September 28, 1996 - Taliban Takes Control

Human Rights a Day

Taliban take control of Kabul and most of Afghanistan. In the early 1980s, America’s Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan’s Interservices Intelligence Agency supported any group fighting the Soviets who had invaded Afghanistan. A group of ethnic Pashtuns from various regions of Afghanistan, known as the Talib (pluralized as Taliban, meaning “student” or “seekers of knowledge”), received tens of thousands of tons of American weapons and ammunitions. In 1994, the Taliban were able to take control of towns and cities with relative ease as Afghans supported them over the corrupt and brutal warlords. That year they captured Kandahar City and the surrounding provinces with very few casualties. Within two years they had control of two-thirds of the country. On September 28, 1996 the Taliban captured Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, and executed former president Mohammad Najibullah, hanging his body from a tower. Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would recognize them as the legitimate government, but they were completely in charge. During their reign, the Taliban enforced the strictest interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. Women, who received the worst of their ideology, were forced to dress head to toe in a burqa while in public, were not allowed to work outside the home, were not allowed to be educated after the age of eight and had to be accompanied by a male relative while outdoors. Men and women who violated any of these rules often faced amputation or execution. In 2001, members of the American and British military attacked Afghanistan for its role in supporting Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. The Taliban were either captured, killed or fled, but have been fighting to regain control ever since. Meanwhile, an international force that includes Canadian troops has been attempting to stabilize the country.