Eurasia Insight:
TALIBAN LOYALISTS LAYING LOW IN AFGHANISTAN
Owais Tohid: 9/08/03

About 170 Afghan troops and Taliban fighters have died in a series of clashes since early August, mainly in southern Afghanistan. The fighting confirms that Islamic radical forces have regrouped, evidently with sufficient arms and personnel to mount a prolonged guerrilla campaign.

Representatives of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s administration suggest Pakistan is partly to blame for the Taliban’s revival. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Diplomatic relations have become increasingly strained in recent weeks, with tension fueled by several incidents of gunfire exchanges between Afghan and Pakistani forces. An Afghan intelligence official in Kabul said: "We have reports that some of the former Taliban fighters are rejoining. They are getting training and funding from the tribal areas of Pakistan. Each man gets around 20,000 –25,000 rupees (around $400-450) every month."

Pakistani officials deny providing assistance to the Taliban. While it is difficult to independently confirm the source of funding and training for renewed Taliban military operation, it is not a secret that young men are leaving Pakistani madrassas in significant numbers to join armed units.

The radical Taliban movement held power in Kabul from 1996 until its ouster by the US-led anti-terrorism offensive in late 2001. While US forces rounded up thousands of Taliban fighters and functionaries, interning them at a camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, thousands more evaded detection and blended in to the Afghan population.

It is this potential Fifth Column of Taliban supporters that poses a major threat to Afghan security, some experts believe. Former members of the Islamic radical militia reportedly remain active in all spheres of Afghan life. For example, many former Taliban are reputed to be involved in smuggling Iranian goods from the western port of Herat to Kabul. Others work in Kabul, the well-patrolled capital, as vendors or laborers. Some have allegedly even managed to get government jobs, taking advantage of the lack of documentation that prevails in the postwar administration. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives].

Officials in Kabul suspect that the Taliban is utilizing an extensive intelligence-gathering network in facilitate fresh guerrilla attacks against the US military and allied Afghan security forces. Keeping track of Taliban followers inside Afghanistan has proven difficult, if not impossible.

Even though the government has mostly managed to screen former Taliban out of positions in the central administration, important security tasks in the provinces, such as road protection, have been assumed in some instances by forces that had Taliban ties. "A lot of the military commanders were opportunists who have played all sides for years," says one expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Many Taliban supporters are lying low for the moment. Abdul Razzaq, a grocer in Logar Province, is one such Taliban loyalist. Before the US-led anti-terrorism offensive, Razzaq said he held a post in the radical movement’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. As such, Razzaq helped enforce the Taliban’s strict Islamic code on the streets of Kabul. He went on to explain that he fled Kabul hours before anti-Taliban forces entered the city, and thus evaded capture.

Today, Razzaq openly admits that he maintains contact with other Taliban supporters, passing along any information that he believes may be of use to militant forces. "I am selling these goods for my survival and assisting the fighters as well," he said, referring to his grocery business. "I will openly join the Taliban once they are strengthened."

Berhouz Khan, who sells fruit in a Kabul bazaar, is another Taliban supporter who has kept a low profile for the past two years, but who now is contemplating taking up arms again. After the US-led coalition took control of Kabul in 2001, Khan said he shaved his beard to help escape the initial wave of retribution against the Taliban. As time passed, Khan re-grew his beard and established contact with other former militants. "Last month, two Taliban soldiers with whom I had fought alongside came to see me. I could not recognize them, they were wearing trousers and shirts and were clean-shaven," Khan recalled. He says they told him: "The time has come to throw out the Americans and their puppets. So prepare yourself for jihad."

While a considerable number of former Taliban fighter in Afghanistan remain loyal to the movement, perhaps the bulk are ideologically neutral. This constituency’s loyalty has gone, and will continue to go to the political force that offers the best chance for employment. Abdul Samad is among those with a flexible allegiance. Under the Taliban, he patrolled a checkpoint outside Kabul, where he would often confiscate banned music cassettes. Today, Samad is a Kabul policeman, protecting citizens against lawlessness and Taliban threats. "It’s work," he says with a casual shrug. "During the Taliban (era), there was little crime, people had to be protected against other forms of evil, such as music. Now I am paid to protect them against vandals."

Taliban field commanders consider men like Khan and Razzaq as valuable assets who can play a key role in the building guerrilla campaign. "We are trying to reorganize them by distributing the messages of Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden. They can become time bombs for Americans and Afghan forces," says Mullah Malang, a veteran Taliban fighter who now runs a reconstituted Taliban unit.

Editor’s Note: Owais Tohid is a freelance correspondent based in Islamabad.