Butchers of Sopore and Birmingham

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The illusion of azaadi and Kashmir’s historic deception

How Pak's terror policy evolved in Kashmir

Birth of social media jihadists, death of Article-370

Operation Sindoor: When Indian missiles rained on Pak terror parade

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<div class="itg-mosimage"><amp-img src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-1_062712101621.jpg" alt="" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img>Bamiyan Buddha and Taliban militia<p>For centuries the colossal images of Buddha carved into the Hindukush mountains at Bamiyan with its striking honeycomb rock-cut sanctuaries were symbols of the glory of Afghanistan's ancient past.</p><p>When the famed Chinese traveller Hsuan-Tsang saw them in the 7th century A.D. he wrote, "Its gold hues sparkle on every side and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes with its brightness." Since then these standing Buddhas have survived the march of Islam and more recently the two-decade-old civil war that has turned Afghanistan into one of the world's bloodiest battlefields.</p><p> Now these statues along with hundreds of Afghanistan's precious artefacts are possibly lost to the world forever. They are being brought down by a Hitlerian edict issued by the one-eyed, reclusive, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Amir-ul-Momineen or Commander of the Faithful and the emir of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (IEA), as the ruling Taliban calls it. </p><p>On February 26, from his mansion in Kandahar, which he rarely leaves, the tall and well-built Omar, just 42 years of age, pronounced the fatwa which was quickly broadcast over Radio Shariat, controlled by his militia.</p><p> The broadcast stated that the "supreme leader" had ordered, "All statues and non-Islamic shrines located in different parts of the IEA should be destroyed. These statues were shrines of infidels and these infidels continue to worship and respect these icons. Allah Almighty is the only real shrine and all false shrines should be smashed."<br><br>The finality and speed with which the announcement was made is typical of the highly secretive, centralised and dictatorial style that has come to characterise the way Omar rules Afghanistan. </p><div class="itemcenter"><amp-iframe height="62" title="" width="320" sandbox="allow-forms allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-top-navigation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" allowfullscreen src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Findiatoday%2Fbanner%2Fpreferred-source-new.html%3Fv%3D1.014%5Cu0026native%3D1" class="mrBt15 preferred-source-banner"> </amp-iframe></div></p><p>The mullah brooks no dissent and is used to having his orders implemented unquestioningly. He did not appear to be overly concerned by the widespread revulsion to his action across the world. The UN Security Council described it as "incomprehensible and a wanton act of violence" and told Omar to put a stop to it. US Secretary of State Colin Powell called it "a crime against humanity". </p><div class="itg-mosimage"><amp-img src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-2_062712101621.jpg" alt="" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img>UNDER THE GUNS: Life in Kabul is dominated by the fatwa and its minders</div></p><p>Earlier, using unusually strong language, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee termed it an "act of shamelessness" being carried out by those "who were neither civilised nor true Muslims". Vajpayee's condemnation punctured the Taliban's strategy of trying to equate their action with that of the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu fanatics in 1992.</p><p>Other countries, including Afghanistan's closest ally Pakistan, joined the global outcry but it made little impact on Omar. He dismissed the pleas against the demolition as "drama" and in another broadcast over Radio Shariat stated, "The infidels want to rob Islam of its spirit. I would like to ask the world Muslims not to harmonise their voices with those of non-believers."<br><br>For most of the world, the Taliban's latest act defied comprehension. After all, the regime is struggling to cope with one of the worst droughts in 30 years which has affected almost half its 20 million people. Afghanistan needs at least 40 million tonnes of foodgrains to feed its starving populace but is now producing only 2 million. While the Taliban controls as much as 90 per cent of the country's territory, they are still at war with the resilient Ahmed Shah Masoud who heads the Northern Alliance forces controlling the strategic Panjsher valley.</p><p> To the Taliban's ire, the UN continues to recognise the Northern Alliance as the representative of the Afghan Government. And the last thing one would have thought was for the Taliban to risk further international isolation through such despicable acts of vandalism.<br><br>Logic, however, is a word that does not seem to figure in the Taliban's dictionary. In the recent past, they have gained notoriety for issuing a string of retrogade fatwas, banning music, television and other kinds of entertainment. Women have been ordered not to go out and work, girls' schools have been closed and men have been asked to compulsorily grow beards. </p><p>Last July, members of a visiting Pakistani soccer team were arrested in Kandahar for appearing on the field in shorts - a violation of the Taliban's new code. When Pakistani diplomats intervened, the players were released, but not before the heads of five of them were tonsured.</p><div class="itg-mosimage"><amp-img src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-3_062712101621.jpg" alt="" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img>RAVAGES OF JEHAD: Women have been one of the worst sufferers in the conflict</div></p><p>Public execution and lashings form a weekly feature and Kalashnikov-toting personnel of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Suppression of Vice comb the streets to round up violators and bring them to brutal justice. Behind such religious zealotry is the Taliban's mission to fashion a purist Islamic revolution that pushes religious extremism to its limits.<br><br>If the Taliban continues to control most of the country despite such Islamic fanaticism, it is because Afghanistan was on the verge of destruction before the group emerged as a potent force in 1994.</p><p>During the Cold War, the country was a helpless pawn in the rivalry between the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union. The landlocked country, at the crossroads of Asia and the gateway to the Silk Route, is a centre of the new Great Game to control central Asia's gas resources.</p><p> Apart from being a major corridor for oil pipelines to transport energy to Europe and Asia, Afghanistan also has untapped petroleum resources. The Soviet invasion in 1979 saw the US and its allies fund one of the largest-ever resistance movements. It saw Pakistan emerge as a major conduit for arms and funds for the Afghan rebels.<br><br>After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, a debilitating civil war broke out among the various Afghan mujahideen groups for supremacy. Desperately looking for an alternative, Pakistan began backing the Taliban - plural for <i>talib</i> which means a student of Islam. </p><p>They comprised a small group of mullahs and others whose main objective was to "cleanse" Afghanistan of corruption, rather than grab power. It caught the people's fancy and its cadre exploded in size as it captured the crucial provinces of Kandahar, then Herat and finally Kabul - all in two years.<br><br>The rank and file was filled with youth in the age group of 14-24, schooled mainly in the mushrooming madarsas in Pakistan where they had studied the Koran. They were never taught history. And not having lived long enough in Afghanistan, they had neither seen nor heard of its glorious past. Omar himself is said to have never seen the Bamiyan Buddhas that he wanted destroyed.<br><br>The US lost interest in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989 and its disintegration. It was forced to take note, however, when production and smuggling of narcotic drugs, especially opium, soon became rampant in Afghanistan. </p><p>Initially, poppy cultivation was actively supported by the Taliban and by 2000, Afghanistan had produced 3,200 tonnes of opium annually or three quarters of the world's opium. </p><div class="itg-mosimage"><amp-img src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-4_062712101621.jpg" alt="" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img>NO REWARDS: The Taliban destroys poppy fields, hoping the move would win it international goodwill and aid to fight drought</div></p><p>This apart, Afghanistan also began to export its brand of Islamic extremism to the rest of the world. The 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania created a wave of terror and the world reacted in horror. The mastermind behind the attacks was Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden who was in Afghanistan.</p><p>The US demanded that the Taliban surrender him to the Government or send him out of the country. When the Taliban refused, the US got the UN to impose two rounds of sanctions that cut off all aid, except for humanitarian purposes.<br><br>The impact of the international isolation, coupled with a devastating drought at home, was too much to take. So the Taliban began to make amends. Omar issued a fatwa banning cultivation of poppy and a recent UN report confirmed that the production of opium had dropped significantly. </p><p>Washington, however, continued to list Afghanistan with Myanmar as the main drug-producing nations. "Leave aside supporting our efforts, the Americans continue to blacklist us," rues a Taliban official. What was equally upsetting was that international aid to fight the drought came only in a trickle - UN members pledged a meagre $18 million for relief work against a request for $230 million.<br><br>Perhaps this is one of the reasons for Omar's outrageous edict on statues. The fatwa also marks a deepening divide within the ranks of the fractured Taliban. The controversial decision was apparently influenced by the hardliners who appear to have emerged much stronger after the imposition of UN sanctions. </p><p>Says Ahmed Rashid, author of an authoritative book on the rise of the Taliban: "It is as much a signal of defiance against UN sanctions." Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Deobandi political party, the Jamiat ul-Ulema Islami, who has very close links with the Taliban, supports that viewpoint. "The UN has imposed sanctions on Afghanistan at a time when hundreds of children are dying of cold and hunger," he says. "Maybe that is why they have taken this drastic action to show their anger."<br><br>The Taliban's defiance was evident earlier too when bin Laden made two much-hyped public appearances. Just after the announcement of Omar's Bamiyan edict, the world's most-wanted terrorist was shown on a Saudi television network reciting a poem which hailed the bombing of the <i>USS Cole</i>, an American navy ship in Aden. He also attended the wedding of his son Mohammed in the Taliban's spiritual capital of Kandahar. </p><div class="itg-mosimage"><amp-img src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-5_062712101621.jpg" alt="" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img></div></p><p>It is Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the powerful Taliban justice minister, who is said to have persuaded Omar to issue the edict to destroy the statues. It was partly because of domestic considerations. Bamiyan had been in and out of Taliban control for the past two years as the Hazaras tribes who are allied with the Northern Alliance had put up a stiff resistance.<br><br>Only in January did the militia regain control and by destroying the centuries-old idols, the Taliban wanted to demoralise the local population and warn them against future rebellion. The one-eyed and one-legged Turabi got the ruling Shura Council, the committee of Islamic scholars, to agree.</p><p>Many on the council went along because the UN sanctions had hardened their hearts against the outside world. The new ruling countermands a 1999 decree preventing the destruction of Afghanistan's many archaeological sites. That decree was pushed through the Shura Council by Mullah Amir Khan Muttaki, the then minister of culture and a moderate within the Taliban's influential inner circle.<br><br>No one in the leadership will speak out against the edict now because anything less than overt backing for Omar when the country is under such international pressure would be seen as dissent. </p><p>An indication that moderates were not behind the edict wholeheartedly came when Wakil A. Muttawakil, the Taliban foreign minister, issued a clarification saying statues in places currently used for worship by non-Muslims, such as Hindus and Sikhs, were to be left alone. Some reports suggest Muttawakil was not aware of the edict until it was announced. But many Taliban ministers who favoured a moderate policy have reportedly been sidelined.<br><br>The Taliban may have scored by drawing international attention to their anger and frustration. As Rifaat Hussain, professor of defence and strategic studies at Islamabad's Quaid-i-Azam University, says, "It may be an attempt to blackmail the international community into giving them some money or some kind of relief." </p><p>But the move may only backfire given the tremendous negative reaction across the world. Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and security commentator, believes the "Taliban leaders have achieved nothing internally and have totally isolated themselves".<br><br>All this is not good news either for Afghanistan or the world. With the Afghan mercenaries becoming a major menace in Kashmir, the toughening of the Taliban's stance is ominous for India as well. </p><p>Says Professor K. Warikoo, chairman of JNU's Centre for Central Asian Studies in Delhi: "What we are seeing is a logical culmination of the Taliban's fundamentalist ideals which they are now putting into practice. Much of the world, including India, will be impacted." Especially with a regime that believes in no political system other than its own. And, as recent events have shown, cares little for history. </p><p><b><i> - by Zahid Hussain in Kabul and Islamabad and Raj Chengappa in Delhi </i></b><br></p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">AtMigration </div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Mar 19, 2001</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div></div>

cover-story

Cover Story

<div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-1_062712101621.jpg" loading="lazy" /></div>Bamiyan Buddha and Taliban militia<p>For centuries the colossal images of Buddha carved into the Hindukush mountains at Bamiyan with its striking honeycomb rock-cut sanctuaries were symbols of the glory of Afghanistan's ancient past.</p><p>When the famed Chinese traveller Hsuan-Tsang saw them in the 7th century A.D. he wrote, "Its gold hues sparkle on every side and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes with its brightness." Since then these standing Buddhas have survived the march of Islam and more recently the two-decade-old civil war that has turned Afghanistan into one of the world's bloodiest battlefields.</p><p> Now these statues along with hundreds of Afghanistan's precious artefacts are possibly lost to the world forever. They are being brought down by a Hitlerian edict issued by the one-eyed, reclusive, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Amir-ul-Momineen or Commander of the Faithful and the emir of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (IEA), as the ruling Taliban calls it. </p><p>On February 26, from his mansion in Kandahar, which he rarely leaves, the tall and well-built Omar, just 42 years of age, pronounced the fatwa which was quickly broadcast over Radio Shariat, controlled by his militia.</p><p> The broadcast stated that the "supreme leader" had ordered, "All statues and non-Islamic shrines located in different parts of the IEA should be destroyed. These statues were shrines of infidels and these infidels continue to worship and respect these icons. Allah Almighty is the only real shrine and all false shrines should be smashed."<br><br>The finality and speed with which the announcement was made is typical of the highly secretive, centralised and dictatorial style that has come to characterise the way Omar rules Afghanistan. </p><div class="itemcenter"><iframe scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="62" awidth="320" aheight="62" amplayout="fixed" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Findiatoday%2Fbanner%2Fpreferred-source-new.html%3Fv%3D1.014" class="preferred-source-banner" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><style>.preferred-source-banner{  margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}</style></p><p>The mullah brooks no dissent and is used to having his orders implemented unquestioningly. He did not appear to be overly concerned by the widespread revulsion to his action across the world. The UN Security Council described it as "incomprehensible and a wanton act of violence" and told Omar to put a stop to it. US Secretary of State Colin Powell called it "a crime against humanity". </p><div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-2_062712101621.jpg" loading="lazy" /></div>UNDER THE GUNS: Life in Kabul is dominated by the fatwa and its minders</div></p><p>Earlier, using unusually strong language, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee termed it an "act of shamelessness" being carried out by those "who were neither civilised nor true Muslims". Vajpayee's condemnation punctured the Taliban's strategy of trying to equate their action with that of the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu fanatics in 1992.</p><p>Other countries, including Afghanistan's closest ally Pakistan, joined the global outcry but it made little impact on Omar. He dismissed the pleas against the demolition as "drama" and in another broadcast over Radio Shariat stated, "The infidels want to rob Islam of its spirit. I would like to ask the world Muslims not to harmonise their voices with those of non-believers."<br><br>For most of the world, the Taliban's latest act defied comprehension. After all, the regime is struggling to cope with one of the worst droughts in 30 years which has affected almost half its 20 million people. Afghanistan needs at least 40 million tonnes of foodgrains to feed its starving populace but is now producing only 2 million. While the Taliban controls as much as 90 per cent of the country's territory, they are still at war with the resilient Ahmed Shah Masoud who heads the Northern Alliance forces controlling the strategic Panjsher valley.</p><p> To the Taliban's ire, the UN continues to recognise the Northern Alliance as the representative of the Afghan Government. And the last thing one would have thought was for the Taliban to risk further international isolation through such despicable acts of vandalism.<br><br>Logic, however, is a word that does not seem to figure in the Taliban's dictionary. In the recent past, they have gained notoriety for issuing a string of retrogade fatwas, banning music, television and other kinds of entertainment. Women have been ordered not to go out and work, girls' schools have been closed and men have been asked to compulsorily grow beards. </p><p>Last July, members of a visiting Pakistani soccer team were arrested in Kandahar for appearing on the field in shorts - a violation of the Taliban's new code. When Pakistani diplomats intervened, the players were released, but not before the heads of five of them were tonsured.</p><div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-3_062712101621.jpg" loading="lazy" /></div>RAVAGES OF JEHAD: Women have been one of the worst sufferers in the conflict</div></p><p>Public execution and lashings form a weekly feature and Kalashnikov-toting personnel of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Suppression of Vice comb the streets to round up violators and bring them to brutal justice. Behind such religious zealotry is the Taliban's mission to fashion a purist Islamic revolution that pushes religious extremism to its limits.<br><br>If the Taliban continues to control most of the country despite such Islamic fanaticism, it is because Afghanistan was on the verge of destruction before the group emerged as a potent force in 1994.</p><p>During the Cold War, the country was a helpless pawn in the rivalry between the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union. The landlocked country, at the crossroads of Asia and the gateway to the Silk Route, is a centre of the new Great Game to control central Asia's gas resources.</p><p> Apart from being a major corridor for oil pipelines to transport energy to Europe and Asia, Afghanistan also has untapped petroleum resources. The Soviet invasion in 1979 saw the US and its allies fund one of the largest-ever resistance movements. It saw Pakistan emerge as a major conduit for arms and funds for the Afghan rebels.<br><br>After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, a debilitating civil war broke out among the various Afghan mujahideen groups for supremacy. Desperately looking for an alternative, Pakistan began backing the Taliban - plural for <i>talib</i> which means a student of Islam. </p><p>They comprised a small group of mullahs and others whose main objective was to "cleanse" Afghanistan of corruption, rather than grab power. It caught the people's fancy and its cadre exploded in size as it captured the crucial provinces of Kandahar, then Herat and finally Kabul - all in two years.<br><br>The rank and file was filled with youth in the age group of 14-24, schooled mainly in the mushrooming madarsas in Pakistan where they had studied the Koran. They were never taught history. And not having lived long enough in Afghanistan, they had neither seen nor heard of its glorious past. Omar himself is said to have never seen the Bamiyan Buddhas that he wanted destroyed.<br><br>The US lost interest in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989 and its disintegration. It was forced to take note, however, when production and smuggling of narcotic drugs, especially opium, soon became rampant in Afghanistan. </p><p>Initially, poppy cultivation was actively supported by the Taliban and by 2000, Afghanistan had produced 3,200 tonnes of opium annually or three quarters of the world's opium. </p><div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-4_062712101621.jpg" loading="lazy" /></div>NO REWARDS: The Taliban destroys poppy fields, hoping the move would win it international goodwill and aid to fight drought</div></p><p>This apart, Afghanistan also began to export its brand of Islamic extremism to the rest of the world. The 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania created a wave of terror and the world reacted in horror. The mastermind behind the attacks was Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden who was in Afghanistan.</p><p>The US demanded that the Taliban surrender him to the Government or send him out of the country. When the Taliban refused, the US got the UN to impose two rounds of sanctions that cut off all aid, except for humanitarian purposes.<br><br>The impact of the international isolation, coupled with a devastating drought at home, was too much to take. So the Taliban began to make amends. Omar issued a fatwa banning cultivation of poppy and a recent UN report confirmed that the production of opium had dropped significantly. </p><p>Washington, however, continued to list Afghanistan with Myanmar as the main drug-producing nations. "Leave aside supporting our efforts, the Americans continue to blacklist us," rues a Taliban official. What was equally upsetting was that international aid to fight the drought came only in a trickle - UN members pledged a meagre $18 million for relief work against a request for $230 million.<br><br>Perhaps this is one of the reasons for Omar's outrageous edict on statues. The fatwa also marks a deepening divide within the ranks of the fractured Taliban. The controversial decision was apparently influenced by the hardliners who appear to have emerged much stronger after the imposition of UN sanctions. </p><p>Says Ahmed Rashid, author of an authoritative book on the rise of the Taliban: "It is as much a signal of defiance against UN sanctions." Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Deobandi political party, the Jamiat ul-Ulema Islami, who has very close links with the Taliban, supports that viewpoint. "The UN has imposed sanctions on Afghanistan at a time when hundreds of children are dying of cold and hunger," he says. "Maybe that is why they have taken this drastic action to show their anger."<br><br>The Taliban's defiance was evident earlier too when bin Laden made two much-hyped public appearances. Just after the announcement of Omar's Bamiyan edict, the world's most-wanted terrorist was shown on a Saudi television network reciting a poem which hailed the bombing of the <i>USS Cole</i>, an American navy ship in Aden. He also attended the wedding of his son Mohammed in the Taliban's spiritual capital of Kandahar. </p><div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F2001March%2Fvandals-5_062712101621.jpg" loading="lazy" /></div></div></p><p>It is Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the powerful Taliban justice minister, who is said to have persuaded Omar to issue the edict to destroy the statues. It was partly because of domestic considerations. Bamiyan had been in and out of Taliban control for the past two years as the Hazaras tribes who are allied with the Northern Alliance had put up a stiff resistance.<br><br>Only in January did the militia regain control and by destroying the centuries-old idols, the Taliban wanted to demoralise the local population and warn them against future rebellion. The one-eyed and one-legged Turabi got the ruling Shura Council, the committee of Islamic scholars, to agree.</p><p>Many on the council went along because the UN sanctions had hardened their hearts against the outside world. The new ruling countermands a 1999 decree preventing the destruction of Afghanistan's many archaeological sites. That decree was pushed through the Shura Council by Mullah Amir Khan Muttaki, the then minister of culture and a moderate within the Taliban's influential inner circle.<br><br>No one in the leadership will speak out against the edict now because anything less than overt backing for Omar when the country is under such international pressure would be seen as dissent. </p><p>An indication that moderates were not behind the edict wholeheartedly came when Wakil A. Muttawakil, the Taliban foreign minister, issued a clarification saying statues in places currently used for worship by non-Muslims, such as Hindus and Sikhs, were to be left alone. Some reports suggest Muttawakil was not aware of the edict until it was announced. But many Taliban ministers who favoured a moderate policy have reportedly been sidelined.<br><br>The Taliban may have scored by drawing international attention to their anger and frustration. As Rifaat Hussain, professor of defence and strategic studies at Islamabad's Quaid-i-Azam University, says, "It may be an attempt to blackmail the international community into giving them some money or some kind of relief." </p><p>But the move may only backfire given the tremendous negative reaction across the world. Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and security commentator, believes the "Taliban leaders have achieved nothing internally and have totally isolated themselves".<br><br>All this is not good news either for Afghanistan or the world. With the Afghan mercenaries becoming a major menace in Kashmir, the toughening of the Taliban's stance is ominous for India as well. </p><p>Says Professor K. Warikoo, chairman of JNU's Centre for Central Asian Studies in Delhi: "What we are seeing is a logical culmination of the Taliban's fundamentalist ideals which they are now putting into practice. Much of the world, including India, will be impacted." Especially with a regime that believes in no political system other than its own. And, as recent events have shown, cares little for history. </p><p><b><i> - by Zahid Hussain in Kabul and Islamabad and Raj Chengappa in Delhi </i></b><br></p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">AtMigration </div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Mar 19, 2001</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div></div>

For centuries the colossal images of Buddha carved into the Hindukush mountains at Bamiyan with its striking honeycomb rock-cut sanctuaries were symbols of the glory of Afghanistan's ancient past.&nbsp;Now these statues along with hundreds of Afghanistan's precious artefacts are possibly lost to the world forever.

India Today

Standing Buddhas have survived the march of Islam and more recently the two-decade-old civil war that has turned Afghanistan into one of the world's bloodiest battlefields.

Vandals of history - India Today

Bamiyan Buddhas: Taliban destroys glory of Afghanistan's ancient past, precious artefacts

Vandals of history

IND vs SA, T20 World Cup Warm-ups: India’s only warm-up turned into a statement as Ishan Kishan sealed the opener role, Tilak Varma returned in style, and the bowlers controlled the chase to down South Africa by 30 runs.

Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma

IND vs SA, warm-up: Ishan edges Samson, Tilak back as India ready to defend crown

While Vikas Nath pleaded not guilty, he admitted adding a substance to the woman’s drink, claiming it was to help her “relax” and not for sexual purposes. The prosecution said he had messaged a friend expressing a desire to have sex with her and frustration that it had not happened.

A Chicago restaurant is offering a cocktail worth Rs 11 lakh

Image used for representation. (Photo: Pexels)

Indian-origin UK restaurateur caught spiking drink, claims he meant to ‘relax’ her

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy alleges widespread surveillance and corruption under BRS rule, raising concerns over privacy and governance in Telangana.

Revanth Reddy controversy

Are they human? Revanth Reddy claims BRS listened in on husband-wife calls

India Today’s Aishwarya Paliwal provides a step-by-step eyewitness account of the Lok Sabha drama as women opposition MPs marched toward BJP leaders, just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to address the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, which was postponed at the last moment.

Moments before PM Modi’s address, Lok Sabha descended into pandemonium (PTI)

15 minutes to PM’s speech, Lok Sabha slid into chaos: A firsthand account

The Ministry of Justice’s Memorandum of Understanding with Physics Wallah has sparked debate over the exclusion of general category and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) students. The scheme, announced in November, offers free coaching to students from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities.

Free coaching

Govt's free coaching scheme leaves out general category students, sparks debate

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Here's the drone visuals of the massive traffic jam on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which has hit vehicular movement for over 24 hours after a gas tanker overturned in the hilly Khandala Ghat section.

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Watch: Drone visuals of massive 22-km traffic jam on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the government has successfully safeguarded sensitive sectors in US trade deal.  

Piyush Goyal: No Compromise On Farmers Interests In US Deal

India protected agriculture, dairy interests in US trade deal: Piyush Goyal

In this Special Report, India Today’s Mir Fareed provides exclusive details on a major counter-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur. Security forces, including the Army, Jammu Kashmir Police, and CRPF, successfully eliminated two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who were hiding in a natural cave within a dense forested terrain. Mir Fareed noted, ‘Finally, their luck ran out as security forces used IEDs to blow up the entrance. And with that, they were eliminated.’ One of the deceased has been identified as a top commander, Abu Mavia. The operation involved sophisticated drone surveillance and sharpshooters to pin down the terrorists who had previously evaded capture. The report highlights the evolving tactics of security agencies in tackling infiltrators using the treacherous forest reaches of Jammu. The area is currently being sanitised as per standard operating procedures following the recovery of weapons.

Mir Fareed: Two Jaish Terrorists Killed In Udhampur Cave

2 Jaish terrorists killed as security forces blow up cave in Jammu and Kashmir

This news report covers the intense political confrontation in Parliament where Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi reportedly called BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu a 'traitor'. The incident occurred near the Makar Dwar as suspended MPs were protesting. The transcript highlights that Bittu, once a close associate of Gandhi, was heckled by Congress members following the remark. Additionally, the bulletin features a statement regarding the suspension of eight Congress MPs for the remainder of the session due to 'unruly behaviour'. Dilip Saikia, who was in the chair during the ruckus, stated that the members violated parliamentary decorum and rules. The report notes that the Congress party views those who defect to the other side through a specific 'prism', leading to the sharp exchange. The drama unfolded as Priyanka Gandhi also met with the suspended legislators to discuss the adjournment of the House.

Rahul Gandhi Calls Bittu a Traitor in Parliament

Rahul Gandhi Calls Ravneet Singh Bittu a 'Traitor' outside Parliament

On this Special Report, the focus is on a tragic incident in Ghaziabad where three minor sisters, aged 12, 14, and 16, allegedly died by suicide by jumping from the ninth floor of a high-rise building. ACP Atul Kumar stated, 'Three girls jumped from the balcony of the ninth floor of flat number 907 in Bharat City and were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.' A suicide note recovered from the scene read, 'Mummy Papa, we are sorry.' Police have seized mobile phones and gadgets for forensic examination to determine if specific gaming tasks triggered the extreme step. The incident occurred around 2:30 AM, and authorities are recording statements from family and neighbors to uncover the exact cause behind this triple suicide horror.

Atul Kumar: 3 Sisters Jump To Death In Ghaziabad

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Bamiyan Buddhas: Taliban destroys glory of Afghanistan's ancient past, precious artefacts

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