The Return of the Native

There is immense curiosity about the Taliban’s first moves following the dramatic return to Kabul after two decades. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether the Taliban has ‘changed’ since the 1990s. Opinions vary. But so far at least, there are no signs of a return of repressive authoritarian rule.

The stunning press conference on Tuesday in Kabul by the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid distinctly exuded an air of moderation and tolerance to dissenting voices. The fact that local journalists could ask such provocative questions and get away with it has been widely noticed. Mujahid patiently answered. The following quotes speak for themselves:

Two other specific remarks by Mujahid were of far-reaching consequence to any open society:

Why did Mujahid do such a risky thing? One, he came prepared to say what he said. Most certainly, he acted under instructions from the leadership to put the above positions on record right at the outset even before forming a new government, as a confidence-building measure. By the way, the press conference was open to the international media as well.

The press conference put the ‘Taliban-baiters’ who are barely surviving on fake news about Taliban’s ‘excesses’—largely based on hearsay and rumours—in some distress and confusion. The point is, it is becoming difficult to hold on to stereotyped notions as if time stood still for the Taliban since they vanished from Kabul overnight in the winter of 2001.

To my mind, however, the really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban ruler’s actions in the period ahead. Clearly, the press conference was called precisely for this purpose. Doesn’t that mean something of immense relevance?

Equally, the visit by the top Taliban leader (and a scion of the powerful Haqqani Network) Anas Haqqani to the residence of former President Hamid Karzai on August 18 must be noted carefully. Karzai has taken the initiative to form a coordinating group of himself, Abdullah Abdullah and Mujahideen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to clear the pathway for forming an inclusive transitional arrangement. Haqqani’s mission was in this connection. Abdullah was also present at the meeting. It stands to reason that Haqqani plays a key role in government formation.

On August 17, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov threw some light on the state of play in government formation. Talking to the media while on a tour of Kaliningrad, Lavrov said, “Just like all other countries, we are not in a hurry to recognise them. Just yesterday, I spoke with Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi. Our positions overlap.’