Taliban: Difference between revisions

The '''Taliban''' is an Islamist terrorist and political group that governed Afghanistan from 1996 until it was overthrown in late 2001. It regrouped in 2004 as an insurgency movement governing local Pashtun areas and fighting a guerrilla war against the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). They seized control of Afghanistan in 2021 again as soon as the ISAF started withdrawing from there. The Washington Post claimed that the Taliban seizure was "inextricably linked to Pakistan".<ref name="WaPoPak">{{cite news|title=Pakistan’s hand in the Taliban’s victory |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/18/pakistan-hand-taliban-victory/ |work=Washington Post |location=Washington, D.C. |date=18 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> According to the New York Times, "Afghan tribal leaders said that the Pakistani military waved a surge of new fighters across the border from sanctuaries inside Pakistan".<ref name="NYTPak">{{cite news|title=The Real Winner of the Afghan War? It’s Not Who You Think |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.html |work=The New York Times |location=New York |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> Many Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) cadres were released after the Taliban seizure of Afghanistan, the JeM and Taliban have held meetings and the JeM has been assured of all support in carrying out its terrorist activities in India.<ref>{{cite news|title=JeM planning attacks in India, say reports |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jem-planning-attacks-in-india-say-reports/article36120687.ece |work=The Hindu |location=New Delhi |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> Pakistan, "supported the Taliban when the latter was being hounded in Afghanistan, the militants said they would return the favour by helping Pakistan in making Kashmir a part of its country", according to a Government of Pakistan person.<ref>{{cite news |title=‘Taliban with us to free Kashmir from India’: Pak govt leader on TV news debate |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/taliban-with-us-to-free-kashmir-from-india-pak-govt-leader-on-tv-news-debate-101629818453064.html |work=The Hindustan Times |location=New Delhi |date=24 August 2021 |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> Pakistan's Prime Minister [[Imran Khan]] said that the Afghans have broken the "shackles of slavery" after the Taliban seized Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1640988|title=PM Imran talks about overpowering 'shackles of slavery' at Single National Curriculum launch|work=Dawn|date=16 August 2021|access-date=17 August 2021|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816164203/https://www.dawn.com/news/1640988|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/afghans-have-broken-shackles-of-slavery-pak-pm-imran-khan/article35939794.ece|title=Afghans have broken 'shackles of slavery': Pakistan PM Imran Khan|work=The Hindu|date=16 August 2021|access-date=17 August 2021|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816230623/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/afghans-have-broken-shackles-of-slavery-pak-pm-imran-khan/article35939794.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/taliban-pakistan-imran-khan-afghanistan-b1903821.html|title=Taliban have broken 'the shackles of slavery,' says Pakistan PM Imran Khan|work=The Independent|first=Maroosha|last=Muzaffar|date=17 August 2021|access-date=17 August 2021|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817223340/https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/taliban-pakistan-imran-khan-afghanistan-b1903821.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The movement is primarily made up of members belonging to ethnic Pashtun tribes, along with volunteers from nearby Islamic countries such as Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens, Arabs, Pakistanis and others. It operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, mostly around the Durand Line regions. United States officials say their headquarters is in or near Quetta, Pakistan, and that Pakistan and Iran provide support, although both nations deny this.