RASC News Agency: Former Minister of Information and Culture, Taher Zaheer, recently posted on the social media platform X, criticizing the Taliban’s actions, stating that what is happening in the country today is a clear cultivation of hatred. Zaheer stated in his post, “The humiliation and insult of individuals based on their language, religion, and ethnicity stem from hatred.”
The former governor of Bamiyan, who left Afghanistan after abandoning armed resistance against the Taliban, believes that those currently in power demean others through their actions and words. Zaheer, who briefly took up arms against the Taliban after their takeover, eventually laid down his weapons and left the country. In an earlier post on X, Zaheer remarked, “In a multi-ethnic country, conflict begins when one ethnic group considers itself the master and others as slaves.”
In this series of posts, Zaheer also referred to the Taliban’s ethnic approach, using the term “hegemony” to describe how the group uses “religion” as a tool to “consolidate their ethnic dominance.” He stated, “All efforts are made to convince the subjugated ethnic groups that the interests of the ruling group are also their own.” Referring to the nature of authoritarian regimes, Zaheer noted that the relationship between the people and the government is one of “fear,” achieved through coercion. “Guns and the use of violence yield immediate submission,” he wrote.
Zaheer warned that “fear and terror will eventually end, and blatant violence will become ineffective and obsolete.” The Taliban, predominantly composed of Pashtuns, have few members from other ethnic groups in middle and lower-level positions in their government. Additionally, the group has barred women from working due to their gender and imposed severe restrictions on their social lives.
The Taliban have shown disregard for both domestic and international protests against their exclusion of other ethnic groups and women from governance.
