The Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan was swift and decisive but formation of an inclusive government to avoid another civil war is proving to be much harder. The militant group has been holding meetings in Kabul with Hamid Karzai, the first president after the U.S. invasion and other stake holders in Afghanistan to form an acceptable government. Despite having the upper hand now, the Taliban realizes any stable governing formation will need to include influential warlords and representatives from ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras. Without that, the country risks falling into the same sort of internal conflict that erupted in the 1990s.
Some of the important dissident leaders who matter to Taliban are as under:
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Former Prime Minister, 72
The former prime minister of Afghanistan and leader of the once powerful Hizb-e-Islami political party.He was among the Mujahideen fighters who were trained by the U.S. during the Cold War era to fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Hekmatyar has been both an ally and an enemy of the Taliban over the last 25 years. He has been sanctioned by the U.S. as a “specially designated global terrorist.” Hekmatyar’s deep and well-established links with Pakistan’s intelligence agencies make him a crucial player.
Hamid Karzai, Former President, 63
Hamid Karzai is now at the negotiating table with the same people who once wanted to kill him. As President Ghani fled Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai posted a short video message announcing his resolve to stay in the country. During his time as president, Karzai who has studied in India, fell differed with the U.S over its use of drones and his refusal to sign a security pact that would’ve let U.S. troops stay beyond 2014.
Abdulllah Abdullah, Former CEO of Afghanistan, 60
He is a doctor-turned-politician in Afghanistan. He was once an adviser to the leader of the Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who fought the Russians and the Taliban. Now Abdullah, an ethnic Tajik, is negotiating a peaceful transfer of power with the Taliban.
He leads the High Council for National Reconciliation, which was expected to lead the now-dead intra-Afghan peace talks.
Abdul Rashid Dostum, Warlord and Former Vice President, 67
The Uzbek warlord leader is another Afghan political veteran who has switched allegiances several times over four decades of fighting. He was a big part of the Northern Alliance, which fought the Taliban when they were last in power from 1996 to 2001.
Dostum backed Ghani’s government and was vice president for six years from 2013. He has been accused of war crimes, including mass killings and ordering the rape of a political rival, all of which he has denied. He spent several years in Turkey on health grounds, though rivals accused him of trying to escape facing justice in Afghanistan.
Amrullah Saleh, Former Spy Chief and Vice President, 48
The former vice president of Afghanistan declared himself “the legitimate caretaker president” when former president Ghani fled the country. Saleh, who joined Ghani’s government in 2017 as interior minister and also led Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, has survived multiple assassination attempts by the Taliban, including one last September. Saleh is in the northern Panjshir valley, his stronghold. He appears to have teamed up with Tajik leader Ahmad Massoud, who has vowed to fight the Taliban.
Ahmad Massoud, Rebel Leader, 32
The son of the slain Tajik Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who is a known hero of Afghan resistance against Russians could emerge as the face of the resistance against the Taliban. In an op-ed in the Washington Post last week, the U.K.-educated Massoud wrote that his fighters were “prepared to once again take on the Taliban.” Still, he added that their stores of weapons and ammunitions would run out “unless our friends in the West can find a way to supply us without delay.” Massoud is currently in talks with the Taliban, which have sent fighters around his stronghold in Panjshir province north of Kabul.
Ata Mohammad Noor, Provincial Leader, About 57
Ata Mohammad Noor, an ethnic Tajik leader, has been involved in wars in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion and was among the Taliban’s fiercest enemies. He was governor of the northern Balkh province, the most prosperous in Afghanistan, until he was removed by Ghani in 2018. As the provincial capital of Mazar-e-Sharif fell to the Taliban, Noor fled along with his one-time rival Dostum.
Mohammad Karim Khalili, Hazara Leader, About 71
The former vice president is a prominent figure from the minority Hazara ethnic group. Khalili was part of the delegation of senior Afghan politicians who went to Pakistan after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on 15 August. In a Facebook post last week, he said he hoped the Taliban’s top leadership would form a stable political order.