International relations with the Taliban
The Taliban is a Jihadi Islamist organisation, which has ruled Afghanistan under a theocratic emirate several times in the last 30 years. In August 2021, the Taliban took control of the country, and subsequently established a new government, thus completely succeeding the former. As of late 2022, no country recognizes them as the lawful government of Afghanistan; however, there has been recognition of their de facto governance over the country.
Historic relations
[edit]The Taliban were supported by several militant outfits which include the Haqqani network, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Several countries like China, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia allegedly support the Taliban. However, all of their governments deny providing any support to the Taliban. Likewise, the Taliban also deny receiving any foreign support from any country.[1] At its peak, formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban's government was acknowledged by three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In the past, the United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan were also alleged to have provided support to the Taliban. It is designated by some countries as a terrorist organization.
During its time in power (1996–2001), at its height ruling 90% of Afghanistan, the Taliban régime, or "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan", gained diplomatic recognition from only three states: the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, all of which provided substantial aid. The most other nations and organizations, including the United Nations, recognised the government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2002) (parts of whom were part of the United Front, also called Northern Alliance) as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Regarding its relations with the rest of the world, the Taliban's 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".[2]
Traditionally, the Taliban were supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, while Iran, Russia, Turkey, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan formed an anti-Taliban alliance and supported the Northern Alliance.[3] After the fall of the Taliban régime at the end of 2001, the composition of the Taliban supporters changed. According to a study by scholar Antonio Giustozzi, in the years 2005 to 2015 most of the financial support came from the states Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, and Qatar, as well as from private donors from Saudi Arabia, from al-Qaeda and, for a short period of time, from the Islamic State.[4] About 54 percent of the funding came from foreign governments, 10 percent from private donors from abroad, and 16 percent from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. In 2014, the amount of external support was close to $900 million.[5]
Countries
[edit]Since the Taliban took over the Afghan government, countries including China, Russia, and the United States have contacted Taliban representatives, but have expressed doubts about its commitment to counterterrorism.[6][7] Border clashes between the Taliban forces with Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan have also caused friction with Afghanistan's neighbours.[8][9][10] Taliban-led administration has set up a consortium of companies, including some in Russia, Iran and Pakistan, to create an investment plan focusing on power, mining and infrastructure in February 2023.[11]
China
[edit]China has been believed to have unofficial relations with the Taliban according to Malek Setiz, international relations adviser to the former Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan.[12] The Chinese foreign ministry has not denied these interactions.[13] Despite Beijing's repeated calls for the Taliban to maintain its commitment to the international community,[14] China has maintained official engagement with the Afghan interim government after the Taliban regained power.[15]
India
[edit]India did not recognize the Taliban régime in Afghanistan. Instead, India maintained close strategic and military ties with the Northern Alliance so as to contain the rise of the Taliban during the 1990s. India was one of the closest allies of the former Afghan president Mohammad Najibullah and it strongly condemned his public execution by the Taliban. Pakistan and Kashmir-based militant groups which are thought to have ties with the Taliban have historically been involved in the Kashmir insurgency and they have frequently attacked Indian security forces.[16][17][18][19]
In December 1999, Indian Airlines Flight 814 was hijacked and flown to Kandahar while it was en route from Kathmandu to Delhi. The Taliban moved its militias near the hijacked aircraft, supposedly to prevent Indian special forces from storming the aircraft, and they stalled the negotiations between India and the hijackers for several days. The New York Times later reported that there were credible links between the hijackers and the Taliban. As a part of the deal to free the plane, India released three militants. The Taliban granted the hijackers and the released militants safe passage.[20][21]
Following the hijacking, India drastically increased its efforts to help Massoud, providing an arms depot in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. India also provided a wide range of high-altitude warfare equipment, helicopter technicians, medical services, and tactical advice. According to one report, Indian military support to anti-Taliban forces totalled US$70 million, including five Mil Mi-17 helicopters, and US$8 million worth of high-altitude equipment in 2001. India extensively supported the new administration in Afghanistan, leading several reconstruction projects and by 2001 had emerged as the country's largest regional donor.[22][23][24][25][26][27]
In the wake of terrorist attacks in India, the Indian government has claimed that fundamentalist organisations such as the Taliban are seeking to expand their activities in India. During the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup which was co-hosted in India, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Interpol chief Ronald Noble revealed that a terrorist bid to disrupt the tournament had been foiled; following a conference with Noble, Malik said that the Taliban had begun to base their activities in India with reports from neighbouring countries exposing their activities in the country and stating that a Sri Lankan terrorist who was planning to target cricketers was arrested in Colombo. In 2009, the Times of India called for India to reassess the Taliban threat.[28][29][30][31]
In 2012, the Taliban said that they want to have cordial relations with India, and they praised India for resisting US calls for more military involvement in Afghanistan.[32] After the fall of the Indian-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, India has consistently withheld recognition of the Taliban since their rise to power through an armed insurgency in August 2021. The Indian government did not approach Taliban representatives in Doha until September 2021.[33]
The country’s stance has been cautious, primarily focusing on addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people. Recently, the Taliban authorities sought India’s aid for Afghanistan’s economic revival. Despite this, India has maintained a “technical team” presence in Kabul and has refrained from allowing Taliban diplomatic staff in New Delhi until November 2023.[34][35]
Iran
[edit]Iran has historically been an enemy of the Taliban. However, after relations between the two sides soured with the United States, Iranian officials called the Taliban one of its allies' "Axis of Resistance".[36]
In early August 1998, after attacking the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Taliban forces massacred thousands of people in retaliation against the anti-Taliban warlords,[37] and killed 11 Iranian diplomats in the Iranian consulate. Alleged radio intercepts indicate Mullah Omar personally approved the killings.[38] In the following crisis between Iran and the Taliban, the Iranian government amassed up to 70,000 regular troops on the Afghan-Iranian border.[39][40] War was eventually averted.[40]
Many US senior military officials such as Robert Gates,[41] Stanley McChrystal,[42] David Petraeus[43] and others believe that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was involved in helping the Taliban to a certain extent during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Reports in which NATO states accused Iran of supplying and training some Taliban insurgents started coming forward since 2004/2005.
We did interdict a shipment, without question the Revolutionary Guard's core Quds Force, through a known Taliban facilitator. Three of the individuals were killed... 48 122 millimetre rockets were intercepted with their various components... Iranians certainly view as making life more difficult for us if Afghanistan is unstable. We don't have that kind of relationship with the Iranians. That's why I am particularly troubled by the interception of weapons coming from Iran. But we know that it's more than weapons; it's money; it's also according to some reports, training at Iranian camps as well.[44]
— General David Petraeus, Commander of US-NATO forces in Afghanistan, 16 March 2011
Several sources attest to an improving relationship between the Taliban and Iran during the 2010s. This included leadership changes within the Taliban itself: The Taliban's second emir, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, particularly sought to expand ties with Iran,[45] until he was killed by a U.S. drone strike on a return trip from Iran to Pakistan.[46] Pro-Iran media outlets have also reported that the Taliban has included Shia Hazara fighters into its ranks.[47] The Taliban have condemned Islamic State-linked attacks on the Hazara Shia minority.[48] In August 2019, The Washington Post reported that Iran's "relationship with the Taliban now spans the economic, security and political realms and is likely to grow as the Taliban asserts itself again."[49]
In August 2020, US intelligence officials assessed that Iran had offered bounties to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network to kill foreign servicemembers, including Americans, in Afghanistan in 2019.[50] US intelligence determined that Iran paid bounties to Taliban insurgents for the 2019 attack on Bagram airport.[51] According to CNN, Donald Trump's administration has "never mentioned Iran's connection to the bombing, an omission current and former officials said was connected to the broader prioritization of the peace agreement and withdrawal from Afghanistan."[50]
In January 2020, the Taliban condemned the US killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and hailed Soleimani as a "great warrior".[52] During the 2021 Taliban offensive, Iran had to close its consulates,[53][54] but its embassy in Kabul remains open after the Taliban's takeover.[55] Pro-Taliban stance among Iranian Principlists sparks rift with other Iranians.[56][57] Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said “revive life, security and lasting peace” in Afghanistan after the US ‘defeat’.[58] But Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh strongly condemned the Taliban assault on the Panjshir Valley.[59] Despite this, the two theocratic governments have strengthened bilateral strategic cooperation to combat terrorist organizations such as IS–KP,[60] and respond to international sanctions.[61]
Pakistan
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Kurram_Agency_of_Pakistan_from_Paktia_Border_line_%2819923108%29.jpg/220px-Kurram_Agency_of_Pakistan_from_Paktia_Border_line_%2819923108%29.jpg)
Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, leader of the Pakistani Islamic (Deobandi) political party Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (F) (JUI), was an ally of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani prime minister in 1993–1996, and then had access to the Pakistani government, army and the ISI, whom he influenced to help the Taliban.[62] The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has since 1994 heavily supported the Taliban, while the group conquered most of Afghanistan in 1994–98.[63][64][65][66]
Human Rights Watch writes, "Pakistani aircraft assisted with troop rotations of Taliban forces during combat operations in late 2000 and ... senior members of Pakistan's intelligence agency and army were involved in planning military operations."[67] Pakistan provided military equipment, recruiting assistance, training, and tactical advice.[citation needed] Officially Pakistan denied supporting the Taliban militarily.
Author Ahmed Rashid claims that the Taliban had "unprecedented access" among Pakistan's lobbies and interest groups. He also writes that they at times were able to "play off one lobby against another and extend their influence in Pakistan even further".[68] By 1998–99, Taliban-style groups in Pakistan's Pashtun belt, and to an extent in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, "were banning TV and videos ... and forcing people, particularly women, to adapt to the Taliban dress code and way of life."[69]
After the attacks of 11 September 2001, and the US operation in Afghanistan the Afghan Taliban leadership is claimed to have fled to Pakistan where they regrouped and created several shuras to coordinate their insurgency in Afghanistan.[70]
Afghan officials implied the Pakistani ISI's involvement in a July 2008 Taliban attack on the Indian embassy. Numerous US officials have accused the ISI of supporting terrorist groups including the Afghan Taliban. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others suggest the ISI maintains links with groups like the Afghan Taliban as a "strategic hedge" to help Islamabad gain influence in Kabul once US troops exit the region. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen in 2011 called the Haqqani network (the Afghan Taliban's most destructive element) a "veritable arm of Pakistan's ISI".[71][72]
From 2010, a report by a leading British institution also claimed that Pakistan's intelligence service still today has a strong link with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Published by the London School of Economics, the report said that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) has an "official policy" of support for the Taliban. It said the ISI provides funding and training for the Taliban, and that the agency has representatives on the so-called Quetta Shura, the Taliban's leadership council. It is alleged that the Quetta Shura is exiled in Quetta. The report, based on interviews with Taliban commanders in Afghanistan, was written by Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.[70][73][74]
"Pakistan appears to be playing a double-game of astonishing magnitude," the report said. The report also linked high-level members of the Pakistani government with the Taliban. It said Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, met with senior Taliban prisoners in 2010 and promised to release them. Zardari reportedly told the detainees they were only arrested because of American pressure. "The Pakistan government's apparent duplicity – and awareness of it among the American public and political establishment – could have enormous geopolitical implications," Waldman said. "Without a change in Pakistani behaviour it will be difficult if not impossible for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency." Afghan officials have long been suspicious of the ISI's role. Amrullah Saleh, the former director of Afghanistan's intelligence service, told Reuters that the ISI was "part of a landscape of destruction in this country".[75]
Pakistan, at least up to 2011, has always strongly denied all links with Taliban.[76][77][78][79][80][81]
On 15 June 2014 Pakistan army launches operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' in North Waziristan to remove and root-out Taliban from Pakistan. In this operation 327 hardcore terrorists had been killed while 45 hideouts and 2 bomb making factories of terrorists were destroyed in North Waziristan Agency as the operation continues.[82][83][84]
Pakistan operates an organized system of support. The Taliban receive logistics there, their finances are there and recruitment is there. [..] There is a deep relationship with the state.
— Ashraf Ghani, then President of Afghanistan, in 2021[85]
While Pakistan has been accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban in the past, after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghanistan and Pakistan have repeatedly broken out armed conflicts. The Pakistani government accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of harboring the Pakistani Taliban rebels in its growing insurgency.[86] Afghan Taliban rejects all allegations from Pakistani side.[87]
Saudi Arabia
[edit]Saudi Arabia has been accused of supporting Taliban.[88] In a December 2009 diplomatic cable to US State Department staff (made public in the diplomatic cable leaks the following year), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged US diplomats to increase efforts to block money from Gulf Arab states from going to terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, writing that "Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide" and that "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups."[89]
Turkey
[edit]Turkey has designated Afghan Taliban as a terrorist organization.[90] Amid the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated during the Brussel's NATO summit on 14 June that Turkey was willing to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport of Kabul, which is considered to play a vital role in maintaining stability and an international presence in Afghanistan. The Taliban has warned Turkey of "severe consequences" if its military remains in Afghanistan when other foreign forces pull out.[91][92] In July 2021 Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman stated that Taliban wanted "normal ties" with Turkish government, but would consider Turkish forces as occupiers if they stay after the pull-out.[93]
Qatar
[edit]Qatar in 2013, with the approval of the US and the Afghan government, allowed the Afghan Taliban to set up a diplomatic and political office inside the country.[94][95] This was done in order to facilitate peace negotiations and with the support of other countries.[96][94]
Ahmed Rashid, writing in the Financial Times, stated that through the office Qatar has facilitated meetings between the Taliban and many countries and organisations, including the US state department, the UN, Japan, several European governments and non-governmental organisations, all of whom have been trying to push forward the idea of peace talks.[96] In July 2017, Saudi Arabia, at the time in severe conflict with Qatar, without corroboration alleged Qatar to support terrorism including Taliban "armed terrorists".[94]
In September 2017, the presidents of both the United States and Afghanistan demanded Qatar to close down the office of the Taliban.[97] But in February 2020, Qatar facilitated the US–Taliban deal. According to the agreement, the Taliban would cut all its connections with Al-Qaeda and begin peace negotiations with the Afghani Government. In return the United States would begin the withdrawal of its troops.[98]
Russia
[edit]Russia has been accused of arming the Taliban by multiple politicians including Rex Tillerson and the Afghan government.[99] There is no public evidence to substantiate such allegations, and several independent experts are sceptical that Russia materially supported the Taliban in any way.[100] According to the BBC, Russia "is deeply concerned about the rise of Islamist fundamentalism in the region spreading in its direction, and it sees the Taliban as one potential bulwark against this."[101]
In February and again in May 2019, a delegation of Taliban officials and senior Afghan politicians met in Moscow to hold a new round of Afghan peace talks.[102][103] Reuters reported that "Russian officials as well as religious leaders and elders had asked for a ceasefire."[104]
In June 2020, US intelligence officials assessed with medium confidence that the Russian GRU military-intelligence agency had offered bounties to the Taliban militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan.[105][106] The Pentagon's top leaders said that Russian bounty program has not been corroborated.[107]
United Kingdom
[edit]After the 9/11 attacks, the United Kingdom froze the Taliban's assets in the UK, nearly $200 million by early October 2001. The UK also supported the US decision to remove the Taliban, both politically and militarily.[108][109]
The UN agreed that NATO would act on its behalf, focusing on counter-terrorist operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban had been "defeated". The United Kingdom took operational responsibility for Helmand Province, a major poppy-growing province in southern Afghanistan, deploying troops there in mid-2006, and encountered resistance by re-formed Taliban forces allegedly entering Afghanistan from Pakistan. The Taliban turned towards the use of improvised explosive devices.[110]
During 2008 the British government announced plans to pay Taliban fighters to switch sides or lay down their arms; the proceeding year they signalled their support of opening negotiations with the Taliban.[111][112]
United States
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/GIs_burn_a_house_described_as_a_Taliban_safehouse.jpg/170px-GIs_burn_a_house_described_as_a_Taliban_safehouse.jpg)
The United States never recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Ahmed Rashid states that the US indirectly supported the Taliban through its ally in Pakistan between 1994 and 1996 because Washington viewed the Taliban as anti-Iranian, anti-Shia and potentially pro-Western. Washington furthermore hoped that the Taliban would support development planned by the US-based oil company Unocal. For example, it made no comment when the Taliban captured Herat in 1995, and expelled thousands of girls from schools. In late 1997, American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright began to distance the US from the Taliban, and the American-based oil company Unocal withdrew from negotiations on pipeline construction from Central Asia.[113][114][115][116]
One day before the August 1998 capture of Mazar, bin Laden affiliates bombed two US embassies in Africa, killing 224 and wounding 4,500, mostly Africans. The US responded by launching cruise missiles on suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan, killing over 20 though failing to kill bin Laden or even many Al-Qaeda. Mullah Omar condemned the missile attack and American President Bill Clinton. Saudi Arabia expelled the Taliban envoy in protest over the refusal to turn over bin Laden, and after Mullah Omar allegedly insulted the Saudi royal family. In mid-October the UN Security Council voted unanimously to ban commercial aircraft flights to and from Afghanistan, and freeze its bank accounts worldwide.[117][118][119]
Adjusting its counterinsurgency strategy, in October 2009, the US announced plans to pay Taliban fighters to switch sides.[120]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Secretary_Pompeo_Meets_With_the_Taliban_Delegation_%2850333305012%29.jpg/220px-Secretary_Pompeo_Meets_With_the_Taliban_Delegation_%2850333305012%29.jpg)
On 26 November 2009, in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, President Hamid Karzai said there is an "urgent need" for negotiations with the Taliban, and made it clear that the Obama administration had opposed such talks. There was no formal American response.[121][122]
In December 2009, Asian Times Online reported that the Taliban had offered to give the US "legal guarantees" that they would not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries, and that there had been no formal American response.[123]
On 6 December, US officials indicated that they have not ruled out talks with the Taliban. Several days later it was reported that Gates saw potential for reconciliation with the Taliban, but not with Al-Qaeda. Furthermore, he said that reconciliation would politically end the insurgency and the war. But he said reconciliation must be on the Afghan government's terms, and that the Taliban must be subject to the sovereignty of the government.[124][125]
In 2010, General McChrystal said his troop surge could lead to a negotiated peace with the Taliban.[126]
In an interview with Palgrave Macmillan about relations between the US and the Taliban, American academic Dr. Jonathan Cristol argued that Taliban leaders "have been willing to negotiate, but from a position of relative strength and their goal is no longer a warm relationship with the US—that ship sailed long ago."[127]
On 29 February 2020, the Trump administration signed a conditional peace agreement with the Taliban,[128][129] which calls for the withdrawal of foreign troops in 14 months if the Taliban uphold the terms of the agreement.[130][131] In March 2020, the US began a gradual withdrawal of its troops, to which they have agreed in a peace accord with the Taliban.[132]
United Nations and NGOs
[edit]Despite the aid of United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) given (see § Afghanistan during Taliban rule), the Taliban's attitude in 1996–2001 toward the UN and NGOs was often one of suspicion. The UN did not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, most foreign donors and aid workers were non-Muslims, and the Taliban vented fundamental objections to the sort of 'help' the UN offered. As the Taliban's Attorney General Maulvi Jalil-ullah Maulvizada put it in 1997:
Let us state what sort of education the UN wants. This is a big infidel policy which gives such obscene freedom to women which would lead to adultery and herald the destruction of Islam. In any Islamic country where adultery becomes common, that country is destroyed and enters the domination of the infidels because their men become like women and women cannot defend themselves. Anyone who talks to us should do so within Islam's framework. The Holy Koran cannot adjust itself to other people's requirements, people should adjust themselves to the requirements of the Holy Koran.[133]
In July 1998, the Taliban closed "all NGO offices" by force after those organisations refused to move to a bombed-out former Polytechnic College as ordered.[134] One month later the UN offices were also shut down.[135]
Around 2000, the UN drew up sanctions against officials and leaders of Taliban, because of their harbouring Osama bin Laden. Several of the Taliban leaders have subsequently been killed.[136]
In 2009, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and US Secretary Hillary Clinton had called for talks with 'regular Taliban fighters' while bypassing their top leaders who supposedly were 'committed to global jihad'. Kai Eide, the top UN official in Afghanistan, called for talks with Taliban at the highest level, suggesting Mullah Omar—even though Omar had recently dismissed such overtures as long as foreign troops were in Afghanistan.[137]
In 2010, the UN lifted sanctions on the Taliban, and requested that Taliban leaders and others be removed from terrorism watch lists. In 2010 the US and Europe announced support for President Karzai's latest attempt to negotiate peace with the Taliban.[136][138][139]
Aga Khan Development Network
[edit]A special envoy of Prince Karim Aga Khan held a meeting with the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi in Kabul after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan.[140] The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is one of the few international organizations which kept its agencies operational in Taliban-led Afghanistan.[141] The Taliban's leadership expresses gratitude to the Ismāʿīli Shias leader Aga khan, and invites him to visit Kabul.[142]
Designation as a terrorist organization
[edit]Officially, the Taliban was an illegal organization in several countries in 2022:
Country | References |
---|---|
![]() | [143] |
![]() | [144] |
![]() | [145] |
![]() | [146] |
![]() | [90] |
Former:
United States (2002–2015),[147] but never on the United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.[148]
Kazakhstan (2005–2023)[149][150]
Militant outfits
[edit]Al-Qaeda
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Hamid_Mir_interviewing_Osama_bin_Laden.jpg/220px-Hamid_Mir_interviewing_Osama_bin_Laden.jpg)
In 1996, bin Laden moved to Afghanistan from Sudan. He came without invitation, and sometimes irritated Mullah Omar with his declaration of war and fatwas against citizens of third-party countries, but relations between the two groups improved over time, to the point that Mullah Omar rebuffed his group's patron Saudi Arabia, insulting Saudi minister Prince Turki while reneging on an earlier promise to turn bin Laden over to the Saudis.[151][152]
Bin Laden was able to forge an alliance between the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The al-Qaeda-trained 055 Brigade integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001. Several hundred Arab and Afghan fighters sent by bin Laden assisted the Taliban in the Mazar-e-Sharif slaughter in 1998.[153] From 1996 to 2001, the organisation of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had become a virtual state within the Taliban state. The British newspaper The Telegraph stated in September 2001 that 2,500 Arabs under command of Bin Laden fought for the Taliban.[154]
Taliban-al-Qaeda connections were also strengthened by the reported marriage of one of bin Laden's sons to Omar's daughter. While in Afghanistan, bin Laden may have helped finance the Taliban.[155][156]
After the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, bin Laden and several al-Qaeda members were indicted in US criminal court. The Taliban rejected extradition requests by the US, variously claiming that bin Laden had "gone missing", or that Washington "cannot provide any evidence or any proof" that bin Laden was involved in terrorist activities and that "without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin... he is a free man."[157][158][159][160]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Taliban_insurgency_in_Afghanistan_%282015%E2%80%932021%29.svg/220px-Taliban_insurgency_in_Afghanistan_%282015%E2%80%932021%29.svg.png)
Evidence against bin Laden included courtroom testimony and satellite phone records. Bin Laden, in turn, praised the Taliban as the "only Islamic government" in existence, and lauded Mullah Omar for his destruction of idols such as the Buddhas of Bamyan.[161][162][163]
According to bin Laden, the Taliban were not involved in the 11 September attacks, stating in a tape sent to Al Jazeera: "I am the one responsible... The Afghan people and government knew nothing whatsoever about these events".[164]
At the end of 2008, the Taliban was in talks to sever all ties with al-Qaeda.[165]
In 2011, Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn at New York University's Center on International Cooperation claimed that the two groups did not get along at times before the 11 September attacks, and they have continued to fight since on account of their differences.[166]
In July 2012, an anonymous senior-ranking Taliban commander stated that "Our people consider al-Qaeda to be a plague that was sent down to us by the heavens. Some even concluded that al-Qaeda are actually the spies of America. Originally, the Taliban were naive and ignorant of politics and welcomed al-Qaeda into their homes. But al-Qaeda abused our hospitality." He went on to further claim that about 70% of the Taliban are angry with al-Qaeda, revealing the icy relationship between the two groups.[167][168]
Islamic State – Khorasan Province
[edit]The Taliban has a negative relationship with the Islamic State – Khorasan Province. The IS started to actively recruit defectors from the Afghan Taliban, in particular, it recruited Afghan Taliban fighters who were disgruntled with their leaders because they lacked battlefield success. This prompted senior Taliban leader Akhtar Mansour to write a letter which was addressed to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and in that letter, Akhtar Mansour argued that the war in Afghanistan should be waged under the Taliban's's leadership and based on this argument, he asked Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to order the IS to cease its recruitment drive in Afghanistan.[169] Nevertheless, fighting between the two groups broke out in Nangarhar Province and in June 2015, ISIL was able to seize Afghan territory for the first time.[170] In September 2015, ISIL drove the Taliban out of certain districts of Nangarhar after months of clashes.[171]
In April 2016, the Taliban reported that in Nangarhar Province, a number of senior and mid-level leaders of Wilayah Khorasan had defected from ISIL and pledged allegiance to Taliban leader Akhtar Mansour. The defectors included members of the group's central council, judicial council and prisoners council as well as certain field commanders and fighters.[172]
Malakand Taliban
[edit]Malakand Taliban is a militant outfit led by Sufi Muhammad and his son in law Molvi Fazalullah. Sufi Muhammad is in Pakistani government custody; Molvi Fazalullah is believed to be in Afghanistan. In the last week of May 2011, eight security personnel and civilians fell victim to four hundred armed Taliban who attacked Shaltalo check post in Dir, a frontier District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, located a few kilometres away from the Afghan border. Although they have been linked with Waziristan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the connection between these two groups was of a symbolic nature.[173]
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban)
[edit]Before the creation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban (Pakistan), also denoted 'Tehrik e Taliban'[174] some of their leaders and fighters were part of the 8,000 Pakistani militants fighting in the War in Afghanistan (1996–2001) and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) against the United Islamic Front and NATO forces.[154] Most of them hail from the Pakistani side of the Af-Pak border regions. After the fall of the Afghan Taliban in late 2001 most Pakistani militants including members of today's TTP fled home to Pakistan.
After the creation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in 2007, headed by Baitullah Mehsud, its members have officially defined goals to establish their rule over Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. They engage the Pakistani army in heavy combat operations. Some intelligence analysts believe that the TTP's attacks on the Pakistani government, police and army strained the TTP's relations with the Afghan Taliban.[175][176][177]
The Afghan Taliban and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan differ greatly in their history, leadership and goals although they share a common interpretation of Islam and are both predominantly Pashtun.[176] The Afghan Taliban have no affiliation with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and routinely deny any connection to the TTP. The New York Times quoted a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban stating that:
We don't like to be involved with them, as we have rejected all affiliation with Pakistani Taliban fighters ... We have sympathy for them as Muslims, but beside that, there is nothing else between us.[178]
It is alleged that Afghan Taliban relied on support by the Pakistani army in the past and are still supported by them today in their campaign to control Afghanistan. Regular Pakistani army troops allegedly fought alongside the Afghan Taliban in the War in Afghanistan (1996–2001). Major leaders of the Afghan Taliban including Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin Haqqani and Siraj Haqqani are believed to enjoy or have enjoyed safe haven in Pakistan. In 2006 Jalaluddin Haqqani was allegedly called a 'Pakistani asset' by a senior official of Inter-Services Intelligence. Pakistan denies any links with Haqqani or other terrorist groups. Haqqani himself has denied any links with Pakistan as well.[179][180][181][182][183][184][185][186]
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar asked the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in late 2008 and early 2009 to stop attacks inside Pakistan, to change their focus as an organisation and to fight the Afghan National Army and ISAF forces in Afghanistan instead. In late December 2008 and early January 2009 he sent a delegation, led by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mullah Abdullah Zakir, to persuade leading members of the TTP to put aside differences with Pakistan.[178]
Some regional experts state the common name "Taliban" may be more misleading than illuminating.[176] Gilles Dorronsoro, a scholar of South Asia currently at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington says:
The fact that they have the same name causes all kinds of confusion.[176]
As the Pakistani Army began offensives against the Pakistani Taliban, many unfamiliar with the region thought incorrectly that the assault was against the Afghan Taliban of Mullah Omar which was not the case.[176]
The Pakistani Taliban were put under sanctions by UN Security Council for terrorist attacks in Pakistan and the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt.[177]
Diplomatic recognition
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Taliban_Recognition_%283%29.png/220px-Taliban_Recognition_%283%29.png)
Since the Fall of Kabul in 2021 until the Chinese recognition in 2024, no country has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. However, some countries have given de facto recognition which makes them functionally recognized by some countries.
In addition, in 2022 the United Nations voted A/RES/77/10 titled "The situation in Afghanistan." The resolution condemns the Taliban government and urges non-recognition.[187]
Official recognition
[edit]Rank | Entity | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 31 January 2024 | On 6 April 2022, China became the first non-Muslim majority country to accept diplomatic credentials from the Taliban.[188][189][190][191] In 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping formally accepted credentials from Mawlawi Asadullah, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, marking the Taliban's official appointment of their ambassador to China.[192] |
De facto diplomatic ties with the Taliban authorities
[edit]Rank | Entity | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 28 October 2021 | Pakistan became the first country to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador for its embassy.[193] |
2 | ![]() | 6 April 2022 | Turkmenistan became the first country in Central Asia to hand the Taliban their embassy and consulate.[194] |
3 | ![]() | 9 April 2022 | Russia established diplomatic relations with the Taliban on April 9, 2022.[195] |
4 | ![]() | June 2022 | The Taliban has maintained formal contacts with Iran since took over Kabul. After the Afghan embassy in Tehran was handed over, the Taliban's nominee for Chargé d'Affairs was accredited by Iran in February 2023.[196][197][190] |
5 | ![]() | June 2022 | [198] |
6 | ![]() | July 2022 | [199] |
7 | ![]() | 7 November 2022 | Eritrea was among 6 countries that voted to unfreeze Taliban assets at the United Nations Human Rights Council.[200][201] |
8 | ![]() | 7 November 2022 | Venezuela was among 6 countries that voted to unfreeze Taliban assets at the United Nations Human Rights Council.[200][201] |
9 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
10 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
11 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
12 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
13 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
14 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
15 | ![]() | 10 November 2022 | [202] |
16 | ![]() | 19 April 2023 | [203] |
17 | ![]() | 29 September 2023 | The Syrian government has a similar stance to its allies Russia and Iran. [204] |
18 | ![]() | 11 October 2023 | On October 11 2023, the Taliban were handed the embassy in Malaysia.[205][206] |
19 | ![]() | 2 February 2024 | The Taliban were handed a Consulate-General in Termez.[207][208] Later, the Taliban would acquire the embassy.[209] |
20 | ![]() | 2 March 2024 | The Taliban were handed a Consulate-General in Dubai.[210] The Taliban were handed the embassy in March 2024.[211] |
21 | ![]() | 20 March 2024 | On September 23, the Kyrgyz government dispatched a team to Kabul under the direction of Taalatbak Masadykov, the deputy head of the security council of Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan is expected to follow what Kazakhstan did and handover the embassy to the Taliban.[212] The embassy was handed to the Taliban on March 20, 2024. [213] |
Unrecognized or partially recognized Countries
[edit]Rank | Entity | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | February 2023 | A delegation of the Islamic Emirate visited Abkhazia in February 2023 and met with the foreign minister.[214] |
2 | ![]() | 7 October 2023 | The Taliban have supplied weapons to Hamas.[215] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Islamic Emirate had "carefully monitored the recent events in the Gaza Strip" and considered "the occurrence of such events to be the result of Israeli Zionists trampling on the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people and repeated insults and disrespect to Muslim holy places, and any type of defense and the resistance of the Palestinian people for freedom."[216] |
Planned recognition
[edit]Rank | Entity | Notes |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | In March 2022, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has expressed the intention to internationally recognize the Islamic Emirate.[217] |
Recognizes both governments
[edit]Rank | Entity | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | March 2024 | The Taliban were handed a Consulate-General in Khorog.[218] Despite this, the former government, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan maintains the embassy. |
Opposes recognition
[edit]Rank | Entity | Notes |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | [202] |
2 | ![]() | [202] |
3 | ![]() | [202] |
4 | ![]() | [202] |
5 | ![]() | [202] |
6 | ![]() | [202] |
7 | ![]() | Australia does not recognize the Taliban government over human rights concerns.[219] |
8 | ![]() | [202] |
9 | ![]() | [202] |
10 | ![]() | [202] |
11 | ![]() | [202] |
12 | ![]() | [202] |
13 | ![]() | [202] |
14 | ![]() | [202] |
15 | ![]() | [202] |
16 | ![]() | [202] |
17 | ![]() | [202] |
18 | ![]() | Canada has no plans to recognize the Taliban as the Government of Afghanistan.[220] |
19 | ![]() | Paula Narvez Ojeda, a UN representative, was concerned about the ongoing and severe restrictions on women and girls. In spite of universal declarations by the de facto authorities that women and girls might enjoy their rights, they are nonetheless frequently excluded from public life. Due to the ban on secondary school attendance, Afghanistan is the only nation in the world that prevents girls from exercising their full right to education. She mentioned a number of Taliban restrictions on their freedom of movement and said that decades' worth of progress toward gender equality and women's rights had been undone in the course of a few short months. Afghan women and girls must realize that they are not in this fight alone and that the international world is still obligated to defend their rights.[187] |
20 | ![]() | [202] |
21 | ![]() | [202] |
22 | ![]() | [202] |
23 | ![]() | [202] |
24 | ![]() | [221][222] |
25 | ![]() | [202] |
26 | ![]() | [202] |
27 | ![]() | [202] |
28 | ![]() | [202] |
29 | ![]() | [202] |
30 | ![]() | [202] |
31 | ![]() | United Nations delegate Elina Kalkku urged the international community to continue paying attention to the situation in Afghanistan and the events taking place there while also speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries. She voiced concern over the country's human rights condition and remarked that the complete and equal enjoyment of human rights by women and girls is never negotiable. The Taliban must ensure that Afghanistan complies with its obligations under international law and their rights must be given political priority. It must reconsider the judgments and rules that restrict women's rights and their capacity to engage in social, political, and economic life. The Taliban must fulfill its promise to open schools for girls. She condemned the murders, unjust detentions, forced disappearances, discrimination, mistreatment, and retaliation against protesters, members of various racial and religious groups, human rights activists, and journalists. They must cooperate with the de facto rulers, grant them the right to employment and civic engagement, and fully implement and enforce amnesty. She expressed concern over the ongoing attacks on civilians, schools, and mosques in relation to the overall security situation. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and the de facto authorities must guarantee security. Permitting the continued delivery of aid and assistance to the Afghan people and their way of life was also urgent. The Taliban must see to it that this aid is delivered impartially, without interference from the actual ruling class.[187] |
32 | ![]() | [223] |
33 | ![]() | [202] |
34 | ![]() | The United Nations envoy from Germany, Antje Leendertse, expressed her profound anxiety over the fact that half of Afghanistan's population suffers from extreme food insecurity when introducing the draft resolution on the situation in Afghanistan (document A/77/L.11). She issued a dire warning, saying, "We foresee a difficult winter and levels of need that we have not seen in recent decades," with little chance for an economic rebound and a decrease in poverty. It is exceedingly worrying that women and girls are routinely oppressed and denied the opportunity to express their civic, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Additionally lacking are any efforts to promote inclusive government and a long-term viable political option to run the country. She asserted that no effort had been made by the Taliban to ensure that minorities, women, and girls could fully practice their human rights. There is still a lack of security. "The Taliban control the country, but they don't fulfill their promises to the Afghan people." Passage of the resolution would be a resounding declaration of support for the Afghan people. The resolution will also witness to the General Assembly's support for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.[187] |
35 | ![]() | [202] |
36 | ![]() | [202] |
37 | ![]() | [202] |
38 | ![]() | [202] |
39 | ![]() | [202] |
40 | ![]() | UN Representative Cat Moran, who is affiliated with the European Union, highlighted her concern about the violence, abuse, subjugation, and hunger that millions of Afghans experience. Every member of the Assembly, she claimed, ought to be worried. The most horrifying example of the Taliban's disregard for Afghan women, according to her, is the most recent rules prohibiting women from attending open parks and fairs in Kabul. As winter approaches, the international community must continue providing crucial humanitarian relief and satisfying basic necessities. She emphasized the support that her country, which is a member of the Security Council, has given to UNAMA and the United Nations Country Team in Afghanistan. The proposed resolution makes a crucial claim regarding the responsibility of the international community to preserve the inalienable rights of the Afghan people and to protest violations of human rights. She requested that the Taliban accept responsibility and urged the Assembly to uphold this commitment.[187] |
41 | ![]() | India has consistently withheld recognition of the Taliban since their rise to power through an armed insurgency in August 2021. The country’s stance has been cautious, primarily focusing on addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people. Recently, the Taliban sought India’s aid for Afghanistan’s economic revival. Despite this, India has maintained a “technical team” presence in Kabul and has refrained from allowing Taliban diplomatic staff in New Delhi. [34] [35] |
42 | ![]() | [202] |
43 | ![]() | [202] |
44 | ![]() | [202] |
45 | ![]() | [202] |
46 | ![]() | The Taliban is far from upholding its pledges to the Afghan people, according to UN Representative Tamaura Shu, who highlighted recent events affecting Afghan security, anti-corruption measures, and humanitarian access. There is still much to be accomplished, including developing a democratic structure that is inclusive of all viewpoints, upholds the rights of all Afghans, and severs all ties to terrorists. Addressing these problems will benefit the Taliban, the international community will have more faith in them, and the tools and assistance required for national reconstruction will become available. He underlined Japan's continuous assistance to Afghanistan, including its potential membership in the Security Council.[187] |
47 | ![]() | [202] |
48 | ![]() | |
49 | ![]() | [202] |
50 | ![]() | [202] |
51 | ![]() | [202] |
52 | ![]() | [202] |
53 | ![]() | [202] |
54 | ![]() | [202] |
55 | ![]() | [202] |
56 | ![]() | [202] |
57 | ![]() | [202] |
58 | ![]() | [202] |
59 | ![]() | [202] |
60 | ![]() | [202] |
61 | ![]() | Mexico expressed worry on the brutal treatment of minorities, women, and girls in Afghanistan. The fundamental entitlement to an education must be fully respected. "This is important to safeguard Afghanistan's future," he insisted. It gets frustrating when promises are frequently kept but no real results appear. He pushed for the establishment of an administration of justice system. There must be open, comprehensive access for humanitarians in response to the rising levels of food insecurity. His significant concern regarding the underrepresentation of women in the workforce was accompanied by a strong emphasis on the urgent need for Afghanistan's economy to improve. He highlighted that in order to achieve a sustainable peace, they must completely respect each other's civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights and make a commitment to inclusive and representative governance.[187] |
62 | ![]() | [202] |
63 | ![]() | [202] |
64 | ![]() | [202] |
65 | ![]() | [202] |
66 | ![]() | [202] |
67 | ![]() | [202] |
68 | ![]() | [202] |
69 | ![]() | Speaking on behalf of the European Union at the UN, Mark Zellenrath welcomed the draft resolution's impartiality and conciseness. He stressed how significantly things have changed in Afghanistan over the past two years and asserted that the de facto administration is not operating in a way that would be accountable to the Afghan people or the international community. The numerous issues in Afghanistan cannot be handled without an inclusive administration that represents the entire Afghan community. History shows that isolating Afghanistan is not an effective strategy because instability will spread throughout the entire world. It is necessary to keep applying pressure to the de facto authorities to make improvements. He highlighted that in order to achieve a sustainable peace, they must completely respect each other's civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights and make a commitment to inclusive and representative governance.[187] |
70 | ![]() | [202] |
71 | ![]() | [202] |
72 | ![]() | [202] |
73 | ![]() | Statement of opposition of recognizing the Taliban government delivered on behalf of the United Nations representative of Finland.[187] |
74 | ![]() | [202] |
75 | ![]() | [202] |
76 | ![]() | [202] |
77 | ![]() | [202] |
78 | ![]() | [202] |
79 | ![]() | Joanna Sylwia Skoczek, a representative of the United Nations who is also affiliated with the European Union, highlighted her concern on the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban's opposition to a more inclusive political structure. Instead, it maintains the institutionalized, systematic, and violation of human rights, as well as the persecution of Afghan women. Poland, a founding member of the Group of Friends of Women of Afghanistan, urges its participants to use the informal forum to generate the necessary political momentum and provide extra assistance for Afghan women and girls to fully, equally, and meaningfully exercise their rights.[187] |
80 | ![]() | [202] |
81 | ![]() | [202] |
82 | ![]() | [202] |
82 | ![]() | [202] |
83 | ![]() | [202] |
84 | ![]() | [202] |
85 | ![]() | [202] |
86 | ![]() | [202] |
87 | ![]() | [202] |
88 | ![]() | UN Representative Botjan Malovrh remarked that it is essential for UNAMA to maintain an active presence in the country and for all Afghan actors to ensure a safe and secure environment for its operations, as stipulated by Security Council resolution 2626 (2022). Particularly for women and girls, Afghanistan's human rights situation has severely deteriorated. He asked that women and girls have the freedom to move around, express themselves, and congregate, as well as full, equal, and meaningful involvement in public life, education, employment, access to health care, and other services. The passage of the resolution will refresh the political, humanitarian, and developmental framework for future debates aimed at addressing the needs of the Afghan people.[187] |
89 | ![]() | [202] |
90 | ![]() | [202] |
91 | ![]() | [224] |
92 | ![]() | [202] |
93 | ![]() | Statement of opposition of recognizing the Taliban government delivered on behalf of the United Nations representative of Finland.[187] |
94 | ![]() | [202] |
95 | ![]() | |
96 | ![]() | [202] |
97 | ![]() | [202] |
98 | ![]() | [202] |
99 | ![]() | [202] |
100 | ![]() | [202] |
101 | ![]() | [202] |
102 | ![]() | [225] |
103 | ![]() | When asked why it had taken so long for his group to gain legitimacy, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, "As far as recognition by foreign countries are concerned, I think the United States is the biggest obstacle." He responded to questions from reporters via a Taliban-run WhatsApp group for reporters by saying, "It [America] does not allow other countries to move in this direction and has itself not taken any step on this count either."[226] |
104 | ![]() | [202] |
105 | ![]() | [202] |
106 | ![]() | [202] |
Unclear/no defined stance
[edit]Antigua and Barbuda
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh[227]
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Costa Rica
DRC
Djibouti
Dominica
Equatorial Guinea
Eswatini
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia
Grenada
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Micronesia
Namibia
Nauru
Niger
Palestine
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Somaliland
South Africa
South Ossetia
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Tanzania
Tonga
Transnistria
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Uganda
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Western Sahara
Zambia
References
[edit]- ^ "Is Russia arming the Afghan Taliban?". BBC News. 1 April 2018.
A Taliban spokesman said that the Taliban had not "received military assistance from any country".
- ^ Matinuddin 1999, p. 42.
- ^ Rashid, Ahmed (2022) [2000]. Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond (3rd ed.). Yale University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-300-26682-5.
- ^ Giustozzi, Antonio (2019). The Taliban at War, 2001–2018. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 260, 270. ISBN 978-0-19-009239-9.
- ^ Giustozzi, Antonio (2019). The Taliban at War, 2001–2018. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 243–245. ISBN 978-0-19-009239-9.
- ^ "China Takes Full Advantage of Taliban's Isolation". The DIPLOMAT. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "US to 'take action' if terrorists regroup in Afghanistan". The Express Tribune. 8 December 2022.
- ^ CAFIERO, GIORGIO. "What to expect for Taliban-Iran relations". TRT world.
- ^ "Pakistan-Afghan Taliban relations face mounting challenges". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Pannier, Bruce. "First Firefight: Turkmen, Taliban Engage In Border Shoot-Out". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Taliban sets up investment consortium with firms from Pakistan, Russia, Iran". Brecorder. Reuters. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "ICS- Institute of Chinese Studies: China's Role in Afghan-Taliban Peace Talks: Afghan Perspectives". icsin.org. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ Bokhari, Farhan; Stacey, Kiran; Feng, Emily (6 August 2018). "China courted Afghan Taliban in secret meetings". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- ^ "China's Position on the Afghan Issue". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Caballero, Jose (2 February 2023). "China is extending its dealings with the Taliban as it increases its superpower status". The Conversation. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Massoud joins hands with India". Rawa.org. 1 July 1999. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ Cohen, Stephen P. (2004). India: Emerging Power. Brookings Institution Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8157-9839-2.
- ^ Pigott, Peter. Canada in Afghanistan: The War So Far. Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd, 2007. ISBN 1-55002-674-7, ISBN 978-1-55002-674-0. P. 54.
- ^ Gall, Carlotta (21 January 2007). "At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Bombay terrorist reveals links with IC 814 hijackers". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "India reaches out to Afghanistan". Asia Times. 30 August 2005. Archived from the original on 4 November 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Sreedhar, T., "India's Afghan policy" (7 March 2003), The Hindu, Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ^ Bedi, Rahul,"India joins anti-Taliban coalition – Jane's International Security News". Archived from the original on 16 February 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2008., (15 March 2001), Jane's Intelligence Review, archived from the original Archived 26 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine on 16 February 2006.
- ^ McLeod, Duncan (2008). India and Pakistan: Friends, Rivals Or Enemies?. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-7546-7437-5.
- ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (5 December 2009). "India, Pakistan and the Battle for Afghanistan". Time. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "India: Afghanistan's influential ally". BBC News. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ Bajoria, Jayshree (22 July 2009). "India-Afghanistan Relations". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 29 November 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ Gishkori, Zahid (24 March 2011). "Terrorism threat in India during World Cup". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Taliban trying to enter India: Malik". The News. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Terrorist plotting World Cup attack nabbed: Rehman Malik". The Times of India. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "India forced to reassess Taliban threat". The Times of India. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ PTI (17 June 2012). "Taliban praises India for resisting U.S. pressure on Afghanistan". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "India holds first official Taliban talks". Deutsche Welle. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ a b Bhattacherjee, Kallol (1 February 2024). "India engaging the Taliban in 'various formats', says MEA spokesperson". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ a b Bhattacherjee, Kallol (26 September 2023). "Taliban seek economic support and recognition from India ahead of Kazan meeting under Moscow format". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ Barnett, R. Rubin. "Afghanistan after U.S. Withdrawal: Five Conclusions | Emerging Global Order". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Afghanistan Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998". The State Department web site below. 1999.
- ^ Rashid 2022, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Jehl, Douglas (11 September 1998). "Iran Holds Taliban Responsible for 9 Diplomats' Deaths". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ a b Tarock, Adam (1999). "The Politics of the Pipeline: The Iran and Afghanistan Conflict". Third World Quarterly. 20 (4): 801–819. doi:10.1080/01436599913569. ISSN 0143-6597. JSTOR 3993589.
- ^ "Gates Warns Iran Over Afghan 'Double Game'". CBS News. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "US General Accuses Iran Of Helping Taliban". Eagleworldnews.com. 31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ Meyer, Henry (14 February 2009). "Iran Is Helping Taliban in Afghanistan, Petraeus Says (Update1)". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ Jha, Lalit K (16 March 2011). "Concern in US over increasing Iranian activity in Afghanistan". Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN). Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ Kugelman, Michael (6 May 2024). "What Was Mullah Mansour Doing in Iran?". Foreign Policy.
- ^ Coll, Steve (2019). Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Penguin Group. pp. 676–677. ISBN 978-0-14-313250-9.
- ^ "Shi'ite Hazara gunmen join the Taliban". 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ AFP (7 September 2015). "Afghan Taliban take apparent dig at IS over Hazara killings".
- ^ Tabatabai, Ariane M. (9 August 2019). "Iran's cooperation with the Taliban could affect talks on U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b "US intelligence indicates Iran paid bounties to Taliban for targeting American troops in Afghanistan". CNN. 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Iran reportedly paid bounties to Afghan group for attacks on Americans". The Guardian. 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Taliban condemn killing of Iran's Qassem Soleimani". Al Arabiya. 5 January 2020.
- ^ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Iran Reduces Number Of Diplomats In Afghanistan". barrons.com.
- ^ "Iran closes consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan". Tehran Times. 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Iran says its embassy in Kabul remains open". Reuters. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Taliban Gamble Sparks Criticism of Iranian Politics". Inside Arabia. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Iran Reformists And Principlists Trade Barbs Over Afghanistan". Iran International. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Motamedi, Maziar. "US 'defeat' in Afghanistan a chance for peace: Iran president". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Iran condemns Taliban for assault on holdout fighters in Panjshir Valley". The Times of Israel. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Iran, Taliban call for security cooperation to fight Daesh: special envoy". Tehran Times. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Iranian press review: Iran and Taliban deepen alliance". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Rashid 2022, p. 26.
- ^ 'The Taliban'. Mapping Militant Organizations. Stanford University. Updated 15 July 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ West, Julian (23 September 2001). "Pakistan's godfathers of the Taliban hold the key to the hunt for Bin Laden". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
- ^ Gall, Carlotta (3 March 2010). "Former Pakistani officer embodies policy puzzle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010.
- ^ Waldman, Matt (June 2010). "The Sun in the Sky: The Relationship between Pakistan's ISI and Afghan Insurgents" (PDF). Crisis States Working Papers (series no.2, no. 18). Crisis States Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science: 3.
In the 1980s the ISI was instrumental in supporting seven Sunni Muslim mujahedeen groups in their jihad against the Soviets, and was the principal conduit of covert US and Saudi funding. It subsequently played a pivotal rôle in the emergence of the Taliban (Coll 2005:292) and Pakistan provided significant political, financial, military and logistical support to the former Taliban régime in Afghanistan (1996–2001)(Rashid 2001).
- ^ Crisis of Impunity (Report). Human Rights Watch. July 2001.
- ^ Rashid 2022, pp. 185–186
- ^ Rashid 2022, pp. 93, 137.
- ^ a b Gall, Carlotta (21 January 2007). "At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge". The New York Times.
- ^ Joscelyn, Thomas (22 September 2011). "Admiral Mullen: Pakistani ISI sponsoring Haqqani attacks". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations – Council on Foreign Relations". Cfr.org. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ Pape, Robert Anthony; Feldman, James K. (2010). Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It. University of Chicago Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-226-64560-5.
The thinking piece of the Taliban is out of Quetta in Pakistan. It's the major headquarters (Chris Vernon British Chief of Staff)
- ^ "Discussion Papers" (PDF). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ "Afghan ex-intel chief opposed Karzai peace plan". Reuters. 8 June 2010.
- ^ Chris Allbritton (27 October 2011). "Pakistan strongly denied Thursday a BBC report that alleged the Pakistani military, along with its intelligence arm, supplied and protected the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda". Reuters. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- ^ Shuja, Nawaz (14 November 2007). "The US-Pakistan Roller Coaster Relationship". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
- ^ Jayshree Bajoria. "The Strained U.S.-Pakistan Alliance". Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "U.S.-Pakistan relations: An unhappy alliance". Los Angeles Times. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Pakistan warns U.S. it may lose key ally". Maclean's. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "The World Today – Pakistan denies terror links". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Pakistan army launches operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' in North Waziristan". The News International. 15 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ Jon Boone in Islamabad. "Pakistan begins long-awaited offensive to root out militants from border region". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ Imaduddin (26 June 2014). "327 terrorists killed, 45 hideouts destroyed during Zarb-e-Azb operation: DG ISPR". Business Recorder. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ Koelbl, Susanne (14 May 2021). "Interview with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani: "I Know I Am Only One Bullet Away from Death"". Der Spiegel.
- ^ Siddique, Abubakar. "Tensions Increase Between Pakistan, Afghan Taliban Despite Historical Ties". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Shehbaz's UNGA speech sparks row with Kabul". The Express Tribune. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Saudis Bankroll Taliban, Even as King Officially Supports Afghan Government". The New York Times. 12 June 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
- ^ Walsh, Declan (5 December 2010). "WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 15 December 2016.
- ^ a b Sönmez, Göktuğ; Bozbaş, Gökhan; Konuşul, Serhat (27 December 2020). "AFGAN TALİBANI: DÜNÜ, BUGÜNÜ VE YARINI". Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi (in Turkish). 2 (2): 59–77. ISSN 2667-8063. Retrieved 10 August 2021.[dead link]
- ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Afghanistan: Can Turkey tame the Taliban? | DW | 12 July 2021". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Erdogan Pushes for Turkish Role in Afghanistan after US Leaves | Voice of America – English". Voice of America. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Turkey should send engineers not troops to Afghanistan, Taliban spokesperson says". Middle East Monitor. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ a b c 'Saudi envoy criticizes Qatari backing of Afghan Taliban'. aa.com.tr, 8 July 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ Siegel, Robert (23 December 2013). "How Tiny Qatar 'Punches Above Its Weight'". NPR.
- ^ a b Ahmed Rashid, Ahmed (4 October 2017). "Why closing the Taliban's Qatar office would be an erro". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "Closing the Taliban's Office in Qatar Would Be a Historic Mistake". Defense One. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma; Sabbagh, Dan; Makoii, Akhtar Mohammad; Borger, Julian (29 February 2020). "US and Taliban sign deal to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ^ Rasmussen, Sune Engel (22 October 2017). "Russia accused of supplying Taliban as power shifts create strange bedfellows". The Guardian.
- ^ Calamur, Krishnadev (25 August 2017). "Is Russia Really Arming the Taliban?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
The U.S. claim—including those made in news reports—comes with no accompanying evidence, and the experts I spoke to said none of the open-source information they have seen suggest there is a direct link.
- ^ Marcus, Jonathan (29 June 2020). "What's going on between Russia, US and Afghanistan?". BBC News.
- ^ Higgins, Andrew; Mashal, Mujib (6 February 2019). "Taliban Peace Talks in Moscow End With Hope the U.S. Exits, if Not Too Quickly". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Taliban says progress made at Afghan talks in Moscow". Al Jazeera. 30 May 2019.
- ^ Rodionov, Maxim (30 May 2019). "Taliban say progress made at Afghan talks in Moscow but no breakthrough". Reuters.
- ^ "New Administration Memo Seeks to Foster Doubts About Suspected Russian Bounties". The New York Times. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Why we need a little skepticism, and more evidence, on Russian bounties". The Hill. 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Top Pentagon officials say Russian bounty program not corroborated". ABC News. 10 July 2020.
- ^ "AM Archive – UK freezes $200 million worth of Taliban assets". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
- ^ Clements, Frank (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-85109-402-8.
- ^ "General Sir Michael Jackson: We must maintain our will in Afghanistan". The Daily Telegraph. London. 21 June 2008. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
- ^ Meo, Nick (9 August 2008). "British cash to buy off Taliban 'goes to farmers'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ "UK news". The Guardian. London. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ Rashid 2022, p. 176.
- ^ Rashid 2022, pp. 175–8.
- ^ Rashid 2022, p. 177.
- ^ "US pledges support for Afghan oil pipeline if Taliban makes peace". BBC News. 10 December 1997. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ Reuters, "Taliban blame Clinton scam for attacks", 21 August 1998.
- ^ Rashid 2022, pp. 138, 231.
- ^ Rashid 2022, p. 78.
- ^ "U.S. set to pay Taliban members to switch sides". CNN. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ "IPS Inter Press Service". Ipsnews.net. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Right after interviewing Karzai". CNN. 6 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ "South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan". Asia Times. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Homan, Timothy R. (6 December 2009). "Talks With Taliban Not Ruled Out, U.S. Officials Say (Update1)". Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Pentagon sees reconciliation with Taliban". Stuff (company). Reuters. 11 September 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "McChrystal focuses on peace with Taliban: report". Agence France-Presse. 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Jonathan Cristol | Palgrave". www.palgrave.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Basit, Abdul (June 2020). "The US-Taliban Deal and Expected US Exit from Afghanistan: Impact on South Asian Militant Landscape". Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses. 12 (4). Nanyang Technological University, Singapore: International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research: 8–14. JSTOR 26918076.
- ^ Rai, Manish (21 March 2020). "U.S.-Taliban Deal: India should Chalk-out a New Strategy". OpedColumn.News.Blog.
- ^ George, Susannah (29 February 2020). "U.S. signs peace deal with Taliban agreeing to full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan". The Washington Post.
- ^ McLaughlin, Elizabeth; Martinez, Luis; Finnegan, Conor (27 May 2020). "Trump says 'it is time' for US troops to exit Afghanistan, undermining agreement with Taliban". ABC News.
- ^ "U.S. begins troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, official says". Politico. Associated Press. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Maulvi Jalil-ullah Maulvizada, June 1997 interview with Ahmed Rashid; Rashid 2022, pp. 111–112.
- ^ Aid agencies pull out of Kabul The building had neither electricity or running water.
- ^ Rashid 2022, pp. 71–72.
- ^ a b Farmer, Ben (25 January 2010). "UN: lift sanctions on Taliban to build peace in Afghanistan". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ "UN official calls for talks with taliban leaders". Sify. 2 August 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "UN Reduce Taliban names on terror list". United Press International. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Asia News". english.aljazeera.net. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Aga Khan's envoy meets Taliban deputy prime minister". Samaa. SAMAA WEB DESK. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ Rezahi, Nizamuddin (19 January 2023). "FM Muttaqi Meets AKDN Representative to Afghanistan". Khaama Press. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Taliban invite Aga Khan to visit Afghanistan". Chitral Today. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Currently listed entities". Public Safety Canada. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "List of terrorist and extremist organizations banned in Kyrgyzstan". 24.kg. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "Сотрудникам МИА "Россия сегодня" велели не называть "Талибан" запрещенной в России организацией". BBC News Русская Служба.
- ^ ""Толибон" –созмони террористӣ, ки дар Тоҷикистон ва Русия мамнӯъ аст". www.hgu.tj.
- ^ "More Republicans call on Biden to designate Taliban as terrorist group". The Hill. 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State.
- ^ "Казахстан призвали готовиться к "худшему сценарию" из-за прихода к власти талибов". 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Kazakhstan removes Taliban from list of terrorist organizations". Anadolu Agency. 1 January 2024.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 246–247, 287–288.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 288–289.
- ^ Rashid 2022, p. 139.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan resistance leader feared dead in blast". London: Ahmed Rashid in the Telegraph. 11 September 2001. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
- ^ "الموقع الرسمي للجيش اللبناني | شرف، تضحية، وفاء". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2007., archived from the original Archived 18 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine on 11 March 2011.
- ^ Lawrence Wright claims bin Laden was almost completely broke at this time, cut off from his family income, and fleeced by the Sudanese.Wright 2006, pp. 222–223.
- ^ "Indictments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "Taliban confirms bin Laden is missing". CNN. 14 February 1999. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008.
- ^ "Taliban Won't Turn Over Bin Laden". CBS News. 21 September 2001. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden 'innocent'". BBC News. 21 November 1998. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ "Embassy bombing defendant linked to bin Laden". CNN. 14 February 2001. Archived from the original on 26 February 2006.
- ^ "Cooperative Research records of evidence against bin Laden". Cooperativeresearch.org. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ Bin Laden, Messages to the World, (2006), p.143, from Interview published in Al-Quds Al-Arabi in London, 12 November 2001 (originally published in Pakistani daily, Ausaf, 7 Nov.), shortly before the Northern Alliance entry into Kabul.
- ^ Sedarat, Firouz (29 November 2007). "Bin Laden urges Europe to quit Afghanistan". Reuters. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 August 2004.
- ^ Brinkerhoff, Noel (9 February 2011). "Surprise! Taliban and Al-Qaeda are Worlds Apart". Allgov.com. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Taliban Commander Says Taliban Cannot Win Afghan War: Report". ABC News. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ "Preview: Michael Semple interviews a senior member of the Taliban". New Statesman. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ "Taliban urge Islamic State to stop 'interference' in Afghanistan". Reuters. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ Shalizi, Hamid (29 June 2015). "Exclusive: In turf war with Afghan Taliban, Islamic State loyalists gain ground". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ "IS Loyalists Kill 3 Police in First Attack on Afghan Forces". The New York Times. Associated Press. 27 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ Roggio, Bill (11 April 2016). "Senior Islamic State Khorasan leaders defect to Taliban". The Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ Mayo, Akbar (8 June 2011). "Rise of Malakand Taliban". The Daily Outlook Afghanistan. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "After the fall of Kabul, what's next for Afghanistan?". The Strategist. 16 August 2021.
- ^ Tighe, Paul & Katz, Ian (10 August 2009). "Pakistan Challenges Taliban to Show Leader Mehsud Still Alive". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Shane, Scott (22 October 2009). "Insurgents Share a Name, but Pursue Different Goals". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ a b UNSC slaps sanctions on Pakistani Taliban, 30 July 2011, Rediff.com
- ^ a b Gall, Carlotta; Khan, Ismail; Shah, Pir Zubair; Shah, Taimoor (26 March 2009). "Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Unify in Face of US Influx". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- ^ Marcela Grad (1 March 2009). Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader. Webster University Press. p. 310.
- ^ US attack on Taliban kills 23 in Pakistan, The New York Times, 9 September 2008
- ^ "Documents Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists". George Washington University. 2007.
- ^ U.S. attack on Taliban kills 23 in Pakistan, The New York Times, 9 September 2008
- ^ Spak, Kevin (3 October 2011). "Haqqani Denies Link With Pakistan – And insists it didn't assassinate peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani". Newser.com. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ "Haqqani denies links to Pakistani government". Army Times. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ Mullen, Mike (30 September 2011). "Pakistan denies links to Haqqani network". Windsorstar.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ^ "Haqqani network denies links to ISI: BBC". The Express Tribune. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l “General Assembly Voices Deep Concern over Volatility in Afghanistan since Taliban Takeover, Unflinching Commitment to Afghans, Adopting Resolution by Vote | UN Press.” United Nations, United Nations, https://press.un.org/en/2022/ga12469.doc.htm. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
- ^ "Afghan diplomats under pressure from Taliban regime". Agence France-Presse. Islamabad. France 24. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ Javid Ahmad Qaem [@JavidQaem] (10 January 2022). "Handover note addressed to Mr. Mahyuddin Saddat First Secretary, Assigned to Beijing" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 April 2022 – via Twitter.
I am taking leave from 2nd January 2022. Looking to the circumstance and restrictions, it is not very clear when I can return to office. So, I am leaving this hand over note for a smooth transition at the Afghan Embassy in Beijing.
- ^ a b Detsch, Jack; Gramer, Robbie (11 January 2022). "'You're Very Vulnerable': Afghan Diplomats Fear Violent Taliban Reprisals". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "China accepts Afghan diplomats appointed by IEA". Ariana News. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "China recognizes Taliban's ambassador, sets diplomatic precedent".
- ^ Khan, Tahir (29 October 2021). "Taliban Install Diplomats in Pakistan Embassy, Missions". Voice of America. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Turkmenistan: Berdymukhamedov passes the mantle (and phone)". Eurasianet. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Russia Latest Country to Establish Diplomatic Ties With Taliban". Voice of America. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Siddique, Abubakar (17 January 2022). "Afghanistan's Embassies Remain In Limbo As Most Staff Still Loyal To Toppled Government". Gandhara. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Muttaqi Meets Ismail Khan, Ahmad Massoud in Tehran". TOLOnews. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "The Fall of Afghanistan Echoes in Myanmar". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ Ahmad, Jibran (29 October 2021). "Afghan Taliban appoint new envoy to run embassy in neighbouring Pakistan". Reuters. Peshawar, Pakistan and Kabul. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
Two other Taliban officials in the foreign affairs and interior ministries confirmed the appointment to Reuters and said similar arrangements had been made in Qatar
- ^ a b https://hrcmeetings.ohchr.org/HRCSessions/RegularSessions/51/DL_Resolutions/A_HRC_51_L.53/Voting%20Result%20L53.pdf
- ^ a b "Document Set". hrcmeetings.ohchr.org. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co “The Situation in Afghanistan :” United Nations, United Nations, https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3993873?ln=en. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
- ^ Kumenov, Almaz (19 April 2023). "Kazakhstan acredits taliban envoys without recognizing government". Eurasia.net.
- ^ https://www.timesofisrael.com/minister-photographed-in-saudi-arabia-alongside-syrian-counterpart-taliban-official/amp/
- ^ "The Embassy of Afghanistan in Malaysia would like to announce that this Embassy will be closed tomorrow 15 Aug on the occasion of [Taliban's victory day]". Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Kuala Lumpur (old account). Facebook. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "It is with great respect and pleasure that we announce that Afghanistan is in Malaysia". Embassy of Afghanistan - Malaysia (new account). Facebook. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Uzbek Border Town Adjusts to the Taliban as Neighbors". VOA. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ Gramer, Jack Detsch, Robbie (11 January 2022). "'You're Very Vulnerable': Afghan Diplomats Fear Violent Taliban Reprisals". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "سرپیچی از دستور هبتالله؛ پسر وزیر معادن طالبان مسئول سفارت افغانستان در تاشکند تعیین شد". افغانستان اینترنشنال (in Persian). 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Afghan Interim Govt Appoints Envoy to Afghanistan's Consulate General in Dubai". Khaama Press. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Taliban Appoints New Head of Mission for Afghan Embassy in UAE". Afghanistan International. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Pannier, Bruce. "Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Open Channels With The Taliban". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Afghanistan Embassy in Bishkek". Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Minister of Foreign Affairs of #Abkhazia Inal Ardzinba held a meeting with the delegation of the Embassy of #Afghanistan in #Russia". Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Explained: How Hamas Gets Weapons In Gaza Despite Strict Border Control". NDTV.com.
- ^ "Pakistan, Afghanistan show support to Palestine, calls for "cessation of hostilities"". The Economic Times. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "Turkey Calls for Recognition of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Tajikistan: Taliban take control of consulate". Eurasianet. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Afghanistan". dfat.gov.au.
- ^ "Canada-Afghanistan relations". GAC. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "No Czech recognition for the Taliban". 13 September 2021.
- ^ "'Czech Republic will not recognise Taliban'". Big News Network.com. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "The Taliban are lying, France's foreign minister says". Reuters. 11 September 2021.
- ^ "España no reconoce al gobierno de los talibanes en Afganistán". Economía Digital (in Spanish). 30 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Britain says it wants to engage with the Taliban". 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Taliban Say US Is 'Biggest Hurdle' to Diplomatic Recognition". Voice of America. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Bangladesh will accept if Taliban form a government of the people: foreign minister". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- Griffiths, John C. (2001), Afghanistan: A History of Conflict, London: Carlton Books, ISBN 978-1-84222-597-4
- Hillenbrand, Carole (2015), Islam: A New Historical Introduction, London: Thames & Hudson, ISBN 978-0-500-11027-0
- Matinuddin, Kamal (1999), The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997, Karachi: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-579274-2
- Wright, Lawrence (2006). The looming tower : Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-41486-2.