As the group is about to celebrate its first anniversary in power, concerns have been raised about the security situation in the country, with ISIL (ISIS) managing to carry out several deadly attacks. Last week, an Islamic State member killed a senior Taliban scholar. Days before the assassination, a US drone strike killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, raising Western concerns about armed groups finding a safe haven in Afghanistan. US-led foreign forces withdrew from the country after the Taliban agreed not to allow armed groups to use Afghan soil to target Western interests. In an exclusive interview, senior Taliban leader Anas Haqqani tells Al Jazeera how he sees the group’s achievements and failures since taking power on August 15, 2021. Al Jazeera: Your government has been in charge for a year, what have you achieved and where have you failed? Anas Haqqani: In the last one year, we have brought huge and numerous … developments, chief among them freedom and independence as we freed our country from foreign occupation, injustice and oppression. This is what every people or occupied country aspires to. It is a source of pride for us, it is also a blessing. You have been around and you can see for yourself the huge transformations that our country is going through, especially in terms of security. It is the first time in 40 years that a central government has taken control of the entire country from corner to corner. inch by inch. There are many more to list, but it is important to mention that the compulsory contributions … that were formerly imposed on people no longer apply. There are no other special militant groups, (or those called Islands of Power) operating in the country. The central government, without levies or foreign aid, is able to pay the salaries of civil servants in all state institutions. These are just a few examples. Al Jazeera: Let’s talk about last year. Why did you take Kabul by force instead of negotiating with the then Western backed government? Some say it was a violation of the Doha Agreement signed in 2020. Haqqani: From the beginning, we have respected and honored the Doha Agreement. In the 14 months since the withdrawal of US and NATO forces, there has not been a single violation of such an agreement. Living proof of this fact is the host and sponsor, the State of Qatar. Instead, numerous violations, more than 1,000 in number, were committed by US forces and the former government in Kabul [led by President Ashraf Ghani]. For example, when [US President Joe] Biden rose to power, where he extended it [withdrawal] agreed term [in the Doha Agreement] for an additional four months, without negotiations with us. The US has also been slow to remove names from the [terror] blacklisted to date and [the] release of Afghan prisoners [was] also late. The list of violations is long. Despite our frustration, we preferred not to resort to violence. However, the sudden vacuum in Kabul was the reason for us to intervene, let alone the request made by [former President Hamid] Karzai and [former Chief Executive Abdullah] Abdullah to come and take control of affairs. Al Jazeera: You promised many things. You promised peace, you promised rights for Afghans, you promised an inclusive government, you promised women’s rights. How many of these promises have you kept? Haqqani: The foreign occupation that has controlled Afghanistan for the past 20 years, with its advanced technologies, vast capabilities and resources has failed over this long period of time. They have failed to restore the security and order that our people now enjoy. It has only been a year since we came to power and the world should not expect us to achieve all our goals overnight. It’s almost impossible, especially this one [the international community] has not fulfilled their promises, including recognition of our sovereignty and foreign aid. Despite the delay on their part, we, by the grace of God, have made tremendous progress on many fronts. Now, you can see girls going to universities and schools till 12th grade [majority of provinces still not allow education for high school girls]. Needless to say, there are still many measures to be taken in all our ministries and other government institutions. Don’t expect us to achieve what others have failed to do in the past 20 years amidst the challenges we face. Al Jazeera: Should Taliban leaders under international sanctions be in government? Isn’t this a hindrance to the government? Why aren’t other Afghans (besides the Taliban) brought into the government? Haqqani: To date, the entire world has not come to a single definition of “terrorism.” It has been common practice for those in power to label anyone who stands in their way as a “terrorist”, “enemy”, “hostile”, “abusive” etc. History has many examples: Yasser Arafat and Nelson Mandela were blacklisted for years. They were later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Blacklists and sanctions are nothing more than political tools. Our primary goal was to free our country from the shackles of occupation, to regain our freedom and independence, and we have succeeded. We do not wish to interfere in the affairs of other countries or peoples. We and the entire Afghan people think highly of our leaders. Our leaders are seen as heroes, leaders of freedom and independence. We expect these issues to be resolved over time. Al Jazeera: More than 2.6 million Afghans are refugees and about 3 million are internally displaced. The country is facing the second largest food crisis in the world. Are you satisfied with what you have achieved in a year? And what are you doing to address the humanitarian crisis? Haqqani: As I said earlier, Afghanistan today is completely different from that [what] it was 20 years ago. For example, the former government failed to do anything in Mazar-i-Sharif. they buckled under the pressure of others [occupation/US]. We started to do something in the right direction. Now you see minerals and natural resources being mined using local and foreign companies. By the grace of God, through these projects, we can now generate income for the operation of our ministries and other agencies, pay salaries. Another source of revenue comes from customs duties. All this revenue has been falling into the wrong hands in the past. All government revenue now goes to the central government treasury, the central bank and the finance ministry. These were the most characteristic examples of the progress we have made. Having said that, we aspire to have good and friendly relations with all countries and the entire international community. It is also our duty to provide a dignified and comfortable lifestyle to our people. We are here to serve our people. I believe we have managed to achieve a lot for our people. However, we aspire for more, despite the challenges we face due to the lack of recognition of our government by the international community. Al Jazeera: One of the promises you made to the international community was that Afghan soil would not be used by external armed groups and that there would be zero tolerance for any terrorist organizations. In recent weeks, we have seen a number of murders take place. Pakistan Taliban leader killed. Al Qaeda leader killed in Kabul. What is your government doing and how will it keep its promise? Haqqani: Since the signing of the Doha Agreement, we have complied with all obligations. We dare anyone to give a single example or a single instance where our territories were used to undermine the security of other countries. We are ready to refute any claim about it. We are true Muslims, in principle, obliged to honor our word. The statement made by the Islamic Emirate [the Taliban government], explaining their position, was very clear: “we are committed to the Doha agreement”. Meanwhile, the agreement clearly sets out our obligations as well as the obligations of the US. If any violation was committed, it was the US that entered our territories without our permission, without even notifying us. This was a clear violation on the part of the US. These are false claims, malicious propaganda aimed at tarnishing the image of the Taliban in the eyes of global public opinion. We reject and refute these false allegations and I repeat that we have not breached any of our obligations under the Doha Agreement. We want to see the other party honor theirs and live up to their responsibilities.
