ISLAMABAD -- The fresh military victories scored by Afghanistan's Taliban militia in the past few weeks have once again thrown into doubt the prospects for a stable government in the war-torn central Asian country. Despite controlling more than 90 percent of Afghan territory, the Taliban is no closer to gaining much-needed international recognition or conclusively eliminating resistance from its foes, even after a series of resounding military successes.
The recent fighting in Afghanistan marks yet another phase in the 20-year conflict that began when Soviet troops occupied the country in 1979, in support of a newly installed communist government in Kabul. But even after a decade following the departure of the Soviet troops, fighting between rival groups of Mujahedeen (Islamic warriors) continues unabated, with little prospect for a negotiated settlement to lead to lasting peace.
The Taliban are predominantly of Afghanistan's Pushtun tribal descent, up against the so-called Northern Alliance, which consists of the country's non-Pushtun tribal minorities. Literally translated, the word Taliban means students, suggesting that the Taliban graduated from any one of the hundreds of Islamic religious schools in neighboring Pakistan, before being sent to war. For such students, a life spent fighting the jihad (holy war), marks the climax of human existence, and therefore a matter of great satisfaction.