KABUL - Experts in Afghanistan say a softer line the Taliban is taking on
issues like education and reconstruction projects is a tactical ploy to win
broader popular support.
A Taliban leader was recently quoted by Afghan media outlets as saying the
movement was not opposed to education and would protect schools in areas they
controlled.
The announcement was welcomed by the Ministry of Education in Kabul, and by
President Hamid Karzai, who told university graduates that "if it is proved
that [Taliban leader] Mullah Omar
has really ordered the Taliban not to prevent children from accessing
education, I will thank him".
In a telephone interview, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahed told the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) that his movement was not against
education and was keen to have public support.
"The Taliban are the children of the people; they have emerged from among the
people," he said. "The Taliban have always tried to be close to their people
and to get their support."
People living in areas under Taliban control report a relaxation of the
insurgents' strictly-regimented rule over the last year. Some experts see this
as a sign the insurgents are readying themselves to take on a more political
role within Afghanistan.
When the Taliban were in charge of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, schools
and colleges only accepted male students, and women and girls were routinely
denied access to education. At the time, the Taliban said they were not opposed
to female education, just to mixed-sex classes.
After the Taliban were ousted in 2001, insurgent groups often attacked schools,
set them on fire and forced them to close down. In recent months, however,
schools in areas they where they operate have been allowed to reopen.
Rahimullah, a father in the Andar district of Ghazni province in southern
Afghanistan, said he had been forced to move away from the area to get an
education for his children after their school was closed by the Taliban.
Recently, however, he has been able to return because schools have been allowed
to start operating again.
"The elders asked the Taliban to reopen the schools," he said. "They agreed
late last year that the schools should start working again. Our children are
very happy - it's as if they've been handed the happiness of the entire world."
In recent years, teachers and even pupils have been killed by armed men,
although it is rare for specific groups to claim responsibility.
Ali Khan, a teacher in the Tangi high school in the Sayed Abad district of
Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, said he had fled his home for fear of
being targeted. Now he has returned to his job.
"We don't know why the Taliban have become so flexible," he said. "I left my
home because I was a teacher and I was scared. But now the Taliban are
encouraging us to go into school and teach."
The Taliban's more flexible approach is not restricted to education. Insurgent
groups used to obstruct and derail reconstruction projects in many parts of the
country, but now they appear to be allowing certain projects to go ahead.
The governor of Kapisa province, northeast of Kabul, Mohammad Sharif
Hakimzadah, said the Taliban were no longer interfering in projects there.
Romal, who lives in the village of Mirakhel in Kapisa's Tagab district, said
the Taliban used to refuse to let non-governmental organization (NGO)
representatives operate in areas they held, and had killed workers and security
guards working on such projects.
Over the past year, their approach had changed, he said.
"I'm one of the people working for an NGO and building bridges and wells. The
Taliban move all around this area, but they don't bother us," he said.
Other Taliban restrictions included forcing men to grow their beards and
banning people from listening to music, but attitudes to these things are
changing as well.
Rohullah, from the Sayed Abad district of Wardak said the Taliban no longer
harassed men if they trimmed or shaved their beards.
"Look - I've cut my beard very short," he said. "Some guys are completely
clean-shaven, yet the Taliban leave us alone. They used to be against people
listening to music, but now they act as if they're deaf when they hear it."
Another welcome development, Rohullah said, was that the insurgents had stopped
extorting money from locals as they used to do.
Government officials and political analysts believe the change in approach
represents a new tactic.
Wardak provincial governor Abdul Alim Fedai believes the insurgents are under
pressure to make concessions, because of the combination of intensified North
Atlantic Treaty Organization attacks against them and the creation of a High
Peace Council to explore ways towards reconciliation.
"If the government and the coalition forces continue their current policies,
many Taliban will undoubtedly split off from their commanders and leaders,"
Fedai added.
Abdul Ghafur Liwal, who heads the Afghanistan Regional Studies Center, believes
the Taliban are making pragmatic choices so as to present themselves as a more
viable alternative.
"If the Taliban want to prepare the ground for a better political future, they
have to build up their authority and win popularity among the people," he said.
"That's the reason they have started becoming more flexible."
Law lecturer Nasrullah Stanekzai agreed with this analysis.
"The Taliban's flexibility is deliberate," he said. "They want to get people
behind them to position themselves politically in future, should they come to
power either through negotiations or through military action."
Khan Mohammad Danishju is an IWPR-trained reporter in Kabul.
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