuing with the Northern Alliance, the income from continued opium production was all that prevented the country from starvation. By 2000 Afghanistan accounted for an estimated 75% of the world's supply and in 2000 grew an estimated 3,276 tonnes of opium from poppy cultivation on 82,171 hectares. At this juncture Omar passed a decree banning the cultivation of opium, and production dropped to an estimated 74 metric tonnes from poppy cultivation on 1,685 hectares. Many observers say the ban – which came in a bid for international recognition at the United Nations – was only issued in order to raise opium prices and increase profit from the sale of large existing stockpiles. The year 1999 had yielded a record crop and had been followed by a lower but still large 2000 harvest. The trafficking of accumulated stocks by the Taliban continued in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, the UN mentioned the "existence of significant stocks of opiates accumulated during previous years of bumper harvests." In September 2001 – before the 11 September attacks against the United States – the Taliban allegedly authorized Afghan peasants to sow opium again.

There was also an environmental toll to the country, heavy deforestation from the illegal trade in timber with hundreds of acres of pine and cedar forests in Kunar Province and Paktya being cleared. Throughout the country millions of acres were denuded to supply timber to the Pakistani markets, with no attempt made at reforestation, which has led to significant environmental damage. By 2001, when the Afghan Interim Administration took power the country's infrastructure was in ruins, Telecommunications had failed, the road network was destroyed and Ministry of Finance buildings were in such a state of disrepair some were on the verge of collapse. On 6 July 1999 president Bill Clinton signed into effect executive order 13129. This order implemented a complete ban on any trade between the US and the Taliban regime and on 10 August they froze £5,000,000 in Ariana assets. On 19 December 2000, UN resolution 1333 was passed. It called for all assets to be frozen and for all states to close any offices belonging to the Taliban. This included the offices of Ariana Afghan Airlines. In 1999 the UN had passed resolution 1267 which had banned all international flights by Ariana apart from pre-approved humanitarian missions.

See also

Notes

  1. The Islamic State of Afghanistan, in control of the remaining 10% of the country as the Northern Alliance, retained widespread international recognition.

References

  1. Afghanistan (1996–2001, 2021–)
  2. "Role of the Taliban's religious police". 27 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  3. Gunaratna, Rohan; Woodall, Douglas (2015). Afghanistan After the Western Drawdown. p. 117.
  4. Marcin, Gary (1998). "The Taliban". King's College. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  5. "Map of areas controlled in Afghanistan '96". Archived from the original on 25 August 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  6. Nordland, Rod; Rubin, Alissa J. (24 June 2013). "Taliban Flag Is Gone in Qatar, but Talks Remain in Doubt". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  7. Rashid, Taliban (2000)
  8. Coll 2005, pp. 284–285.
  9. Coll 2005, p. 285.
  10. Rashid, Taliban, (2000) pp. 27–29
  11. "The Taliban". Infoplease.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  12. Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.!1
  13. Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world / editor in chief, Richard C. Martin, Macmillan Reference US : Thomson/Gale, 2004
  14. "Why are Customary Pashtun Laws and Ethics Causes for Concern?". Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2015.; Zahid, Farham. "TRIBUNE LIBRE N°37 UNDERSTANDING TALIBAN THROUGH THE PRISM OF PASHTUNWALI CODE". www.cf2r.org. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2015.; "Wandering Kuchis pay for their Taliban links". The Age. 27 August 2005. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  15. "Massacre in Mazar Sharif – 2". www.hazara.net. 19 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2021.; Travis, Hannibal (2013). Genocide, Ethnonationalism, and the United Nations: Exploring the Causes of Mass Killing Since 1945. Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-415-53125-2. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022. The massacres in Mazar-i-Sharif alone in 1998 claimed 8,000–10,000 lives
  16. Griffiths 226.
  17. ^ Matinuddin, Kamal (1999). "The Taliban's Religious Attitude". The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997. Karachi: Oxford University Press. pp. 34–43. ISBN 0-19-579274-2. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  18. "US Country Report on Human Rights Practices – Afghanistan 2001". State.gov. 4 March 2002. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  19. ^ Farrell, Graham; Thorne, John (March 2005). "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: Evaluation of the Taliban Crackdown Against Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan". International Journal of Drug Policy. 16 (2). Elsevier: 81–91. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2004.07.007. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2020 – via ResearchGate.
  20. ^ Ghiabi, Maziyar (2019). "Crisis as an Idiom for Reforms". Drugs Politics: Managing Disorder in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-1-108-47545-7. LCCN 2019001098. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  21. "Afghanistan, Opium and the Taliban". opioids.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2001. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  22. McFate, Montgomery (2018). "Conclusion". Military Anthropology: Soldiers, Scholars and Subjects at the Margins of Empire. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 334. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190680176.003.0009. ISBN 978-0190680176. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021. The Taliban outlawed bacha bazi during their six-year reign in Afghanistan, but as soon as the U.S. overthrew the Taliban, newly-empowered mujahideen warlords rekindled the practice of bacha bazi.
  23. Rashid 2000, p. 100.
  24. ^ Rashid 2000, pp. 101–102.
  25. ^ Rashid 2000, p. 98.
  26. Rashid 2000, p. 43 Interview with Mullah Wakil, March 1996
  27. Rashid 2000, p. 95.
  28. Interview with Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil in Arabic magazine Al-Majallah, 1996-10-23.
  29. ^ Rashid 2000, pp. 39–40.
  30. Tohid, Owias & Baldauf, Scott (8 May 2003). "Taliban appears to be regrouped and well-funded". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  31. Tohid, Owias (27 June 2003). "Taliban regroups – on the road". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 19 August 2003. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  32. Gall, Carlotta (13 November 2004). "Asia: Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Vows Return". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  33. Latifi, Ali M. "Kabul near standstill on day one of the Taliban's 'Emirate'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  34. B.G. Williams 12 May 2013. work (PDF). published by RoutledgeTaylor & Francis group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. Matinuddin 1999, pp. 37, 42–43.
  36. 'The Taliban' Archived 17 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Mapping Militant Organizations. Stanford University. Updated 15 July 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  37. Multiple sources:
  38. ^ Skaine, Rosemarie (2009). Women of Afghanistan in the Post-Taliban Era: How Lives Have Changed and Where They Stand Today. McFarland. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7864-3792-4.
  39. Graham-Harrison, Emma; Makoii, Akhtar Mohammad (9 February 2019). "'The Taliban took years of my life': the Afghan women living in the shadow of war". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  40. ^ "Women in Afghanistan: the back story". Amnesty International. 25 November 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  41. ^ "Report on the Taliban's War Against Women". U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. 17 November 2001. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  42. "Woman flogged for adultery". The Irish Times. 28 February 1998. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  43. Lacayo, Richard (25 November 2001). "About Face for Afghan Women". Time. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  44. Rashid, Ahmed (20 April 2010). Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300164848. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  45. Wroe, Nicholas (13 October 2001). "A culture muted". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  46. Podelco, Grant. "Artistry In The Air – Kite Flying Is Taken To New Heights In Afghanistan". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  47. ^ "'Kite Runner' Author On His Childhood, His Writing, And The Plight Of Afghan Refugees". Radio Free Europe. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  48. ^ "Turkmenistan Takes a Chance on the Taliban". Stratfor. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019.
  49. ^ "Turkmenistan-Foreign Relations". Globalsecurity. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017.
  50. "Turkmenistan Takes a Chance on the Taliban". Stratfor. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019.
  51. "China's Outreach to Taliban Draws Mixed Reactions". Voice of America. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  52. Multiple sources:
  53. Guelke, Adrian (25 August 2006). Terrorism and Global Disorder – Adrian Guelke – Google Libros. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781850438038. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  54. Are Chechens in Afghanistan? – By Nabi Abdullaev, 14 December 2001 Moscow Times Archived 7 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  55. Kullberg, Anssi. "The Background of Chechen Independence Movement III: The Secular Movement". The Eurasian politician. 1 October 2003
  56. "Bangor Daily News – Google News Archive Search". Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  57. "U.N. Reconciles itself to Five Members of Mulla Omar's Cabinet". America At War. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015.; "UN lifts sanctions on 5 former Taliban". CBC News. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  58. ^ Gall, Carlotta (5 December 2006). "Afghans consider rebuilding Bamiyan Buddhas". International Herald Tribune/The New York Times. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  59. "Bamiyan Valley – Afghanistan".
  60. "Why the Taliban are destroying Buddhas". Usatoday.com. 22 March 2001. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  61. "Aid staff flee Taliban shells". The Independent. 13 August 1998. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  62. Semple, Michael (2 March 2011). "Guest Blog: Why the Buddhas of Bamian were destroyed". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English (in Pashto). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  63. Harding, Luke (3 March 2001). "How the Buddha got his wounds". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 February 2006. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  64. Shehzad, Mohammad (3 March 2001). "The Rediff Interview/Mullah Omar". The Rediff. Kabul. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  65. "Destruction of Giant Buddhas Confirmed". AFP. 12 March 2001. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  66. "Over World Protests, Taliban Are Destroying Ancient Buddhas". www.nytimes.com. 4 March 2001. Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2016.; "Bamiyan statues: World reaction". news.bbc.co.uk. 5 March 2001. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  67. The Guardian, Taliban lose grip on Mazar i Sharif Archived 17 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, 7 November 2001
  68. West, Julian (23 September 2001). "Pakistan's godfathers of the Taliban hold the key to the hunt for Bin Laden". London: Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  69. Gall, Carlotta (3 March 2010). "Former Pakistani officer embodies policy puzzle". New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  70. "CONFLICTS IN KOSOVO, SIERRA LEONE AND ANGOLA, QUESTION OF EAST TIMOR KEY ELEMENTS OF SECURITY COUNCIL'S WORK FOR 1999". un.org. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2021. The United Nations Security Council expressed deep distress over reports indicating that thousands of non-Afghani nationals – some younger than 14 years old – were involved in the fighting on the Taliban side.
  71. York, Geoffrey. The Globe and Mail, "Military Targets Are Elusive. Afghanistan Army Called a Haphazard Operation", 19 September 2001
  72. Ivanov, Grigory. "WINGS PALETTE – MiG MiG-21/J-7 Fishbed/Mongol – Afghanistan (Taliban)". wp.scn.ru. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  73. Dixon, Robyn (13 October 2001). "Afghans in Kabul Flee Taliban, Not U.S. Raids". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  74. Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Nasrullah's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 40
  75. Summarized transcripts (.pdf) Archived 31 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Shabir Ahmed's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 80–90
  76. Jo Boyden, Jo de Berry, Thomas Feeny, Jason Hart (January 2002). "Children Affected by Armed Conflict in South Asia: A review of trends and issues identified through secondary research" (PDF). University of Oxford Refugee Studies Centre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  77. Marsden, Peter (1998). The Taliban: war, religion and the new order in Afghanistan. Zed Books. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-85649-522-6.
  78. Lansford, Tom (2011). 9/11 and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: A Chronology and Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-59884-419-1.
  79. Pugh, Michael C.; Neil Cooper Jonathan Goodhand (2004). War Economies in a Regional Context: Challenges of Transformation. Lynne Rienner. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-58826-211-0.
  80. Pugh, Michael C.; Neil Cooper Jonathan Goodhand (2004). War Economies in a Regional Context: Challenges of Transformation. Lynne Rienner. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-58826-211-0.
  81. Castillo, Graciana del (2008). Rebuilding War-Torn States: The Challenge of Post-Conflict Economic Reconstruction. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-19-923773-9.
  82. Skaine, Rosemarie (2009). Women of Afghanistan in the Post-Taliban Era: How Lives Have Changed and Where They Stand Today. McFarland. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7864-3792-4.
  83. Nojum, Neamatollah (2002). The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War and the Future of the Region. St Martin's Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-312-29584-4.
  84. Nojum, Neamatollah (2002). The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War and the Future of the Region. St Martin's Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-312-29584-4.
  85. ^ Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud (2010). Opium: uncovering the politics of the poppy. Harvard University Press. pp. 52ff.
  86. Shaffer, Brenda (2006). The limits of culture: Islam and foreign policy. MIT Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-262-69321-9.
  87. Thourni, Francisco E. (2006). Bovenkerk, Frank (ed.). The Organized Crime Community: Essays in Honor of Alan A. Block. Springer. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-387-39019-2.
  88. Lyman, Michael D. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control. Elsevier. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-4377-4450-7.
  89. Griffin, Michael (2000). Reaping the whirlwind: the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. Pluto Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7453-1274-3.
  90. Wehr, Kevin (2011). Green Culture: An A-to-Z Guide. Sage. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-4129-9693-8.
  91. Rashid, Ahmed (2002). Taliban: Islam, oil and the new great game in central Asia. I.B.Tauris. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-86064-830-4.
  92. Clements, Frank (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-85109-402-8.
  93. Bennett, Adam (2005). Reconstructing Afghanistan (illustrated ed.). International Monetary Fund. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-58906-324-2.
  94. Farah, Douglas; Braun, Stephen (2008). Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible. Wiley. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-470-26196-5.
  95. Askari, Hossein (2003). Economic sanctions: examining their philosophy and efficacy. Potomac. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-56720-542-8.
  96. Pillar, Paul R. (2003). Terrorism and U.S. foreign policy. Brookings Institution. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-8157-7077-0.

Bibliography

External links

Preceded byIslamic State of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
1996 – 2001
Succeeded byIslamic State of Afghanistan
Taliban
Leadership
Government
Human rights/violations
Military
Conflicts
Events
Related topics
Afghanistan articles
History
By topic
Geography
Demographics
Politics
Economy
Culture
Islamism
Outline
Concepts
Movements
Socio-political
Political parties
Related
Political leaders
Salafi movement
Movements
Scholastic
Political
Major figures
Related
Militant Islamism/Jihadism
Ideology
Movements
Major figures
Related
Other topics
Texts
Historical
events
Influences
by region
Related topics

34°00′N 65°48′E / 34.0°N 65.8°E / 34.0; 65.8

Categories: