Taliban.

 Mutmain has been one of the Taliban’s media persons who remained very close to Mullah Omar and as a confidant attended some important confidential meetings. He also remained a witness to the decision making process of the Taliban leaders on major issues. Therefore, his book offers a unique insight into the thinking process of the Taliban, especially on matters of foreign policy and puritanical injunctions.

 Two features make this book stand out from other books written by people formerly affiliated with the Taliban. Mutmain’s work is based on his unique access to the sources of information within the inner circle of the Taliban leadership. Therefore, his book gives a more extensive overview of the Taliban’s methods, decisions and mindset. It particularly goes in greater lenght in disclosing the Taliban leadership’s style of leadership, based on his daily decrees, meetings and correspondence. The second feature that makes this book unique is the writer’s relatively critical and independent approach to writing the movement’s history. Unlike many previous books written by people affiliated with Taliban, this books is dotted with comments and stories that previous authors might have deemed too critical of the movement to which they belonged. The writer has made it explicit in the introduction to the book that he has no formal job at the Taliban currently, and that by writing the book he wanted to write the history – neutrally – of a crucial period of Afghanistan based on his access to sources and his firsthand experience.

 The author was not only a spokesman for Mullah Omar, but also continued his job as a spokesman or media advisor serving alongside acting Taliban leaders, who led the insurgency throughout one decade of the movement’s resurgence. He also remained close to key commanders in the Taliban during the resurgence period. He also discloses some important aspects of how the insurgency was formed, who were instrumental in reviving the Taliban and the nature of relationship with Pakistan.

 The 400-page book, according to its publisher, has become one of the best-seller in the first month of its publication, among Afghans in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 Some of the key events about which Mutmain provides fresh insight are as below:

1.    How Mullah Omar’s death was kept secret and how he died?

2.    Taliban’s relations with Pakistan, China and Iran: start and development

3.    The circumstances around an Indian plane hijacked to Kandahar in 2000, and the Russian plane hijacked to Kandahar, and then flown by its pilots from detention

4.    Information about the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud

5.    The role of Pakistan’s intelligence service, ISI, in the arrest and hand over to Americans of Taliban leaders based in Pakistan soon following the Taliban’s fall

6.    Ups and downs of peace talks

7.    The story of how Ismail Khan bursts into tears when the writer himself sent by Mullah Omar to convey his message to the Mujahideen leader

8.    The verbal dispute between Saudi Arabia’s head of intelligence Turki Al Faisal and Mullah Omar. The writer was a witness to that meeting in 1998.

9.    What was behind the decision to recognize the Chechen Islamist government ?

 10. What was the reality of Taliban massacring people in Shamali twice?

11. Rifts within the Taliban following the disclosure of Mullah Omar’s death

12. Political efforts and opening of the Qatar office

13. How Daesh interacted with Taliban and started in Afghanistan?

 View expressed in this article are of the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Pajhwok’s editorial policy.

 

 

 

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