THE Taliban’s recent takeover has now made the making of a new democratic nation state of Afghanistan just a distant dream for the people of Afghanistan. The fall of Kabul to the Taliban marks a new era in extremism propaganda, not only in the Middle East, but globally for religious terror groups.
The Taliban, prior to the 9/11 attacks was a “state sponsored and support” for Islamist terror groups. Al-Qaeda was supported by the Taliban and were given full autonomy to operate within Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks.
Is the Taliban now seen as a legitimate government to administer Afghanistan by the West? The Taliban supported al-Qaeda and allowed al-Qaeda to conduct a major terrorist attack that killed thousands in New York in 2001, which led to the “war on terror” by the US to attack the Taliban and al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda operated and trained the Taliban and foreign fighters that included the early Mujahids that fought the Russian invasion.
Al-Qaeda’s autonomy given by the Taliban to operate and plan international terrorist attacks from Afghanistan has now been reactivated. The Taliban is portraying something that it is not and will not be in the near future. It will not change its extremist ideologies and violent practices of shariah laws.
Taliban leaders are now engaging a new narrative that it wants to portray to Muslim authoritarian regimes, as well as to Muslim states that are seen to be in line with radical Islamic teachings and ideologies.
The Taliban has also initiated its first contact in Southeast Asia, which is Malaysia, as it has support given by a political religious party in Malaysia, which has welcomed the Taliban rule.
The Taliban’s newly appointed media communications head, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, is well educated and speaks fluent English, and is given the mandate to speak on behalf of the Taliban to the international media.
Now, the Taliban is definitely reaching out to every country for it to be recognised.
The misconceptions
The Taliban is deceiving the international community.
It is an extremist and violent group that uses violent shariah interpretations to justify its Islamist ideologies. It is now creating a new narrative and wants to make believe that changing the thoughts and concepts in accordance with “deviant” Islamic teachings is the only way for correct revival and progress.
The Taliban seems to be taking the approaches of the Al-Muhajiroun Islamic Movement established in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in March of 1983 by Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, Al-Halabi, Al-Shaaf.
The movements use concepts and emotions within society; however, it does believe that jihad is the only way to liberate purportedly occupied Muslim lands.
The objectives could be an adoption within the Taliban’s current ideologies and practices. Learned scholars and youth operate globally under this movement and the Taliban could possibly tap into these resources to garner footprints for global support.
The social media platform is being introduced into its operations and the Taliban is setting up a new media house to propagate its extremist propaganda and al-Qaeda is at hand in assisting the Taliban. Hence, the new narrative in the Taliban’s reach for recognition by Muslim states.
There are currently many Salafists and those supporting transnational terrorist groups within the ranks of the Taliban. There are also thousands of foreign jihadists that are now present in Afghanistan. The Taliban is also allowing foreign fighters of al-Qaeda to Afghanistan to provide safe havens.
The Taliban is reaching out to many Muslim countries where foreign Mujahids fought under the Taliban against the Russians. Some are via familial ties as well as seeking possible support from countries where the Mujahids were likely from.
The Taliban foreign fighter dossiers carry country operatives contacts of former Mujahids and are now using politics to gain support via international support structures from radical political groups and Muslim non-government organisations.
The fall of Kabul
The Taliban, since the fall of Kabul, has been working closely with al-Qaeda in its offensive operations against security forces. Al-Qaeda played a vital role in its support of the Taliban by providing operational and tactical know-how in its offensive.
The Taliban has always been operating under guerilla warfare operations rather than urban warfare, and terrorist tactics and operations.
Al-Qaeda operated under the disguise of the Taliban and infiltrated Afghan communities prior to the fall of Kabul.
It had first-hand knowledge of the security forces and US operations prior to its departure and were believed to have also corrupted Afghan security forces to give vital strategic intelligence and reporting.
The Taliban also recently welcomed a top al-Qaeda commander who was Osama bin Laden’s close aid, Amin Ul Haq, who is now believed to be in Kabul with top Taliban leaders.
The Taliban is now in talks with al-Qaeda’s advisory military arm to support its jihadist militia and to re-train Taliban fighters in military-style operations. These jihadists will be trained and are believed to be led by al-Qaeda’s commanders.
Current threat scenario
The Taliban has maintained a dossier of all contacts of former Afghan government servants and top leaders within the Ashraf Ghani administration prior to the fall of Kabul.
They now currently have an updated list of all government officials within Afghanistan. The list gives full description of officials, their names, positions held, home addresses, familial ties and all relevant information of their activities.
Since a month after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban has been rounding up former officials by visiting homes and interrogating families. Prior government possessions by officials under the Ghani administration are being confiscated. Many are also being held and some are being tortured and killed.
We must be cautious of the interpretations of the recent public hangings orchestrated by the Taliban. Four men were arrested for kidnap charges and were hanged in public.
The Taliban knows how to evade such discrepancies by commenting publicly in the media that the men were criminals. However, this cannot be verified and the men could very well have been officials of the former government.
The Taliban, prior to the fall of Kabul, conducted many kidnappings, ransoms and killing attacks on foreigners as well as assassinations.
A 2018 case of a Malaysian kidnapped in Kabul was actually orchestrated by the Taliban. Intelligence and law enforcement reporting provided to the NCTN-IACSP’s (Nordic Counter Terrorism Network – International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals) Southeast Asian office was confirmed by the Afghanistan embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
The kidnapping and killings included two other foreign nationals who were working for a foreign culinary service provider for the US military.
Conclusion
The Taliban still works closely with al-Qaeda and the threat cannot be discounted. Taliban leadership headed by its supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has renamed the state of Afghanistan to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
This is a clear sign of an Islamist radical and extremist state in the making and it will have a wider threat within the Middle East. “Know your enemy” from Sun Tzu’s Art of War assesses one’s threat and is something the Middle East and the rest of the world must now assess.
Islamist militant groups globally are now preparing for a new approach after the Covid pandemic, which gave them more than a year to enhance their capabilities and organisations. The Taliban rise in defeating an “infidel” state, the US, provides a clear signal that Islamist terror groups can hold strong. It may be a warning to other nation states that it is not spared the jihad if it violates Islamist ideologies and its crusade for global Islamist control. – The Vibes, September 29, 2021
Andrin Raj is director of the Nordic Counter Terrorism Network and a member of the EU-funded European Expert Network on Terrorism, whose secretariat is based at the Federal Criminal Police headquarters in Germany. His views do not necessarily reflect those of these organisations
