The rise, fall & return of Taliban: How US-backed Afghanistan government crumbled

Taliban began making subtle advancements in Afghanistan in July before unleashing one of its greatest attacks on the Ashraf Ghani-led government and security forces and re-conquering the country on Sunday. What seemed imminent after the insurgents circled in the Afghan capital of Kabul, is that the Taliban captured the war-stricken nation after over 20 years. 

The last two decades witnessed the intervention of thousands of US troops in the South Asian country, NATO allies sending assistance, formation of the Afghan government and security forces, and a momentous peace deal between US-Taliban which kickstarted the intra-Afghan talks. However, it all seemed unsuccessful as on August 15, the Taliban claimed Afghanistan under its control and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. This has also left the fate of thousands of Afghan citizens uncertain as they dread the Taliban’s ‘iron fist’ rule.

Timeline of Taliban march into Afghanistan

Before the Taliban began capturing the Afghan security posts in the outskirts of the country in July this year, the 1994-emerged group had captured Kabul in 1996. The group had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 under a heavy hand under Mullah Mohammed Omar. Popularly known as the ‘iron fist’ rule, the Taliban’s leadership witnessed imposing of strict Islamic edicts, denying women the right to work or education. Furthermore, punishments and executions were also carried out in public. Its rule officially collapsed on December 7, 2001.

However, in the years that followed, despite the presence of foreign troops, the Taliban managed to surge further and between 2015-2018, the group launched repeated attacks on Afghan and US forces. In September 2018, former US President Donald Trump had appointed veteran Afghan-American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad as a negotiator with the Taliban. The US-Taliban negotiations went on for several months before they reached a peace deal on February 29, 2020.

Following the agreement with the United States that included the withdrawal of America’s 13,000 soldiers from the South Asian country, the Taliban finally agreed to hold talks with the Afghan government. Taliban had also pledged to halt attacks on Americans under its deal with the US, signed during Trump’s presidency. After acquiring the White House in January, US President Joe Biden announced in April that the remaining 2,500 to 3,500 US troops will be withdrawn by September to end America’s “forever war.” Biden’s declaration met with Taliban’s following march in Afghanistan this year:

• July 2: Taliban seizes Panjwai in Kandahar
• July 9: Taliban captures Islam Qala 
• July 14: Taliban conquers Spin Boldak Border Crossing
• August 11: Taliban controls Faizabad
• August 13: Kandahar and Lashkar Gah fall to Taliban
• August 14: Taliban captured Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad
• August 15: Taliban marches into Kabul, declares full control of the country

IMAGE: AP