Analysis, Side Feature, South Asia

The Recent Escalation of Taliban’s Attacks in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has always been a mean for the global powers and not an end. Americans too are using Afghanistan in its regional strategy as a mean or tool to achieve its other objectives. US from the time of the Cold War craved to enter this region and stay here for a longer time. By using the Geo-political location of Afghanistan, US aims to attain its colonial strategic objectives. Hence, the episode of 9/11 provides US and NATO with the opportunity to invade Afghanistan and trigger other armed groups to join them too, which could help in staying in Afghanistan for decades. After invading Afghanistan, the American government first signed a strategic pact and then a security pact with its handpicked puppet regimes in Afghanistan, which gave them the legal status to stay.

U.S. for its long-term stay in Afghanistan used the naïve political and armed groups and benefited from their actions. For instance, the U.S. first brought some groups in the government and then kicked them out, few were not even given a chance, and were kept out from the political scene altogether. All of it was done to break the unity, and to ensure no unified resistance could stand against it.

Now at this great juncture of history, for the second time, its Taliban’s turn to be trapped. Both the puppet regimes of Afghanistan and Pakistan are cornering Taliban with the options that; either continue fighting (for the U.S. strategic interests in the region) or you will be killed by the U.S. air strikes, and will spend the rest of your lives behind bars. The third option, however, is to accept the U.S. initiated peace process, which is wide open, and accept the secular constitution, surrendering arms and distancing themselves from the global Jihad.

However, something that is making the peace process somewhat vague is the announcement of the ‘Khurasan’ province from the so-called “Caliphate” of ISIS and their demand from Taliban to either surrender or face war. Though from the political perspective it is clear that the ISIS of Khurasan has many dissimilarities with the ISIS of Iraq and Syria. The Khurasan branch of ISIS have had limited opportunity to spread in Afghanistan, to the extent that U.S. could use them like they have been used in the Middle East. One of the biggest hurdles for ISIS in Afghanistan is that the people here are overwhelmingly following a ‘Hanafi’ Fiqh containing Sufi influences that goes contrary to the ‘Wahabi’ ideology of ISIS. However, ISIS could be used as an effective tool to put pressure on Taliban to fight under a US/Pakistani diktat, accept the peace process by surrendering, or else they would be replaced by the ISIS in Afghanistan.

It is because of this reason that Taliban have escalated their attacks and have increased the sphere of attacks in Afghanistan as well, going as far as to the areas of Tajiks and Uzbeks, which is very unusual. All of it is done in order to eclipse the differences between the various factions of Taliban as well as to break the conducive environment for ISIS, which was made for them by the U.S., Pakistan and Afghan governments and their respective media. Moreover, by increasing the pace of attacks Taliban wants to prove its omnipresence in Afghanistan despite the death of their Ameer Mullah Omar. Such sporadic attacks will help Taliban sit in the Western backed peace process in a position of strength and not weakness.

From the Cold War onwards US is pursuing its long term strategic goals and is striving to stop the efforts underway in the Muslims of this region and to stop the emergence of the ideological alternative, Khilafah, to the western secular Democracy and Capitalism. As well as to contain the influences of both China and Russia, ensuring full control over the oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea, and building roots for the transportation of all these energy resources. Hence, the North of Afghanistan is going to be in much focus for the foreseeable future, for both the U.S. and NATO forces, and will be transformed into an area which will help both the U.S. and NATO to get closer to their strategic objectives.

 

Saifullah Mustanir

Head of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Afghanistan

Written for Ar-Rayah Newspaper – Issue 38