Editorials On Afghan Website Slam Lobbyists Arguing For UN Recognition Of Taliban Government: ‘The Taliban Are A Well-Known Terrorist Group That Is Now Equipped With The World’s Most Modern Military Weapons’

In two recent editorials, Afghan daily Hasht-e-Subh criticized politicians and NGOs that are advocating in favor of recognizing the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (i.e., the Afghan Taliban).

“What has been a serious matter of concern and danger is that a number of corrupt political figures and exploitative NGOs have been continuously lobbying for this terrorist group which values nothing aligned with today’s modern age,” it noted in one of the editorials.

The editors of Hasht-e-Subh reminded readers that in the 1990s when the Taliban were in power, it was the same leaders and NGOs urging the international community to recognize their government. The editors rejected the argument that the Taliban is a part of Afghan society.

“Linking and limiting the rich and multi-layered Afghanistan’s culture and society to an extremist group’s ideology is not fair. It is a total counterfactual and serves a sinister purpose. It is also said that the Taliban are patriotic and popular forces and their war was for the freedom of the homeland. This claim is made while all reliable research sources show that the seed of this movement was sealed in the womb of Pakistan’s military intelligence from the very beginning,” one of the editorials noted.

Following are excerpts from one of the editorials in Hash-e-Subh:[1]

“A Number Of Corrupt Political Figures And Exploitative Ngos Have Been Continuously Lobbying For The Terrorist Group Who Values Nothing Aligned With Today’s Modern Age”

“The Taliban are a well-known terrorist group that is now equipped with the world’s most modern military weapons leftover in Afghanistan. There are books and hundreds of articles written about this group and their false ideology on the bases of which the group has been shedding blood for the last decades and still doing [it] in the form of an illegitimate government that is formed as a result of shameful political deals behind the closed doors.

“There is no doubt about the extremism and radicalism of this group, its hostility to the values ​​of the modern world and human rights. The Taliban are a group whose record has been inextricably linked with bloodshed and destruction for more than 20 years…

“Simultaneously, what has been a serious matter of concern and danger is that a number of corrupt political figures and exploitative NGOs have been continuously lobbying for this terrorist group which values nothing aligned with today’s modern age, except their false ideology. Part of this narrative that the lobbyists use is trying to portray a different picture of the Taliban number 2.0 in comparison to Taliban number 1.0 in 1990s.

“While, all the evidences and clues, concerning Taliban’s attitude toward the rights and status of citizens, their view of international conventions as the fundamental codes of interaction with the international community, their position toward Afghanistan’s national interests as the philosophy of the legitimacy are contrary to this claim.”

“[In The 1990s] It Didn’t Matter To These Lobbyists That The People Of Afghanistan Were Being Whipped And Tortured [By The Taliban], Women Had Been Removed From The [Public] Sphere Of Life”

“Another part of this narrative says that the Taliban are an essential part of the reality of the Afghanistan society and this fact should be recognized. It is true that a limited part of the Afghan people agrees with the views of the Taliban in some cases, but this is not the whole truth about this country.

“Linking and limiting the rich and multi-layered Afghanistan’s culture and society to an extremist group’s ideology is not fair. It is a total counterfactual and serves a sinister purpose. It is also said that the Taliban are patriotic and popular forces and their war was for the freedom of the homeland. This claim is made while all reliable research sources show that the seed of this movement was sealed in the womb of Pakistan’s military intelligence from the very beginning and all its political and military developments have been dependent on the support of regional intelligence.

“In addition to this, after the Doha agreement [between the U.S. and the Taliban inked on February 29, 2020], it was witnessed that a single foreign soldier was not harmed, except the members of Afghan security forces and innocent Afghan civilians.

“Lobbying in favor of the Taliban is not a new idea. During 1990s, individuals and groups, sometimes with ethnic motives and sometimes with the motive of receiving financial resources from oil companies, started to purify the Taliban, aiming that the American government, and consequently other governments, recognize this group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

“It didn’t matter to these lobbyists that the people of Afghanistan were being whipped and tortured, women had been removed from the [public] sphere of life, the youths and young generation had lost hope for the future, the educated population were migrating in mass, and the country had been depleted of knowledgeable and expert personnel, poverty and deprivation had gripped the normal flow of social life. What mattered to the lobbyists was the money they hoped to get from UNICAL and other companies.

“This time, the same opportunists have emerged on the screen, trying to legitimize a terrorist group whose mission is to destroy the country’s infrastructures built as a result of blood sacrifices of thousands of military men and innocent civilians on the ground. The lobbyists try to narrate the literature in such a way that tries to divide good and bad Taliban. The literature that Afghan people deserve and like to live under the medieval government, but lobbyists themselves deserve luxurious lives in the most democratic countries in the world. Lobbyists share in the blood that is shed and the houses that are destroyed.”

Following are excerpts from the other editorial in Hash-e-Subh:[2]

“Non-Muslim Countries And Societies, Especially America And Europe, Are Called Infidels And Enemies Of God And The Prophet [By The Taliban]”

“[On the one hand,] Non-Muslim countries and societies, especially America and Europe, are called infidels and enemies of God and the Prophet [Muhammad] from the Taliban’s point of view, and fighting against them is considered a religious duty, and friendship with them is forbidden. On the other hand, Taliban have been begging these [American and European] infidels for direct interaction, support, and recognition of their illegitimate government.

“Of course, they don’t say anything about China and Russia! The question that comes to the attention of the Taliban here is whether it is permissible to ask for financial help from the infidels from the point of view of shari’a. Is it correct and religiously ok for the Taliban seniors, ministers and even the so-called Emir-ul-Momineen [Mullah Hibbatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader] to plead for mercy and request these infidels support them financially?

“If we look at the issue from the [Koranic] verses and hadiths’ point of view and approach, the matter becomes complicated. According to one of the hadiths attributed to the Prophet of Islam, Muslims should not be placed in a position of weakness and dependency. It is stated in that hadith: ‘Al-Yad al-Ulya khair min al-Yad al-Sufla’ means the upper hand, which is the giver, is superior to the lower hand, which is the receiver. The supporter with upper hand will always have a ruling position and the support receiver will have always act upon the orders he receives.

“Dependence, whether it is individual or collective, causes weakness and enables the environment for the dominance of the stronger party. Some consider this issue to be in conflict with this verse of the Koran, which says: ‘And Allah will not let the disbelievers enslave the believers.’ This means that God will never let the disbelievers find a way to dominate the believers. In the interpretation of this verse, they said that the believers should be careful so that the disbelievers do not find a way to get superior to them. It is known that asking the unbelievers for help gives the upper hand to them.”

“After One Year Of Failed Ruling, The Group Members Plead For Mercy Of The Infidels Whom They Fought For Twenty Years”

“According to Muslims, referring to the verse that states, ‘Iyak Na’abod Wa Iyak Nasta’in’ means we worship only you and you are creator and owners and deserve to be referred for help, no one else. How does asking for help from those who, according to the Taliban, are enemies of God equal to asking for help from God? Of course, these questions are based on the Taliban’s own understanding of religion.

“It has been many times recorded that Taliban’s senior members, including the group’s prime minister, has neglected the responsibility of being accountable toward providing job and opportunities for the people and have very ironically said that we are not responsible to feed the people, that is God’s duty, and he will take care. Now after one year of failed ruling, the group members plead for mercy of the infidels whom they fought for twenty years. Taliban have miss understood religion and have mixed with politics and proxy game strategies that they are soldiers.

“The idea of pleading for mercy from the those whom Taliban had announced jihad against and causing bloodshed by the name of jihad now multiplies by zero and reveals the hidden game of politics behind the screen that Taliban are nothing more than the proxy war soldiers in the region…

“[Senior Taliban leader and deputy foreign minister] Mullah Abbas Stanekzai, … while speaking in large gatherings, said that there are currently two superpowers in the world, U.S. and the Taliban who had defeated the U.S. in Afghanistan, but when talking about aids and needs, he referred to America as godfather and said that God willing, America will return [perhaps referring to the Afghan assets frozen by U.S.] to Afghanistan! This is the ridiculous example of contradictions that indicates the poverty and weakness of this group on the ground. Following his ridiculous and irresponsible statements, some social media users made a joke out of his statement saying, ‘Taliban in the world is the only superpower who survives on charity funds of the enemy whom the group claims to have defeated.’

“Living and surviving on the charity funds was, has been and is the survival source of the Taliban group. This is neither new nor strange, but the alms that come from the taxes of infidel brothels should be approved by [Pakistani and Iranian clerics such as] Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mawlawi Abdulhamid Ismailzahi raises a serious matter that how independent the Taliban is that a mufti [one who is qualified to deliver a fatwa, Islamic decree] from the other side of the border defines the lines of authorities for them.”