THE Real Face of the Taliban, written by senior journalist Saifullah Khalid, is the result of more than three decades of observation, field experience and engagement with developments in Afghanistan. The author’s association with investigative journalism began in 1991, while his connection with Afghanistan goes back to the period of the jihad against the Soviet Union.
Over the years, Khalid witnessed the Soviet withdrawal, the civil war among the Mujahideen, peace efforts, the emergence of the Taliban, their first administration, the American war and the current Taliban regime. This long exposure gives the book the depth of both an eyewitness account and a detailed research study.
The book goes beyond a general history of the Taliban. It examines the movement’s internal power structure, decision-making process, rival centres of authority and internal conflicts. It also looks at the role of ethnic and sectarian considerations within the Taliban system and explains how these factors shape governance and the distribution of power.
A central theme of the book is the Taliban’s departure from its own ideological foundations. The author argues that the regime has failed to uphold the principles it once claimed to represent. Instead, it has created a highly centralised system in which authority is concentrated in the hands of Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
The most important part of the study deals with the Taliban leadership’s relationship with terrorist organisations. Khalid examines links with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and more than twenty other international militant groups operating in Afghanistan. The book discusses the nature of these relationships, communication channels, coordination mechanisms, operational contacts and the personal and institutional networks built over time.
The author argues that terrorism has been adopted as an instrument of state policy. According to the book, the Taliban administration has provided facilities, shelter and institutional support to terrorists from different countries. It further claims that internationally designated militants have been granted Afghan citizenship, legal identities, official documentation and, in some cases, access to diplomatic passports.
The book also highlights the presence of Al-Qaeda-linked figures in senior positions within the Afghan system. On this basis, Khalid concludes that Afghanistan is not governed by the Taliban alone, but by a Taliban-Al-Qaeda hybrid regime in which Al-Qaeda enjoys significant influence and status.
Another major area of focus is the Taliban’s alleged collusion with India’s RAW. The author links these contacts with wider regional security concerns and presents them as part of a broader pattern of hostile activity.
Khalid also describes how Mullah Haibatullah established a system of personal dictatorship with Al-Qaeda’s support. He argues that the regime has created a structure of ethnic exploitation affecting not only non-Taliban communities but also sections within the Taliban movement itself.
The book concludes that the present system is neither democratic nor consistent with Sharia or Pashtun traditions. For anyone seeking to understand the Haibatullah regime, its militant connections and its internal power structure, The Real Face of the Taliban is an important and revealing document.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
