Status Updates From The Taliban Revival: Violen...

Last chapters are a little bit boring

The more I read, the more questions arise, and the more memories resurface—each one a painful reminder of how far the country has fallen from the vibrant, cultured place it once was.

Looks like the main problem of the region was and is Deobandi type of extremism and beliefs.

James Dobbin’s points on Afghanistan are giving me the vibe that he is talking about the future of the land. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Hmm, despite the presence of many experienced Mujahideen leaders, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia likely struggled to place their bet on Mullah Omar, an obscure cleric shaped by Deobandi teachings and a relatively unknown figure in the world of jihad.
In "Genesis of the Taliban", Abbas writes the group's mentality, the ideological influences that shaped them, and how they gained support and crucial external backing.

Who were the Taliban? How did they gain so much influence in such a short period? Why did the Mujahideen fight each other while claiming to fight for their land? How did Afghanistan become an extremist Islamic state, and what was Pakistan's role in this?

So far, up to page 81, the book explores these questions while shedding light on the role of Pashtun tribal dynamics.

The historical rivalry between the Durrani and Ghilzai tribes shaped Afghanistan’s leadership struggles, while groups like the Mehsud and Wazir tribes in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) played a key role in the Taliban’s cross-border operations. Factionalism among the Mujahideen, driven by tribal loyalties and external influences, further fragmented Afghanistan’s political landscape.

Tertanya2 bagaimana sebahagian umat Islam boleh tersasar jauh hingga anggap menumpahkan darah saudara se-Muslimnya sebagai jihad dan kematian mereka ketika melakukan keganasan itu sebagai syahid sedangkan nas melarang perbuatan mereka terlalu jelas?

Bab ke-2 sorot situasi di Kawasan Puak Ditadbir Persekutuan (FATA) kesan kewujudan Garisan Durand warisan British dengan bagaimana Pakistan uruskan wilayah berkuasa autonomi di bawah etnik Pashtun tapi tanpa pantuan mana2 pihak, sangat terbuka kepada penindasan dan salah guna kuasa, manakala pada sebelah perbatasan satu lagi, Afghanistan juga memiliki perkiraan sendiri. Situasi ini kemudian dimanfaatkan gol militan.

Mungkin kerana sudahpun membaca Taliban karya Ahmed Rashid, sorotan pantas konsep Pashtunwali atau cara hidup Pashtun dan sejarah Afghanistan bermula Ahmad Shah Durrani pada abad ke-18 hingga pencerobohan Russia penghujung dekad 70-an agak mudah dilumati.

Anekdot berdasarkan pengalaman pengarang yg pernah berkhidmat sebagai pegawai kanan polis di kawasan ‘nusa teras’ atau heartland Pashtun berikan rasa autoriti untuk kita membaca buku ini. Ini kerana ia bukanlah satu lagi tulisan akademia Barat atau ‘Muslim’ yg terlepas drpd akar di kawasan yg dikaji, sebaliknya hasil pengamatan sarjana yg menjadi bahagian penting dlm penelitiannya.