The Two Faces of the Taliban: “We will watch”. “How well will we lead Afghanistan?”

By Lee Shin-seok*

KABUL: The Taliban, an Islamic extremist armed group, has ruled Afghanistan (hereinafter referred to as Afghanistan) twice (1996-2001 and 2021-present). The Taliban’s first term in power in Afghanistan was marred by tyranny that suppressed all freedoms. The Taliban, who are entering their second term in power in 2021, say they are different from before, but the West’s gaze towards them is not much different from the past. Which is the real face of the Taliban: what the Taliban say they are or what the West’s observers say about them?

In December 2023, Lee Shin-seok, a reporter specializing in reporting conflict areas for ‘The AsiaN’; who faced Afghanistan under the Taliban with his body and mind, tells the story of the Taliban and Afghanistan as they are. -editor

Afghan government offices and government agencies seemed to be operating under the control of the Taliban. While I was in Afghanistan, I visited a government office to obtain a residence permit, and the person supervising the process behind the staff in charge was also the Taliban.

Like North Korea’s National Security Agency, the Taliban, which had agents stationed throughout each institution, reigned over all Afghan soldiers and public officials.

The Taliban allowed some limited freedom for the media. The Afghan government has a ministry called the Ministry of Culture and Information, and the four national broadcasting stations of Afghanistan are located in that building. These broadcasters will be supervised by the Taliban.

Other private broadcasting stations receive and transmit content from neighboring countries such as Iran, Bangladesh, and India. Granting a certain degree of autonomy rather than blocking it at the source may be their own appeasement policy.

Perhaps that is why it was possible to freely watch TV, such as soccer broadcasts, current affairs programs, and dramas, excluding music broadcasts, in public places.

On the other hand, the Internet communication environment was surprisingly smooth and free. Internet access was easy in the capital Kabul as well as in regional cities such as Kandahar and Bamyan. It was possible to access social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as Western sites and even adult sites, as there were no website blocks.

Even in the neighboring country of Iran, the Internet had to be bypassed continuously to escape the Internet blockade. When purchasing a mobile phone SIM card locally, there were no particular restrictions as long as you submitted a few documents such as passport, visa, and residence certificate.

Bukhara, a high-end restaurant in Kabul. High-ranking government officials, members of the upper class, and Taliban intelligence agents frequented this place.

There are some high-end restaurants in downtown Kabul that are difficult for ordinary citizens to use. It mainly operates for foreign tourists, foreign businessmen or groups residing in Afghanistan. When I ate there, I often got the feeling that someone was watching me with sharp eyes. Among them, usually wearing black tops and leather jackets, there must have been quite a few Taliban intelligence agents.

Scenery from  a high-end restaurant in downtown Kabul 

It has already been a year and a half since the Taliban entered their second term in power, and their influence has reached every corner of Afghanistan, including roads, downtown, the media, and the government offices. Although allowing freedom in some areas is clearly different from the past, the Taliban’s thorough ruling system is at the root of it. How do the people living in Afghanistan view the Taliban?

The author had the opportunity to talk with locals while staying in Kandahar, which is called the second largest city after Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Kandahar is where Mullah Amur founded the Taliban, and is also the center of the Pashtun people, the mainstay of Afghanistan and the Taliban. I was curious about the inner thoughts of those who once again faced Taliban rule in a place like the heart of the Taliban.

Restaurant owners in Kandahar invited me. We had many conversations with them while enjoying the sunset in the Baluchistan desert.

Mr. A, a middle-class man who runs three restaurants, said, “During the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, it was common for snipers to aim and fire at people far away for practice.” When the civil war broke out, many people were killed without knowing why. “It was the Taliban that won the civil war and unified all of Afghanistan,” he said.

“After the Taliban withdrew in 2001, the US military government came into power. There were no ridiculous casualties like in the past, but control was much stricter than during the current Afghan administration. For example, if I want to go to my own farm, I only have to go through two inspections now, but during the U.S. military government, I had to go through about 20 inspections,” I felt a strange sense of discomfort somewhere in his words.

Without further ado, I asked directly. What do you think of the Taliban?

“After about 40 years of war, I was so tired of the situation where people were killing each other. Only now has the war subsided. I am not the Taliban and I do not support them. However, I am very grateful that peace has come without gunfire. I also know the areas the Taliban is currently working on. So we will watch. “How well will the Taliban lead Afghanistan?”

* Lee Shin-seok is a conflict zone reporter Journey through The Wrong Side of the Tracks