Afghanistan and International Law

The Taliban are helped by some other countries such as Iran where they held a press conference upon their return to power in 2021. Photo: Fars Media Corporation/CC

In your book you wrote that according to international law, “the Taliban is considered a terrorist group and do not enjoy any international legitimacy”. Now in power in Afghanistan, has their status changed?

Shaker Hayat : The Taliban murdered, the Taliban put mines, they did suicide attacks, it all defines a terrorist group. You know that after 2001, America and other countries debated about fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. It means that they defined the Taliban as terrorists. It wasn’t just one country. It was more than 20 countries who were fighting against the Taliban under the name of terrorists.

When you study the international law doctrine, you will find out that the most significant items to define a terrorist group is caring about international law. The second is imposing fear on society. The third one is having a plan to enter the government or occupy the government. They have all these three significations.

They have killed more than 200,000 civilians in Afghanistan, more than 75,000 military, and more than 6,000 NATO troops. After they came to power, the first thing that they did: they stopped freedom of speech and of the media. In Afghanistan again, they killed, they tortured, they banned education.

As a terrorist group, they have no right to come to power. They should be demolished by international countries. Now that they rule Afghanistan, it means now we have a terrorist government. What they were doing in the past when they were a terrorist group is the same thing that they are doing now in government.

By joining the international community, they could receive money more easily. Will they try to join or are they condemned to stay on the margin of international relations?

Recognition means that they should obey, that they should accept international law, and the status of the United Nation. The same goes for human rights agreements that the government of Afghanistan has signed before in the past with other countries.

It means that they should take responsibility. They should give answers to the international community, to the United Nations, to the United States of America, to the countries of the region. They can’t do it. That’s why they didn’t want the legitimacy.

If they do, in two years, they will be a failed state. There will not be any Islamic Emirate or Taliban government anymore. People of Afghanistan, most of them don’t care about politics. They talk about security, and the economy. If the Taliban accept to hold elections, at the first election, they will be out of power.

The Taliban group regime has various sources of income disregarding the people’s need and only thinking about their personal wealth. Made by Théo Lheure/EPJT

If Russia, China, or even the United States stop financing them at some point. Do you think that the Taliban group regime could survive?

They will survive but they won’t be the same as when they were receiving money from other countries. They would survive without paying the salary of the people. They are a terrorist group, they came from the mountain, and from poor areas of the country.

In the three and a half years that they rule Afghanistan, they have made money from their position. The Taliban Prime minister Hasan Akhund even said that the people ask God for food not me, because God has promised to feed people. The Taliban can’t survive by themselves or only maybe two or three years, and after that I don’t know.