{"id":65081,"date":"2019-07-14T15:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-07-14T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/14\/opinion-ustaliban-peace-talks-betray-the-trust-of-the-afghan-people\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:17:08","slug":"opinion-ustaliban-peace-talks-betray-the-trust-of-the-afghan-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2019\/07\/14\/opinion-ustaliban-peace-talks-betray-the-trust-of-the-afghan-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: US\u2013Taliban peace talks betray the trust of the Afghan people"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the US started bombing Taliban positions in 2001, there was a euphoric relief shown by the majority of people whose lives were hell under the Taliban despotic rule. More than most, the religious minorities of Afghanistan, such as the Hazaras, Hindus and Jews \u2014 and of course women of all ethnic groups \u2014 were relieved that finally their nightmares were over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People were dejected because, under the guise of Islam, they were being brutalized by agents of a foreign power. Cutting off of limbs and executions of women and men were public spectacles, as was stoning women to death for adultery. People were forced to watch, and in some cases participate, in these brutalities. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They behaved according to the dictates of their sect of religion, which is not favorable to women education, employment or empowerment. During the Taliban reign from 1996 to 2001, women were practically under house arrest. They could only venture out when accompanied by a male relative and only when they were attired in a way that would not draw men\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are against Hazaras because they are mostly Shi\u2019ites that the Taliban consider to be non-believers. There is the ethnic dimension, as well, as they have been at odds with each other throughout Afghanistan\u2019s turbulent history. The Hazaras are confined to a huge open-air prison in central Afghanistan called Hazarajat. When they venture out, under any pretext, they are generally picked out of buses and vehicles and killed on the roadside. Under the Taliban, the Hazaras suffered one of the worst massacres since their genocide in the late 1890s. Close to 20,000 people were summarily killed by the Taliban in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, execution style in cold blood. They were told by the then-governor of the Taliban: you become Muslims, get out of the country, or die. And die they did in brutal, vicious and unimaginable ways. That governor called Manan Niazi is still living, and is a Taliban leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both groups of women and Hazaras thrived after the Taliban. The women entered active life outside home becoming ministers, ambassadors, professors, business women, teachers, governors, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hazaras mostly considered the US forces as their liberators. They contributed significantly in the progress and reconstruction of the country, taking part in the political as well as educational life, and providing some of the best educated elites private schools and universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\t