INTERVIEW Taliban not talking peace Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Amid continuing reports of a renewed initiative to hold peace talks with the
Taliban over Afghanistan, and confusion over the Taliban's position, the
Taliban leadership decided to outline its stance, and chose Mullah Mohammad
Hasan Rahmani to speak with Asia Times Online.
Rahmani, about 50, is a member of the Taliban's shura (council) and a
close adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, with whom he is in daily contact;
so much so that in Taliban circles he is considered Mullah Omar's shadow.
During Taliban rule (1996-2001), Rahmani was governor of Kandahar province, the
Taliban's spiritual heartland.
The interview took place at a location at which both North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) and Pakistan security troops operate in their hunt
for the Taliban.
Asia Times Online: Please introduce yourself. How were you
introduced to the Taliban movement? How did you became governor of Kandahar
province? What is your relation with the Taliban movement at present?
Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani: My name is Hasan Rahmani. I am a former
governor of Kandahar province. I was involved with the Taliban movement from
its beginning. It was an Islamic movement, and I had been involved in jihad, so
I joined it. Later, when some areas were conquered by the Taliban, I was
appointed as governor of Kandahar, and till the last I remained in this
position.
ATol: Where did you get your education?
HR: At different places and in different madrassas [seminaries]
in Afghanistan, Peshawar, Quetta etc.
ATol: Since you are still very close to Mullah Omar, and you are
part of his shura , please explain why the Western media are boosting
peace talks with the Taliban and saying that Saudi Arabia has played a major
role. One report even says Saudi Arabia has offered Mullah Omar asylum.
HR: Today the Taliban are successful and the Americans and the
NATO forces are in a state of defeat. The enemy wants to engage the Taliban and
deviate their minds. Sometimes they offer talks, sometimes they offer other
fake issues. The Taliban never ever tried for such talks, neither do we want
these talks to be held. Neither the Saudi Arabian initiative [talks held
recently in Mecca] nor the Saudi Arabian proposal [over Mullah Omar] is
acceptable.
ATol: Al-Sharaq al-Awsat is a very credible [London-based]
journal which mentioned two names [among others] which, according to my
knowledge, are a part of the Taliban. One is Moulvi Abdul Kabeer, who was
governor of Nangarhar province during Taliban rule, the other was Syed Tayyab
Agha, who was Mullah Omar's secretary. These people went to Saudi Arabia and
dined with King Abdullah. Is this news correct? Were they really there, and if
so, in what capacity?
HR: This is absolutely wrong. Neither Moulvi Abdul Kabeer nor
Tayyab Agha went to Saudi Arabia. In the last days of Ramadan [end of October]
the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was
invited for dinner, but later the media projected that talks had begun with the
Taliban under Saudi mediation. That was to weaken the Taliban and their jihad.
The fact is that the Taliban were not part of such talks, nor are they ready to
be so.
ATol: You have always been one of Mullah Omar’s close
lieutenants, part of his shura. Is he still commanding the Taliban from
Afghanistan?
HR: Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid is still the commander of the
faithful. He is the sole leader of the Taliban and solely in charge of their
affairs.
ATol: Every year there is talk of Kandahar falling to the
Taliban, but they have not succeeded in occupying it, or even putting any
serious pressure on it. Except for engineering a mass jail break this year,
they could not undertake any significant action. Why?
HR: This is a battlefield arrangement. Sometimes the Taliban
capture several areas and reach near Kandahar, and believe they are in a
position to seize it, so they talk about occupying it. But the fact is the
Taliban could not occupy Kandahar.
ATol: The Taliban are blamed for attacking unveiled women with
acid in Kandahar. What is the reality?
HR: This is propaganda aimed at defaming the Taliban. Nobody
knows who threw the acid. Throwing acid on any human being, whether a man or a
woman, has never been the Taliban’s policy and the Taliban deny their
involvement in such acts.
ATol:Western media project that the Taliban have imposed Islamic
laws, even though they don’t have a government in Afghanistan. They force
people to practice Islam, stop the masses from listening to music and insist
that men grow long beards and wear turbans. Is there any substance in this?
HR: The reality is that this is the time of resistance and jihad
and the entire focus is on resistance. But at the same time, we place emphasis
on the implementation of Islamic laws. This is the duty of all Muslims, to
practice Islam and motivate others.
ATol: The Taliban have made special arrangements to disrupt
NATO's supply lines. In Khyber Agency and in the Afghan provinces of Nangarhar
and Wardak, the Taliban have carried out many attacks. Recently, similar
attacks were witnessed in Kandahar. Are there plans to permanently disrupt
NATO's supply lines in Spin Boldak [in Kandahar province] and in Kandahar?
RH: The Taliban have occupied all major routes in Afghanistan and
have been choking the arteries of supplies for NATO convoys. They are strongly
prepared between Wardak and Kandahar to cut off NATO supplies, but all over
Afghanistan they are better prepared to do so.
ATol: Kandahar is the most important province of Afghanistan.
Historically, the ruling elite belonged to this province. All prominent
warlords and warriors came from Kandahar. How many Kandahari tribes are with
you? I heard that President Hamid Karzai's own tribesmen [Popalzai] supported
the Taliban.
RH: This is a fact, that Kandahari tribes are with the Taliban,
even Hamid Karzai’s tribesmen, and even the elders of his tribes are with the
Taliban and all the tribes.
ATol: Could you please name them, I mean the tribes who
collectively decided to side with the Taliban?
RH: The Achakzai, Noorzai, Hajizai, Wazir and the tribes
stretching up to Kunar and Khost are all with the Taliban ... and the Barakzai
tribe.
ATol: The Popalzai ... ?
RH: Yes, the Popalzai, the Ishaqzai ... those opposed to the
Taliban are now embarrassed and are contacting the Taliban, saying that Hamid
Karzai deceived them.
ATol:Next year, presidential elections are scheduled in
Afghanistan. Kandahar is the home of Karzai. When he contested the elections
last time, he was supported by some former Taliban, including Mullah Abdul
Salam Rocketti. Will it be possible for Karzai to roam freely in Kandahar to
solicit votes?
RH: The entire world knows that he does not have a base or
support. He is a weak person. Nobody believes Karzai is able to be supportive
or useful to them. He has even lost the support of NATO and the Americans,
therefore it is unlikely he will get the same attention from the people as he
got during the last presidential elections.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can
be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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