The Taliban have cut their job to win hearts and minds in Kabul

September 10 (Reuters) – After 20 years of fighting, the Taliban have tried to present a conciliatory face to the world. Afghanistan’s new rulers have a problem closer to home: winning the heart and mind of their own people, starting with the capital.

Since the group entered Kabul on August 15, armed members have roamed the streets dressed as battlefields, often without any obvious chain of command. Many city dwellers are not used to sight and heavy security tactics have not helped.

Ahmad, a Kabul teacher who was a small child when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan 20 years ago, has adapted to the shock of seeing his fighters on the street. But weeks after the fall of the city, he no longer feels reconciled to his presence.

“The people of Kabul hate them,” he said, with disgust on the part of city dwellers for fighters who have descended from the camp. Ahmad refused to give his last name for fear of retribution.

“You should see them. They’re wild-looking, dirty, uneducated people with long hair and dirty clothes. They don’t have any customs.”

After twenty years of Western presence, Kabul is no longer the target bombed by the Taliban in 1996.

Although it remains untidy and trafficked, with overflowing drains, irregular electricity and no running water in many areas, it has a lively urban culture far removed from the austere rural camp of most Taliban fighters.

A fan of the Barcelona football team with a taste for Bollywood, Ahmad reluctantly let his beard grow and changed into the Western-style clothes he used to wear for a traditional perahan tunban to avoid standing out when he came across a Taliban control .

Instead of Dari, the language spoken mainly in Kabul, it is careful to address any Taliban who know Pashto, the language of the south and east where most of the fighters come from.

“They have never been to a city and many of them do not speak Dari, in addition to Pashto listening to Arabic or Urdu and other languages,” he said. “They hit people on the street with their guns. People are very scared of them.”

INSURANCE

Taliban leaders say they want Kabul residents to feel safe, but acknowledge that they were surprised by the rapid collapse of the Western-backed government, leaving almost no time to plan the operation of a city of more than 5 million people.

They also admit that their fighters, most of whom have known little war, but years, are not trained by the police accustomed to dealing with the public.

The group says its government is different from the harsh Islamist administration that ruled from 1996 to 2001, and has vowed that there would be no arbitrary punishments and that patrols had been ordered to treat people with respect.

“If there is any problem in any area, be it a thief or an oppressor, a gunman or a tyrant, let people know that we have shared our contact numbers everywhere,” said Seyed Rahman Heydari, commander of the Taliban patrol in Kabul police district 6.

“Let us know when we face these problems; we will take a serious follow-up and arrest the criminals.”

When they last came to power, Taliban religious police beat people who broke the rules and the group became internationally famous for their amputations and public executions.

This time, several street protests have been broken up by gunmen firing into the air. People have been arrested and beaten with butts, rods and rifle barrels.

Taliban leaders have promised to investigate any cases of abuse, but have ordered protesters to seek permission before holding protests.

For some Afghans, the reputation of quick and hard justice has provided reassurance to a city that, along with regular Taliban suicide attacks, has seen an increase in kidnappings, killings and violent robberies in recent years.

“I can see that security conditions have changed since the arrival of the Islamic Emirate government,” said driver Abdul Sattar, who is driving passengers through the Darul Aman Square area.

“There used to be a lot of cell phone thieves in the area, but now there are fewer.”

Without any corrupt local police to bribe, he said he had even been able to lower prices to 10 Afghans per passenger from 20 to 30 earlier.

BATUDES

However, protests in Kabul and the Taliban’s sometimes violent response to protesters and journalists covering them have undermined confidence in the group’s promises to treat the public with respect.

“Obviously, when children and women see them, they would be afraid of them, because their previous government was terrible,” said Kabul-based Rahmatullah Khan.

The new government, made up mainly of Pashtun men from the south and east who joined the Taliban in the 1990s, also tempered hopes of an inclusive administration that reflects the concerns of people who grew up in the era. after 2001.

While Afghan society remains deeply conservative when it comes to women’s rights, even outside the ranks of the Taliban, protests by women in Kabul and other cities have underscored the determination of some to preserve women’s gains. last twenty years.

On Wednesday, Kabul women carrying placards saying “A cabinet without women is a failure” underscored skepticism about the Taliban’s assurances about the value of women in society and the respect they deserve.

Heydari, the Taliban commander, said people “should not be afraid of the heart. We are at your service day and night.”

It’s a message some people don’t want to believe.

Ayesha, a 22-year-old girl who worked for a media group before the fall of Kabul, said she had seen women beaten several times by the Taliban and would only leave home when absolutely necessary.

“These are very dangerous people, they will hit women and insult them. I don’t care what their leaders say, they are completely savage.”

Reuters office reports; Written by James Mackenze; Edited by Mike Collett-White

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