Mullah Omar, born in 1960 in a Kandahar village, started as a jihadist against the former USSR, fighting under the Hizb-i-Islami, Younas Khalis group, in 1982-83. When the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 and the Mujahideen fell into infighting, Omar returned to Kandahar and started teaching at a madrassah. When a local warlord kidnapped two girls, Mullah Omar took 30 to 50 students from his madrassah and rescued the girls. Later, he also rescued a boy from another warlord in Kandahar. This built his image as a saviour. People, especially students (talib-i-ilm) of religious seminaries started gathering around him. Sick and tired of the exploitation by the warlords, many reached him for redress of their grievances. Mullah Omar thus emerged as a mysterious icon.

Those were the days when international powers, including the US, wanted the internal conflict in Afghanistan to end. They needed some group to replace the warlords. This suited the Talban. They started fighting the warlords in 1992. Information minister and a close aide to Benazir Bhutto, Khalid Kharal, once said, “We supported the Taliban on the wishes of the US administration. I was present in several meetings to discuss strategies for a Taliban victory in Afghanistan.”

By 1996, the Taliban had conquered 90 percent of Afghanistan. Panjshir Valley alone remained. Mullah Omar was given the title of Amir al-Momineen (leader of the faithful) and announced the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Pakistan was one of the three countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE that recognised the Taliban government and allowed it to set up diplomatic offices in Islamabad.

Once the Taliban enforced shariah laws concerns were raised worldwide about human rights violations. Pakistan, too, was concerned about the nexus between the Taliban and some militant groups involved in sectarian terrorism in Pakistan including the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, the Harkatul Ansar that give birth to Harkatul Jihad-i-Islami and Jaish-i-Muhammad, the Harkatul Mujahideen and the Jamaatul Ansar.

The 9/11 attacks and the presence of Osama bin Laden (OBL) and his Al Qaeda brigade im Kabul proved fatal for the Taliban regime. The US and allied countries asked the Taliban to hand OBL over to the US. Pakistan also sent emissaries to Mullah Omar to persuade him but he refused saying that handing over a ‘guest’ was against tribal traditions.

The US and its allies then launched an offensive in Afghanistan with the help of warlords from the Northern Alliance and toppled the Taliban government. Mullah Omar died of natural causes in 2013 but the Taliban revealed the news in 2015. According to Taliban sources, he was buried in a Zabul village. After the Taliban rule was over, Hamid Karzai was appointed president of Afghanistan.

Despite being ousted from power by the heavy military presence of the US and NATO Forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban continued fighting. The US war in Afghanistan proved the most expensive in recorded history. The heavy investment failed to bring peace for various reasons. The Taliban were practically controlling most of Afghanistan’s provinces.

In 2018, the US entered direct talks with the Taliban. In February 2020, the two sides struck a peace deal. The US agreed to withdraw its forces by August 31, 2021. The Taliban gave the assurance in return that they would not attack the US and allied forces and not allowing Al Qaeda or other militants to operate from Afghan soil. They also agreed to intra-Afghan talks. In 2021, the Taliban continued their offensive against the Afghan security forces and advanced rapidly across the country.

Hibatullah Akhundzada is the new supreme leader and Mullah Yaqoob, son of Mullah Omar, Mullah Abdul Ghani Brather, a brother-in-law of Mullah Omar, and Sirajud Din Haqqani, son of Jalalud Din Haqqani are his deputies. They are currently engaged in talks with various stake-holders in Afghanistan. The Taliban have apparently taken control without much resistance anywhere except Panjshir Valley where Ahmad Massoud, son of Ahmad Shah Massoud is holding out.

The writer is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and researcher. He tweets at @BukhariMubasher