Insurgency
in Afghanistan (Post-Soviet), 1992–1996
Mujahideen’s Afganistan 1992-1996
Afganistan is a territory which
was a battleground between the great powers for centuries. It had a war history since the 3rd Century of
Ashoka’s Maurayan Empire and becomes a buffer state between British and Russian
empire by the end of the 19th Century resulted production of great warriors of
history like Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni and Babur [1, 2].
Multiple civilisations influenced the
diverse culture of Afganistan
which could be a potential cause of conflict in modern day Afganistan.
The focus of this article is the Afganistan under Jihadi rule.
With the establishment of “Democratic
Republic of Afghanistan” by the People's Democratic Party of
Afghanistan (PDPA) in 1978, the socialist agenda was implemented,
including equal rights for women,
changing the national flag from traditional green colour to red colour and new credit system in the countryside resulted
agriculture crisis. In response to these radical changes and the Soviet invasion of 1979, angered the
conservatives who considered the new shift as an attack on Islam. The
resistance groups were organised with an aim to fight for: removal of an
imperialistic foreign power and preserve Islam and traditional Afghan ways.
These groups and their fighters were known as Mujahideen (insurgents
during communist government) or ‘fighters in a holy war (Jihad)’ (Afghan
resistance fighters adapted this designation, as they were fighting a jihad
against a non-Muslim (Communist/’infidel’) enemy)[3]. The most famous groups were those of the
Peshawar Seven. This conflict ended with the power shifts within the Soviet
Union and its ultimate dissolution in December 1991[4]. As Moscow and Washington
agreed to cease military aid to their respective clients[4].
The UN sought agreement from the Afghan parties to a
political settlement, Mujahideen positioned themselves as a leaders. Under
pressure from the UN, on 18th March 1992, President Najibullah announced his
intention to resign, but he was blocked from leaving the country at the airport
and took shelter in the UN compound. By 25th April 1992 forces of the newly
formed “Northern Alliance” of non-Pashtun Mujahideen with former regime militias from Northern
Afghanistan entered Kabul and took control of he major government institutions,
while other Mujahideen and militia forces dominated various neighbourhoods.
Finally, with the fall of the Communist government a transitional government
started after the signing of a peace and power-sharing agreement know as the
Peshawar Accord. Sibghatullah Mojadeddi (leader of the Afghan National
Liberation Front and Islamic scholar) becomes a first president of the Islamic
State of Afghanistan. Rabbani became
president in June 1992 with the agreement that he would serve until December
1994. He refused to step down at that time, saying that political authority
would disintegrate without a clear successor[5]. That decision was strongly
opposed by other Mujahideen leaders and
the leader of the Islamist conservative Hizb-e-Islam Gulbuddin
Mujahideen party. Hikmatyar and several allied factions fought unsuccessfully
to dislodge Rabbani. Rabbani reached an agreement for Hikmatyar to serve as
Prime Minister, if Hikmatyar would cease shelling Kabul[5]. However he never formally
took office as Prime Minister because of
distrust with Rabbani and started a bombardment campaign, which marked a
beginning of this new phase of war. This new conflict was between rural and
urban dwellers. Unknown numbers of civilians were killed in the attacks of
rockets and artillery . Over the next four years, efforts by the UN and
neighbours to forge a lasting peace settlement failed, and the rival Mujahideen
factions continued to sell each other’s territory, engage in arbitrary
detentions, torture, rape and summary executions. Kabul became a key
battleground, and the rest of the country was carved up into fiefdoms
controlled by various warlords and smaller commanders[4]. The bombardment of Kabul
during the factional conflict of 1992-96 is frequently cited as one of the most
serious human rights violations of the Afghan war[4]. It devastated the capital
and left a generation of residents traumatized. All of the major armed factions
contending for control of the city were responsible for the indiscriminate use
of a full range of heavy weapons, causing destruction and the deaths of tens of
thousands of civilians[4].
In 1993-1994, Afghan Islamic clerics and students, mostly of rural,
Paxton origin, formed the Taliban
(new insurgent during the Mujahideen’s government) movement. Many were former
Mujahideen who had become disillusioned with conflict among Mujahideen parties
and had moved into Pakistan to study in Islamic seminaries (“madrassas”). The
Taliban leadership comprised a twenty-two-member council (Shura), with Mullah
Omar (Commander of Believers) at the head. Their leader Mullah Muhammad Omar,
had been a fighter in Khalis’s Hezb-i-Islam party during the anti-Soviet
war—Khalis’ party was generally considered moderate Islamist during the
anti-Soviet war. However Khalis and his
faction turned against the United States in the mid-1990s. The group emerged
out of the chaos of this period and considered Rabbani government as weak,
corrupt, and anti-Pashtun. The previous years of civil war between the
Mujahideen groups created popular
support for them as they are able to pitch stability. Then they dominated the southern city of
Qandahar in November 1994 driving out the feuding commanders who had divided it
among themselves. They closed schools for girls and prohibited women from working.
They also decreed that women could not go out alone without a male escort[4]. Later they captured other
provinces, like Zabul and Uruzgan, with little fighting. By this time the group
had attracted the support of Pakistan and benefitted from considerable military
assistance[4]. They took charge of Helmand
in January 1995. By February 1995, the movement’s fighters were approaching
Kabul. In September 1995, the Taliban captured Herat province, bordering Iran,
and imprisoned its governor who later escaped and took refuge in Iran[5]. In September 1996, Taliban
victories near Kabul led to the withdrawal of Rabbani and Masoud to the
Panjshir Valley (north of Kabul)[5]; After concurring Kabul on
September 27, 1996 an Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan was announced.
The Insurgent Mujahideen in Democratic
Republic of Afghanistan formed government in Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1992 and insurgent Taliban in Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, then
again insurgent Northen Alliances of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
formed a government in a current Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan. This is a quite interesting cycle and very
difficult to understand who is wrong and who is right, but the confrontation
history of Afganistan definitely taught one lesson to world that harmony and
peace can not be achieved in Afganistan without great power influence.
4. Susana
SáCouto, B.J.K. 1992-1996: Islamic State
of Afghanistan 2008; Available from: http://www.afghandocproject.org/index.php/english/23-1992to1996.
