SERIES 2, EPISODE 1 “Revolutionary decrees and the Taliban’s assault on Afghan women”

The Taliban are now well into a second year of imposing their revived Islamic Emirate on Afghanistan. The Taliban’s Amir, Haibatollah Akhundzada, has published a series of radical decrees which he claims are, step by step, imposing an Islamic system of government and law. In the latest moves, the Taliban have banned girls from university and stopped Afghan women from working in aid agencies, except in the health sector. This is not the Afghanistan which was promised by the men who signed the US-Taliban Doha agreement in February 2020. IN this episode, over chai, Tamim and Michael assess the outcome of a mission to Afghanistan by UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammad. They locate this exchange in the context of the latest stage of the Taliban’s roll-out of their Islamic Emirate.

EPISODE 6 – The peace process

In seizing Kabul, the Taliban collapsed the Islamic republic under which Afghanistan has been governed for twenty years. They also collapsed the peace process, abruptly ending three years of intense efforts by the US to broker a settlement between the Afghan conflicting parties. But the conflict in Afghanistan is not over and all the key questions around the country’s future remain unresolved. This episode asks what is happening on peace-making, over a year after the last formal process was aborted. Features guest interview with Mawlvi Atta ur Rahman Saleem, Deputy Chairman of the Republic’s High Commission for National Reconcoliation.

EPISODE 5 – The armed conflict

The Taliban’s uncontested capture of Kabul did not end armed conflict in Afghanistan. A year on, the Taliban find themselves fighting two insurgencies. In the mountains of the north a “National Resistance Front” is fighting against the Taliban’s Islamic authoritarianism. In Kabul and the cities Daesh, is waging a bloody campaign, accusing the Taliban of being worldly western stooges. This episode looks at why violence continues despite the decision by the US and others to sit out this round of the Afghan war. Features guest interview with the Republic’s Minister for Refugees, Nur Rahman Akhlaqi.

EPISODE 4 Humanitarian assistance, the state of the media and the Taliban’s quest for recognition.

The Taliban leaders expected that the international community would soon accept the reality of the change of rulers in Kabul. They counted on prompt diplomatic recognition to open up access to the international finance needed to run Afghanistan. Instead, no country has recognised the Islamic Emirate and official development assistance remains cut off. Episode 4 asks what Afghanistan’s new isolation has meant for all those struggling with the country’s humanitarian crisis. Features guest interview with an Afghan journalist and civil rights activist.

Episode 3: In this episode, we again take a pair of issues – firstly the state of human rights under the Taliban and secondly the exodus of Afghans from their country triggered by the Taliban takeover. The human rights crisis and the mass exodus from the country are each significant aspects of Afghan experience. They are also intricately related. Egregious human rights abuses conducted by Taliban forces with impunity have helped to drive Afghans across the borders. Features guest interview with Shaharzad Akbar, Chairperson of the Republic’s Independent Human Rights Commission.

In forcing their way into Kabul on the 15th of August 2021, the Taliban took control of the Afghan state. In this episode we consider what the Taliban have done with the state; the extent to which they have pursued radical transformation or continuity. And what has Taliban statecraft meant for Afghans living under Taliban rule and for the Afghan economy. Features guest interview with a veteran Taliban commander.

Episode 1: Victory and Collapse. Prof Michael Semple of Queen’s University, Belfast, explores how Afghan perspectives have been shaped by the Taliban being in power for a year. Prof Semple speaks with analyst Tamim Asey and also social media analyst Wahdat Wassel.