Afghanistan: Inside the Taliban's Emirate • FRANCE 24 English

oh, outside the Kabul passport office, streets packed with people, hundreds of Afghans trying to get travel documents to flee, this is not a face the Taliban want to show, tense fighters trying to stop the exodus with their version of crowd control, a large number of Afghans are still desperate. flee abroad the Taliban bureaucracy cannot keep up and most people are forced to leave empty-handed the country has become an open-air prison this is the new Islamic

emirate

of Afghanistan is to understand how the United States lost the war two years ago. An hour's drive from Kabul is enough.

This is Wardak, a province rooted in pain. Around 60 civilians from the small village of Samadha are buried here. In a row lie six members of the same family who were killed, their relatives tell us, by a US missile attack in 2018. Staying in this area frequently targeted by brutal attacks by the US and Afghan army, the villagers lived among the Taliban foreigners know for years in the rural areas that the insurgents built up sympathy and their base for victory now patrol in police cars confiscated from the previous government here even doing The school run by foreigners here almost everyone knows that someone died in an American raid for the Taliban.

Recruitment was easy for the first time after decades of war and instability. People across Afghanistan are now tasting peace. kabul the white flag of its new islamic

emirate

flies throughout the city 20 years ago a coalition led by the united states expelled the first

taliban

regime from power after the 9/11 attacks. The militants fled to rural areas or neighboring Pakistan, but now they are back in power and in control of the capital. Many fighters discover life in the city for the first time. The reality of Kabul residents has been turned upside down. Many They are deeply concerned about the Taliban's ability to govern we should have relations with other foreign countries we should have an economic system in Afghanistan we should have an education system in Afghanistan and also ladies should go out and get education abroad.

The Taliban once spread fear in Kabul by organizing suicide attacks now they guard the streets of the capital, Alhamdulillah, most of these men barely know the capital, grew up as warriors and are still dedicated to jihad abroad. He tells us that his brother was the Taliban commander who led the infamous ambush in the Uzbein Valley in 2018, which killed 10 French soldiers and wounded dozens of others. We continue with Kabul. the new police chief of district 12 and his deputy the afghan capital is famous for kidnappings and robberies the

taliban

planned to make that a thing of the foreign past in front of the taliban and our chamber no one is willing to criticize the new de facto conservative regime the Elders are full of praise abroad, Taliban cells are filling in this more than a dozen men, most accused of minor crimes and unpaid debts, it is not clear how long they will be detained, this man is surely accused of armed robbery wielding a knife he denies being a foreigner um this woman will only speak anonymously because she fears for her life she used to work as a terrorism judge at the US military base in Bagram and sent hundreds of Taliban to prison foreigner this judge lives in hiding the Taliban have announced an amnesty for their enemies, but human rights groups have documented numerous retaliatory killings, suspects continue to be detained even though the Taliban's judicial system is not fully implemented in Kabul, most of the courts are not functioning, but the accused have to wait in jail. local police stations although Islamic judges are already at work resolving financial disputes and fights between neighbors the plaintiffs tell us it is a vast improvement over the previous system which they considered inherently corrupt the men here say they are satisfied with the swift justice now available imparts Kabul's police stations and government offices are now male domains.

The Taliban tells female employees to stay home. for security so that they are not alone 22 years old she is one of the few television reporters still working in Afghanistan despite all the challenges the largest and most popular Afghan network in the 11 years since its launch eleven Tollo employees have committed suicide attacks with bombs, some of them directed and carried out by the Taliban newsrooms are under pressure two hundred and fifty media organizations have closed since the Taliban took power in August it is a very sensitive topic protests for women's rights special needs have been declared illegal the last time she was filmed at a protest her colleague held a foreigner foreigner for three hours warning shots are fired the protest is forcibly dissolved but a few minutes later amina receives news of a plan b all the protest It has been quickly relocated to a park and disguised as a birthday picnic until now under Taliban rule most working women have lost their jobs and the vast majority of girls' high schools do not have subtitles available.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for these women to make their voices heard every time they gather and they are forced to disburse. Later that afternoon, the Taliban cleared the political picnic. It's because they're not familiar with the airplane, so they eagerly wanted to get into the cockpit and see how we operate the airplane and they asked about the throttle control, how is it done? They knew they wanted to know what that plane is like to fly 500 kilometers southwest of Kabul is the second city of Afghanistan, the highly conservative Kandahar, here there are very few women on the streets, the bastion and birthplace of the Taliban, a faction of the new government and the supreme leader, greet. of the Kandahar region customers are few and the Kandahar barbershops, once busy since the Taliban took control abroad, our first stop, the long obligatory visit to the local branch of the Ministry of Information, the reporters who ventured into this area were kidnapped targets, now the tone has changed. changed um foreign since they took power Taliban officials have been pushing hard for international recognition thank you very much um armed with our accreditations we headed to the famous Kandahar central prison on our fourth visit they were allowed in to film as they advanced towards the capital the Taliban broke into the country's prisons one by one they freed a thousand Taliban fighters held here a powerful boost to their ranks the Taliban now turned jailers have been busy rounding up suspected criminals the detainees are left praying for mercy so far no NGO independent has been able to report on conditions inside Taliban prisons because foreign Afghanistan is by far the world's largest producer of heroin.

Most of it is exported, but not all drug addiction is widespread. Nearly 10 percent of the Afghan population is addicted to opioids in Taliban-run prisons. Addicts are forced into sudden detoxification. but very quickly complaints and concerns emergency foreign foreign foreign opium presents a paradox for the Taliban in Afghan cities there are addicts who rest and imprison and who consider drug use to be un-Islamic, but for decades one of their main sources has been to receive a part of the lucrative narcotics trade. Abroad, the Kandahar region has long been a center for the opium and heroin trade, escorted by the Taliban, we enter drug territory.

We are also joined by Ahmad, a well-connected local poppy farmer, it is a poor area and Ahmad tells us that in the current drought, poppies are the only crop worth growing an hour's drive west of Kandahar each week. Opium farmers come to sell their harvest. Ahmed negotiates with poppy farmers and drug dealers to allow us to film beneath the stalls bags of opium paste traders haggling over deals that the Taliban did ban. Opium cultivation dates back to the year 2000, although it did not last long. Now farmers fear that the emirate will try again after the peace agreements signed with the United States and tensions are rising, it is clear that the Taliban have no control over security here and are not. in crowd control quickly enter abroad for years this remote rural area was divided by war this is where mullah omar founded the taliban movement in the early 1990s in fact he was born right here in this village we are in the pashtun heartland the ethnic majority in

afghanistan

traditions here have not changed for generations after soviet troops withdrew in 1989, warlords fought for power muller omar and the taliban ended the bloodbath by imposing the order and its ultra-strict interpretation of Islam born in the neighboring country.

Pakistan, behind these mud walls, the madrasa or Koranic school where Omar made the movement grow today, a few Taliban use the building only as a resting place, but this fighter remembers his time in religious school, when he was fifteen years. Foreign madrasas or Islamic religious schools teach millions of children across Afghanistan. To read and recite the Quran, teachers here tell us that it normally takes between eight months and a year for a child to learn all the verses of the Quran through heart rate. Madrassas have gained influence, especially in poor areas, families can send their children to feed them. a reputation as a jihadist training ground the headmaster of this madrasa insists religious extremism is not present at his school abroad the headmaster chooses his words carefully today it is too dangerous to point the finger at Pakistan a safe haven for the Taliban where Koranic schools have incubated extremism it is a highly conservative environment in which girls learn their place from the beginning most girls here get nothing the focus is on foreign fundamentals foreign women foreign women have virtually disappeared from the public sphere in Kandahar those who are willing to speak on camera are rare 22 years old Student Zainab agrees to an interview in a safe place.

She says that since the Taliban took power, women are more afraid than ever and they don't let fear stop her. She and her sister are the sole breadwinners of a family of ten and she heads to central Kandahar every day to study. The Taliban has allowed private universities to remain open because they are already segregated by gender. She has just started studying to become a midwife The Taliban every time say that you can go out and enter society, the only thing we need tomorrow uh that is the only job doctor doctor that we need for society that is the only job that people will never allow us that you cannot go outside Zainab used to dream of a literary future before her plans were quashed by the Taliban takeover at the end of class students rush home before nightfall in the vast majority of Afghan provinces classes for girls older than 12 years are closed these students in Kandahar are in their final year they know that a medical career may be their only hope of studying in the future, so why not?

You friendly doctors, the Taliban have promised changes just months after time abroad is running out, the United States has frozen nine and a half billion dollars of Afghan assets, Taliban authorities face an economy in free fall With poverty that deepens day by day, the local currency, the Afghan currency, has collapsed and the banks are running out. People queue for hours and even days to get cash. It spreads across Kabul. Now there are huge flea markets. Afghans desperately sell their possessions. Pervase is a merchant and father of three foreign children, but in the end he gives in for 160.

Everything his family had left behind, their beds, furniture, washing machine, even the children's favorite toys abroad, widespread famine is looming among those most affected by the hordes of People who fled war UN warns one million children could starve or freeze this winter if they don't get immediate help Kabul is filled with camps of displaced people, some of whom make extreme sacrifices to keep people alive. your families. Tollo News reporter Amina is investigating the emergence of a chilling phenomenon. This mother was forced to make a terrible decision when her teenage daughter fell seriously ill. to sell her one-year-old baby as poverty in Afghanistan worsens more and more stories of children being sold amid chaos it is difficultknow exactly who the buyers are foreign machine every day crowds gather in front of the Ministry of Refugees in Kabul tribal leaders and refugee families seeking help this is the minister now in charge of the powerful warlord displaced from Afghanistan, halil haqqani, a leading member of the Haqqani network, notorious as the most lethal branch of the Taliban behind a series of deadly attacks in Kabul with suspected links to Al Qaeda today.

They are a formidable faction in the government holding several key positions it becomes a habit in the corridors of power of the emirates for several weeks we sent interview requests to try to meet with Taliban ministers, everything went unanswered after more than three hours of waiting he appears again the minister does not want to talk the united states designated helene Haceni a global terrorist a decade ago and placed a five million dollar reward on her head the coffers of the state of Afghanistan are empty the un sanctions and the United States vs. Taliban have cut off massive aid flows.

How do you feel when you are united? The states say that the minister is a terrorist what do you think about what is their problem is their problem if they take my country if you kill my brother and my sister and I defend for myself who will be the terrorist who takes the defender Ya You know, the media has made a lot of propaganda against these people, especially the family, but if you know him, you will see him totally different. He is a very kind person. He has come here. They never gave us that opportunity. Instead, we are allowed to interview his deputy.

Former battle commander and new to government work Our questions start simply Exactly how many people have fled their homes abroad UNHCR estimates that the figure is in fact more than three times higher than its basic message, although it is clear that international donors They have committed to releasing $280 million in aid but the money has not yet arrived. For now, no country has recognized the new emirate but its leaders insist that Afghanistan is in the hands of God.