Unraveling the Taliban phenomenon has never been easy, but it has undoubtedly become more complex with the rise of the Pakistani Taliban in 2003, making it necessary to differentiate this group from the Afghan Taliban. The former constituted the 'original' Taliban, militants who captured power in Afghanistan against heavy odds in 1996 by fighting and defeating the mujahideen who had earlier waged jihad, or holy war, to oust the Soviets. But members of the Afghan Taliban have been vigilant, regrouping after the ouster of their regime in Afghanistan in December 2001 as a result of the post-11 September 2001 invasion by the US. Indeed, militants with the Afghan Taliban are now resurgent, and pose a tough challenge to troops from 41 NATO and non-NATO countries, including the US, United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Those now considered Pakistani Taliban, drawing inspiration from their Afghan, Pashto-speaking, counterparts, have fought the Pakistan Army and brought it to a standstill in some of the tribal areas such as South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bajaur, Mohmand and Darra Adamkhel as well as Swat district. The militants have established their influence in a wide swath of territory bordering Afghanistan, and have forced the Pakistan government to sign lopsided peace treaties with them. However, the Pakistani Taliban did not enjoy the kind of public support that the Afghan Taliban did, due to the simple fact that the latter group has been resisting US-led foreign forces occupying its homeland. Blame is heaped on the Pakistani Taliban militants, on the other hand, for destabilising their country and fighting their own soldiers.
At any time, this focus on armed militancy is a departure from the group's purported mission of acquiring and spreading knowledge. As is well-known, Taliban, in Pashto – the mother tongue of most Taliban – is the plural of 'Talib', the seeker of knowledge, a term used for students of madrassas. Taliban who graduate from madrassas and receive a degree are called Mullah, Maulvi or Maulana, or respected 'givers of knowledge'. Mullah Mohammad Omar, the founder of the Taliban Islamic Movement, describes himself as a 'Talib' instead of 'Mullah' because he admits that he was unable to complete his religious education and obtain a degree. However, his followers not only call him a Mullah and Mujahid, but also refer to him as Amirul Momineen, or Commander of the Faithful.
The origins of the Taliban are a matter of debate, but most writers and analysts maintain that the group was created by Pakistan, in order to install a friendly regime in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. For their part, Taliban leaders insist that they constitute an indigenous movement that emerged in 1994 when the warring Afghan mujahideen groups, which had overthrown the Soviets in 1988, failed to provide security to the Afghan people or fulfil the promise of enforcing a system of government based on Islamic law. That Taliban members were welcomed by most Afghans when they first emerged was primarily due to the hope that they would bring peace to a ravaged state torn apart by warlords, and defeat the Afghan mujahideen. The members of the latter, due to their infighting and excesses against the people, were by that point hated, and were often referred to as topakyan, the Pashto term for gunmen. In due course, however, Taliban affiliates likewise began to lose support. They had begun behaving like other armed Islamist groups, and became involved in a bloody and protracted struggle for power with the rival Northern Alliance and other mujahideen factions.