KABUL: In a marked departure from their known stand, senior leaders of the Taliban have extended a hand of friendship to India. Until recently, they used to accuse India of assisting the Rabbani regime in its war against the Talibs. In control of Kabul, as their militiamen fight a pitched battle with the warlords in the north of the city, the Taliban have urged India to reopen its mission in the city. It was closed hours before the city fell on September 2627. Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai, Deputy Foreign Minister in the caretaker Kabul regime, told The Indian Express that the Taliban had “no problems” with India. “We do not know their (the Indian Government’s) stand. They have not announced their stand so far. We know they maintained good relations with (the ousted regime of) Rabbani. They were also on very good terms with Najibullah. We, too, want good relations with India,” he asserted. “We know they closed their mission around the time we entered the city. But we would like to clear all misgivings. India should open its Kabul office as early as possible,” said Stanakzai, pointing out that the Afghan embassy in New Delhi continues to function though there has been a change of guard in Kabul.
But the Taliban appear to be in no mood to review their stand on Tran which shares a long border with Afghanistan in the west. “The Iranian policy is hypocritical. They say one thing across the table and do quite the opposite. We have proof that Rabbani’s men were trained in Iran, The Iranians also supplied those arms,” he claimed. Loran’s concern stems from the fact that the Taliban, a force of Sunni fundamentalists, have arrived on its eastern borders. Teheran also has a lot at stake in west Afghanistan which has a sizable Shiite population. Barring Bamlyan, all other provinces west of Kabul are under Taliban control. The Taliban leaders appear to be stung by the refusal of the international community to recognize the new dispensation, Stanakzai’s colleague, Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqui, who at the age of 26 has been given charge of the Information and Culture Ministries, maintained that “the international community is making a big mistake” by not recognizing the new government. “The Kabul government controlled only five provinces. Yet it was extended all privileges by the world community. The Taliban control 70 percent of Afghanistan but the world refuses to recognize us,” said Muttaqi. Stanakzai and Muttaqi are aware that “the attempt to isolate Afghanistan internationally” has much to do with their strict imposition of the Islamic Sharia, especially the curbs on the freedom of women. But they are not prepared to compromise on the “traditional mules of Islam. The United Nations has misunderstood our position on women. We have imposed no restriction on the movements of women, they still move out on the streets except that they now adhere to Islamic rules (the donning of the burkha is now compulsory). The Taliban also do not believe in denying women their right to education. Under Islamic rules, women have the right to education under certain conditions and we are at the moment working on what these conditions should be,” claimed Stanakzai. Mullah Muttaqi, like all Taliban ministers, has taken his new responsibility rather seriously. As Culture Minister, he is out to ensure the success of the Taliban code of conduct.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1996
