Soviet_Union_and_Rise_of_the_Taliban

In 1947, when the British withdrew from India, they created what is now known today as Pakistan. Afghanistan raised the issue of the Durand Line, which split Pashtun (the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan) lands between the countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan requested that the Pashtuns in Pakistan should be given the right to decide if they wanted to set up an independent Pashtun state, which Afghanistan hoped to take over at some point. Pakistan refused, and turned to the USA for support. Afghanistan therefore turned to the other superpower at the time, the communist USSR (Soviets), for support. The Soviets built roads and irrigation projects, and began to train the army. In 1964 King Zahir Shah set up an elected parliament, allowing the formation of political parties. These reforms began to fail, and the former Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud overthrew the king in 1973, declaring Afghanistan a republic. Daoud attempted to move the country away from the USSR but the army resisted, and in 1978 overthrew him, setting up a communist government. This new government quickly introduced reforms, seizing land to give to peasant farmers. Many Afghans considered these changes un-Islamic and rebellions quickly rose against the government. In March 1979 a major uprising broke out in Heart, one of the provinces in Afghanistan. Many Soviet and Afghan communists were killed before the government restored order, leaving around 20,000 Heratis dead. The USSR intervened and the new Prime Minister was quickly overthrown by his more innovative deputy. This caused a coup to overthrow the deputy and install a moderate successor, who then called on Soviet troops to keep order. On 27th December, 1979, 80,000 Soviet troops entered Afghanistan, pushing them into years of war. The USSR troops had fierce opposition from the mujahidin guerrillas, who were supported by the USA. As the conflict grew, 3.5 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and 1.5 million to Iran to escape the fighting. Soviets controlled only major cities, but terrorised the rest of the country with aircraft and heavy artillery. By the late 1980’s it was obvious that the USSR could not win this war, and so they withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, leaving a weak communist government in charge. After the Soviets withdrew, the communist government of President Najibullah managed to keep control for three more years. However, the mujahidin grew in strength and set up a new government in Kabul in April 1992. The mujahidin soon began to fight each other for control, leading to at least 50,000 deaths. Faced with this chaos in Afghanistan, Pakistan began to support a new Islamic group called the Taliban in hope of stabilising the country. The Taliban were Islamic based, and wanted to return to the original teachings of the Qur’an, the Islamic bible. The Taliban considered the Qur’an to be the word of God and demanded it to be read literally and obeyed in every respect. Most of them were Pashtuns who spent their lives in Pakistan, where they studied the Qur’an in single sex schools. They had little knowledge about their own country, and not much more idea about the wider teachings of Islam. Many Afghans welcomed the Taliban as they brought peace and stability. Led by Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban moved through the country in 1994-95, eventually capturing Kabul in September 1996. The Taliban imposed a strict rule on Afghanistan, based on a reading from the Qur’an. Females were prevented from going to school or university, were prohibited to gain work outside their own home, and had to cover their entire body, including their ankles, in public by wearing a burqa. Men were forbidden to shave and cut their beards but could not grow their hair long. Music and dancing were not permitted, and it was illegal to watch television, gamble, fly or sell kites, keep pigeons or other pet birds, and to shop during prayer time. Punishments for infringements of these rules were very harsh. Those guilty of minor offences were beaten with whips or imprisoned, while thieves had their hands amputated. Murderers were executed, people considered disloyal to the Taliban were stoned to death, and homosexuals were buried alive. Although many supported the Taliban, there were always others that opposed them. The Taliban’s strict enforcement of Islam upset some Muslims, making them many enemies. Most Taliban members and Pashtun, and therefore disliked by non-Pashtuns. After a huge earthquake in northeast Afghanistan in 1998, the Taliban failed to help those left hungry and homeless. This made many Afghans angry as it showed that the Taliban were more concerned with keeping religious control rather than good government. The Taliban began to support extreme Islamic organisations, eventually bringing their rule to an end. Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan became home to large numbers of foreign born Muslims who wanted to wage a jihad against the enemy of Islam, in order to create a pure Islamic state in the world. The most important group to settle in Afghanistan was a group widely known to the world as al-Qaeda, set up by the notorious man named Osama Bin Laden. Al Qaeda built training camps in the east of the country, and gained volunteers from Pakistan, the Arab world, Britain and the rest of Europe. From these camps, people were set out to attack the USA and other targets. In 1998 al Qaeda made attacks on US embassies in Eastern Africa, causing the US government to retaliate by attacking some of these training camps. On the 11th September 2001, as we all know, was the day that al Qaeda launched four airborne suicide attacks against the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington. In response, the USA demanded that the Taliban close all training camps and give up Bin Laden and leading al Qaeda members for trial. When the Taliban refused, American and British troops linked up with the Northern Alliance (anti-Taliban mujahidin groups) and invaded Afghanistan. Taliban rule ceased with the fall of Qandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest city, in December 2001. Afghanistan has suffered pretty much constant civil war since 1978, and at the time the Taliban was expelled in 2001, the country was in a terrible state. At least one million Afghans died during the fighting while up to four million were refugees in Pakistan and Iran, some of them being children born into refugee camps. At least one million were internal refugees, removed from their homes by the fighting, drought, and the effects of the 1998 earthquake. Most roads, bridges and airfields had been destroyed, as well as irrigation and water systems to feed animals and crops. Social services collapsed completely and almost all medical staff had left the country, with only a few hospitals still open. Schools were wrecked, with only 15 percent of children going to primary school. Hunger and poverty were major issues. The US took immediate steps to improve the situation. Various anti-Taliban groups met and agreed that a temporary government should run the country, until democratic elections could be held. In December 2001, a new 30 member temporary government led by Hamid Karzai, a sensible Pashtun, took power and started to draft a new constitution. After much debate, this constitution was agreed on in January 2004. An electoral tally of all Afghans aged 18 and over and who were eligible to vote (approx. 12.4 million people), was drawn up and presidential elections were held in October. Eighteen candidates stood for election, which was won by Karzai, the temporary leader. Everyday life is still quite hard for ordinary people. Large areas of Afghanistan are covered in landmines and deadly explosives. About 200,000 people have been killed or wounded by mines since 1979. Thousands of guns are still left over from the fighting, so the murder rate is quite high. One of the biggest problems still facing Afghanistan is security, with the continuing existence of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Although the Taliban was defeated, many of its leaders fled into the mountain borders of Pakistan. The two groups have continued to fight the new government and US forces stationed in the country. Even with the addition of the new government, President Karzai has failed to win full control of Afghanistan, with provinces still fighting for local control. Healthcare has slightly improved in recent years, with the UN chlorinating wells and water supplies after an outbreak of cholera. Millions have been vaccinated against many different diseases and new healthcare centres are being built, although 70 percent of the population still has no access to healthcare. The Afghan life expectancy of a child today is 46 years, compared to 77 years for a British child. Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban's_rise_to_power