Afghanistan two years on: The Taliban's Reign of Terror

Last Month, Defence Select Committee Chairman Tobias Elwood MP described Afghanistan as a “country transformed” and talked up the group that seized power two years ago, claiming “security has vastly improved, corruption is down and the opium trade has all but disappeared”. This was cherry picking facts and reality tells a different story.

Two years after seizing power, the Taliban's brutal repression of civilians reveals the regime's failure to stabilize Afghanistan. Despite promises of moderation, the Taliban has perpetrated over 1,000 attacks targeting civilians since August 2021. Former government officials, civilians in anti-Taliban strongholds, women activists, and journalists face detention, torture, and execution.??

The Taliban's de facto policy of revenge against former officials defies their own amnesty pledge. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project has recorded over 400 attacks on ex-officials, with 290 by the Taliban. Many are detained and killed without evidence of remobilizing against the regime. The Taliban claims targeting prevents officials from joining armed groups, but most victims have no such ties.

In areas with anti-Taliban activity, like Panjshir province, civilians suffer collective punishment. The Taliban conducts violent raids searching for rebels, killing and abusing those accused of connections. Even children have been killed during operations. Torture and execution of detained fighters is commonplace. Violence spikes when fighting intensifies with groups like the National Resistance Front, but often continues after clashes subside.

Beyond ex-officials and rebel areas, the Taliban also uses force to impose its ultraconservative policies nationwide. Women suffer increasingly draconian restrictions on education, work, and public life - essentially gender apartheid. But women continue resisting despite threats, with protests doubling since 2021. Taliban crackdowns on these demonstrations are frequent, like firing into an August 2022 women's rights rally in Kabul, wounding dozens.

Physical and sexual violence against women persists in public and private realms. In one case, a Taliban official raped a medical student in his office then forcibly married her. After a public outcry, she was imprisoned and tortured for months before release. Some Taliban recognize the policy harms legitimacy, but reversal seems unlikely.??

The media also face grave threats. With over 70 attacks on journalists, the Taliban censor news of abuses. Hasht-e-Subh and Zawia Media websites were shut down. Veteran reporters were forced out, but many still report covertly. However, limited press freedom means civilian targeting is likely underreported.

This repression and violence, while consolidating Taliban control, fuels further instability. Lack of rights for women and minorities creates conditions for extremism. Al Qaeda and ISIS have regained strength amid the upheaval. ISIS emerged as the second deadliest group for civilians after the Taliban takeover.??

Rather than stabilizing Afghanistan, the Taliban's victory has enabled a haven for terrorism. The Haqqani Network's influence over the regime raises concerns. Suicide bombings and targeted killings of minorities continue. The regime shows neither capability nor intent to contain ISIS and other extremists on its territory.

Regional security is threatened as well. Emboldened by the Taliban's success, the Pakistani Taliban unleashed attacks after Kabul's fall. In the deadliest violence since the takeover, ISIS killed over 100 people in a Kunduz mosque bombing. Extremism and the meth trade, which the Taliban profits from, now imperil Afghans and the broader region.

Two years after the West's chaotic withdrawal, the Taliban has forged a repressive, unstable and dangerous order. Continuous violence against civilians and dissent exposes the regime's illegitimacy. With no political settlement in sight, Afghans face ever-growing humanitarian and human rights crises under Taliban domination.

From 2001 until 2021, we spent over ￡2.3 trillion dollars on the conflict in Afghanistan. 70,000 Afghan military and police, 46,319 Afghan civilians and 3,612 NATO troops which includes?457 British soldiers, lost their lives in this sorry tragedy and we have seem to have circled back to square one. This is the ultimate bloody tragedy.