While the Taliban regime is trying to portray a united front, the divide within is growing day by day, the rift between the Haqqanis and the Baradars refuse to die down. Amidst this, the new rulers of Afghanistan have announced key positions at the provincial level across Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: New provincial governors unveiled, rising internal threats for Taliban?

Afghan acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar appeared in a video to deny reports that he was hurt in a clash with a rival faction of Taliban. The video was posted on Wednesday (September 15)

"No this is not true; I am OK and healthy," Baradar said in an interview with state TV which was posted on Twitter by the Taliban's political office in Doha.

"The media says that there is internal disputes. There is nothing between us, it is not true."

In the clip, he was seen seated on a sofa next to an interviewer with an RTA state television microphone, apparently reading from a sheet of paper.

"There is nothing to worry about," he said.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/are-two-top-taliban-leaders-alive-several-questions-arise-after-disappearance-413010">Are two top Taliban leaders alive? Several questions arise after disappearance &nbsp;</a>

An official from the Taliban's cultural commission had said on Twitter earlier that the interview would be shown on RTA TV to disprove "enemy propaganda". Taliban has been repeatedly denying in recent days that Baradar had been hurt.

There were rumours for days that supporters of Baradar had clashed with members of Haqqani network. It was <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/are-two-top-taliban-leaders-alive-several-questions-arise-after-disappearance-413010">being speculated</a> whether Baradar was hurt or killed

In the clip, Baradar said he had been on a trip when the visit took place and had not been able to get back in time.

Baradar, one of the founding members of the Taliban and once seen as the likely head of a Taliban government, had not been seen in public for some time. He was not part of the ministerial delegation which met Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Kabul on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Anas Haqqani, younger brother of the Taliban's newly appointed Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, also issued a statement on Twitter denying reports of internal rifts in the movement.

The rumours follow speculation over rivalries between military commanders like Haqqani and leaders from the political office in Doha like Baradar, who led diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with the United States.

(With inputs from agencies)

Afghan acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar appeared in a video to deny reports that he was hurt in a clash with a rival faction of Taliban. The video was posted on Wednesday (September 15) "No this is not true; I am OK and healthy," Baradar said in an interview with state TV which was posted on Twitter by the Taliban's political office in Doha.

Afghan acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar appeared in a video to deny reports that he was hurt in a clash with a rival faction of Taliban. The video was posted on Wednesday (September 15) "No this is not true; I am OK and healthy," Baradar said in an interview with state TV which was posted on Twitter by the Taliban's political office in Doha. "The media says that there is internal disputes. There is nothing between us, it is not true." In the clip, he was seen seated on a sofa next to an interviewer with an RTA state television microphone, apparently reading from a sheet of paper. "There is nothing to worry about," he said. Also read | Are two top Taliban leaders alive? Several questions arise after disappearance An official from the Taliban's cultural commission had said on Twitter earlier that the interview would be shown on RTA TV to disprove "enemy propaganda". Taliban has been repeatedly denying in recent days that Baradar had been hurt. There were rumours for days that supporters of Baradar had clashed with members of Haqqani network. It was being speculated whether Baradar was hurt or killed In the clip, Baradar said he had been on a trip when the visit took place and had not been able to get back in time. Baradar, one of the founding members of the Taliban and once seen as the likely head of a Taliban government, had not been seen in public for some time. He was not part of the ministerial delegation which met Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Kabul on Sunday. On Wednesday, Anas Haqqani, younger brother of the Taliban's newly appointed Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, also issued a statement on Twitter denying reports of internal rifts in the movement. The rumours follow speculation over rivalries between military commanders like Haqqani and leaders from the political office in Doha like Baradar, who led diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with the United States. (With inputs from agencies)

Taliban's Baradar appears in video, refutes reports of him getting hurt

For about a year, Roberto Bravo lived in a windowless bedroom in a Brooklyn house owned by his brother, a dark basement unit he tried to cheer up with personal mementos: a photo of himself in a tuxedo surrounded by friends, and a flag of Ecuador, his home country, that he hung on the wall.

On Wednesday night, the apartment turned into a death trap as water gushed into his unit and quickly overwhelmed him.

He screamed for help — “Ayúdame por favor,” “Please help me” — as the water climbed to the ceiling. He never made it out.

Cramped basement apartments have long been a prevalent piece of New York City’s vast housing stock, a shadowy network of illegal rentals that often lack basic safety features like more than one way to get out, and that yet are a vital source of shelter for many immigrants like Bravo.

But after Wednesday’s record-shattering rainfall, the underground units turned into tormented scenes of life and death: Of the 13 people killed so far in New York City in Wednesday’s storm, at least 11 were in basement units, nearly as many dead as in Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida made landfall earlier this week.

That people living in illegal basement apartments face danger is not new. But while the worry has traditionally focused on fires or, to a lesser degree, carbon monoxide poisoning, climate change has now made these low-lying homes increasingly treacherous for a different reason: the likelihood of deadly flooding, when a wall of water blocks what is often the only means of escape.

“If there was ever proof that we need to address this basement issue, this is it,” said Annetta Seecharran, executive director of the Chhaya Community Development Corp., a group that works on housing issues for low-income South Asian and Indo-Caribbean New Yorkers. “We’re going to continue to have these climate-related issues.”

The floods on Wednesday have placed fresh scrutiny on New York City’s regulation of basement apartments. Because most are illegal, there is no reliable count of how many exist, but the number is likely in the tens of thousands.

In one of the most expensive housing markets in the world, they have offered low-income New Yorkers, including many working-class families who work in restaurants and hotels, affordable places to live. The basement apartments also provide some extra income for small landlords, many of whom are also immigrants.

“In most places if you have a house and your basement is big enough, most people are renting out their basements,” Seecharran said.

This week, however, as rain inundated New York, harrowing scenes played out in those basements.

Deborah Torres, who lives on the first floor of a building in Woodside, Queens, said she heard desperate pleas from the basement apartment of three members of a family, including a toddler, as floodwaters rushed in. A powerful cascade of water prevented anyone from getting into the apartment to help — or anyone from getting out. The family did not survive.

At a home in Forest Hills, Queens, floodwater burst through a glass sliding door into a basement apartment, pinning Darlene Lee, 48, between the apartment’s steel front door and the door frame. The property manager, Patricia Fuentes, heard Lee screaming for help, as others tried to free Lee while the waters rose. But they could not save her.

There have been long-standing problems with regulating such apartments. The law governing these apartments is complex, and includes rules that say a basement’s ceilings must be at least 7 feet 6 inches high and that living spaces must have a window. The city must approve apartments with a certificate of occupancy before they can be rented.

Between January 2011 and Tuesday, the city had received more than 157,000 complaints involving illegal conversions. Illegal conversions include not only basements that have been made into residential units, but also single-family homes that have been altered into multifamily buildings, and units that have been converted into short-term rentals.

But more than half of the cases were closed after an inspector couldn’t gain access to the dwelling, a New York Times analysis of buildings department data shows.

More than 77,000 of the complaints were in Queens, where at least 59% of cases were closed without inspectors gaining access — the highest rate of any borough.

At one home in Queens, where an 86-year-old woman was found dead in Wednesday’s storm, city records also showed two complaints of illegal basements in 2012. The complaints were closed after city building inspectors could not gain access to the basement.

A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Buildings said inspectors were required to make two attempts at gaining access to a property before the case can be closed. Tenants also have the right to deny entry, the spokesperson said.

In many cases, tenants or homeowners may not have an incentive to report any issues with safety because of a fear of getting fined or losing the home, said Jessica Katz, executive director of the Citizens Housing Planning Council, a nonprofit housing group.

She said the storm’s toll “highlights the housing crisis that we have that leads people to have to live in unsafe conditions in the first place, a code enforcement system that’s complaint-driven that wouldn’t necessarily be able to meet the needs of these tenants in such a situation, and a set of codes that make it very difficult to make the apartment safer.”

The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio did not answer questions about the city’s response to illegal basement homes on Thursday. But a City Hall official said anyone living in a basement apartment could call 311 or 911 to report issues without fear of being vacated, unless there were pressing life safety dangers. The official, who declined to be identified, said the city would announce additional measures on Friday.

Seecharran said that because of the growing need for affordable housing in New York City, and because many lower-income homeowners need supplemental income, people would continue to seek homes in basements, regardless of whether they were illegal.

“We need to bring basement apartments out of the shadows and into the light,” Seecharran said.

The city recently launched a pilot program in East New York, Brooklyn, designed to help people convert illegal units to legal, rentable apartments that meet safety standards. That program is ongoing but had been slowed by budget cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.

De Blasio called for legalizing basement units by helping homeowners with regulations and costs for conversion. Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor who is favored to win in November, also has expressed support for legalizing those units.

It is not clear whether all of the homes where people died during the storm on Wednesday were illegal units, but many have a history of complaints and violations of city code.

At the Woodside home, a certificate of occupancy shows that the basement had not been approved for residential use. At another home near Jamaica, Queens, where a 45-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man were found dead, a complaint claims that the space had been illegally converted to a residential space.

A spokesperson for the Department of Buildings said earlier Thursday that the agency was investigating the deaths, but did not have “any records of any previously issued violations at these properties related to illegal conversion issues.”

As the rains stopped and the sun shone, many residents of basement apartments in wide swaths of Queens were displaced and trying to find shelter. Property owners were struggling to access aid that could help them repair their homes and prevent mold or other problems from arising, Seecharran said.

“The damage has been done to countless basements, and for many people the basement is their home,” Gov. Kathy C. Hochul said at a news conference. “This is not a lower level where people have a game room, this is their home, and that’s what’s happened, so now we have a homeless situation, people who have to be in shelters.”

At the basement apartment where Bravo, 66, lived near Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, his brother, who owned the building, cleared out the debris on Thursday brought in by the floodwaters.

Bravo had served in the Ecuadorian army before immigrating to the United States in the 1980s, according to his brother Pablo Bravo. Roberto Bravo used to work in construction and paint homes. In recent years, however, he had gotten divorced and his health had deteriorated.

He walked to a senior center every day to eat and socialize, according to Walter Reyes, 68, who took care of him on many days. Asked if he knew whether the apartment was legal, Pablo Bravo said a building inspector told him it was not.

“I thought I was helping a family member,” he said.

Another tenant, Ricardo Garcia, 50, who works construction, said he pays $500 a month for his room in the home. He said he found out about the place from a friend.

Oliver De La Cruz, 22, a delivery driver, heard about another basement room from his cousin’s husband. De La Cruz said he never considered whether the apartment might be illegal.

He said he also never considered — or was warned about — the possibility of a flood and having to struggle to save himself.

He said he would never live in a basement apartment again.

For about a year, Roberto Bravo lived in a windowless bedroom in a Brooklyn house owned by his brother, a dark basement unit he tried to cheer up with personal mementos: a photo of himself in a tuxedo surrounded by friends, and a flag of Ecuador, his home country, that he hung on the wall.

For about a year, Roberto Bravo lived in a windowless bedroom in a Brooklyn house owned by his brother, a dark basement unit he tried to cheer up with personal mementos: a photo of himself in a tuxedo surrounded by friends, and a flag of Ecuador, his home country, that he hung on the wall. On Wednesday night, the apartment turned into a death trap as water gushed into his unit and quickly overwhelmed him. He screamed for help — “Ayúdame por favor,” “Please help me” — as the water climbed to the ceiling. He never made it out. Cramped basement apartments have long been a prevalent piece of New York City’s vast housing stock, a shadowy network of illegal rentals that often lack basic safety features like more than one way to get out, and that yet are a vital source of shelter for many immigrants like Bravo. But after Wednesday’s record-shattering rainfall, the underground units turned into tormented scenes of life and death: Of the 13 people killed so far in New York City in Wednesday’s storm, at least 11 were in basement units, nearly as many dead as in Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida made landfall earlier this week. That people living in illegal basement apartments face danger is not new. But while the worry has traditionally focused on fires or, to a lesser degree, carbon monoxide poisoning, climate change has now made these low-lying homes increasingly treacherous for a different reason: the likelihood of deadly flooding, when a wall of water blocks what is often the only means of escape. “If there was ever proof that we need to address this basement issue, this is it,” said Annetta Seecharran, executive director of the Chhaya Community Development Corp., a group that works on housing issues for low-income South Asian and Indo-Caribbean New Yorkers. “We’re going to continue to have these climate-related issues.” The floods on Wednesday have placed fresh scrutiny on New York City’s regulation of basement apartments. Because most are illegal, there is no reliable count of how many exist, but the number is likely in the tens of thousands. In one of the most expensive housing markets in the world, they have offered low-income New Yorkers, including many working-class families who work in restaurants and hotels, affordable places to live. The basement apartments also provide some extra income for small landlords, many of whom are also immigrants. “In most places if you have a house and your basement is big enough, most people are renting out their basements,” Seecharran said. This week, however, as rain inundated New York, harrowing scenes played out in those basements. Deborah Torres, who lives on the first floor of a building in Woodside, Queens, said she heard desperate pleas from the basement apartment of three members of a family, including a toddler, as floodwaters rushed in. A powerful cascade of water prevented anyone from getting into the apartment to help — or anyone from getting out. The family did not survive. At a home in Forest Hills, Queens, floodwater burst through a glass sliding door into a basement apartment, pinning Darlene Lee, 48, between the apartment’s steel front door and the door frame. The property manager, Patricia Fuentes, heard Lee screaming for help, as others tried to free Lee while the waters rose. But they could not save her. There have been long-standing problems with regulating such apartments. The law governing these apartments is complex, and includes rules that say a basement’s ceilings must be at least 7 feet 6 inches high and that living spaces must have a window. The city must approve apartments with a certificate of occupancy before they can be rented. Between January 2011 and Tuesday, the city had received more than 157,000 complaints involving illegal conversions. Illegal conversions include not only basements that have been made into residential units, but also single-family homes that have been altered into multifamily buildings, and units that have been converted into short-term rentals. But more than half of the cases were closed after an inspector couldn’t gain access to the dwelling, a New York Times analysis of buildings department data shows. More than 77,000 of the complaints were in Queens, where at least 59% of cases were closed without inspectors gaining access — the highest rate of any borough. At one home in Queens, where an 86-year-old woman was found dead in Wednesday’s storm, city records also showed two complaints of illegal basements in 2012. The complaints were closed after city building inspectors could not gain access to the basement. A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Buildings said inspectors were required to make two attempts at gaining access to a property before the case can be closed. Tenants also have the right to deny entry, the spokesperson said. In many cases, tenants or homeowners may not have an incentive to report any issues with safety because of a fear of getting fined or losing the home, said Jessica Katz, executive director of the Citizens Housing Planning Council, a nonprofit housing group. She said the storm’s toll “highlights the housing crisis that we have that leads people to have to live in unsafe conditions in the first place, a code enforcement system that’s complaint-driven that wouldn’t necessarily be able to meet the needs of these tenants in such a situation, and a set of codes that make it very difficult to make the apartment safer.” The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio did not answer questions about the city’s response to illegal basement homes on Thursday. But a City Hall official said anyone living in a basement apartment could call 311 or 911 to report issues without fear of being vacated, unless there were pressing life safety dangers. The official, who declined to be identified, said the city would announce additional measures on Friday. Seecharran said that because of the growing need for affordable housing in New York City, and because many lower-income homeowners need supplemental income, people would continue to seek homes in basements, regardless of whether they were illegal. “We need to bring basement apartments out of the shadows and into the light,” Seecharran said. The city recently launched a pilot program in East New York, Brooklyn, designed to help people convert illegal units to legal, rentable apartments that meet safety standards. That program is ongoing but had been slowed by budget cuts during the coronavirus pandemic. De Blasio called for legalizing basement units by helping homeowners with regulations and costs for conversion. Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor who is favored to win in November, also has expressed support for legalizing those units. It is not clear whether all of the homes where people died during the storm on Wednesday were illegal units, but many have a history of complaints and violations of city code. At the Woodside home, a certificate of occupancy shows that the basement had not been approved for residential use. At another home near Jamaica, Queens, where a 45-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man were found dead, a complaint claims that the space had been illegally converted to a residential space. A spokesperson for the Department of Buildings said earlier Thursday that the agency was investigating the deaths, but did not have “any records of any previously issued violations at these properties related to illegal conversion issues.” As the rains stopped and the sun shone, many residents of basement apartments in wide swaths of Queens were displaced and trying to find shelter. Property owners were struggling to access aid that could help them repair their homes and prevent mold or other problems from arising, Seecharran said. “The damage has been done to countless basements, and for many people the basement is their home,” Gov. Kathy C. Hochul said at a news conference. “This is not a lower level where people have a game room, this is their home, and that’s what’s happened, so now we have a homeless situation, people who have to be in shelters.” At the basement apartment where Bravo, 66, lived near Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, his brother, who owned the building, cleared out the debris on Thursday brought in by the floodwaters. Bravo had served in the Ecuadorian army before immigrating to the United States in the 1980s, according to his brother Pablo Bravo. Roberto Bravo used to work in construction and paint homes. In recent years, however, he had gotten divorced and his health had deteriorated. He walked to a senior center every day to eat and socialize, according to Walter Reyes, 68, who took care of him on many days. Asked if he knew whether the apartment was legal, Pablo Bravo said a building inspector told him it was not. “I thought I was helping a family member,” he said. Another tenant, Ricardo Garcia, 50, who works construction, said he pays $500 a month for his room in the home. He said he found out about the place from a friend. Oliver De La Cruz, 22, a delivery driver, heard about another basement room from his cousin’s husband. De La Cruz said he never considered whether the apartment might be illegal. He said he also never considered — or was warned about — the possibility of a flood and having to struggle to save himself. He said he would never live in a basement apartment again.

How the storm turned basement apartments into death traps

As Taliban commanders exchange their guns for the reins of power, some 38 million Afghans can do little but hold their breath and wait to see how their latest conquerors will rule.

That uncertainty, also palpable in foreign capitals from Washington to Beijing, is compounded by the deep contradiction between the group’s record of extremism and brutality during its prior reign, from 1996 to 2001, and its promises of moderation today.

History may offer a few clues. The Taliban are, depending on how one counts, something like the sixth or seventh rebel group to take over a country in the modern era. And while no two are exactly alike, certain patterns have emerged in how rebels rule.

Some learn to govern effectively, even to modernize, while others collapse in chaos or renewed war. Some grow crueler in power, lashing out at their subjects in fear and insecurity. Others moderate, though mostly in search of legitimacy and foreign aid.

But all seem to share a few traits:

A tightly bureaucratic authoritarianism, albeit sometimes allowing a degree of political opening. A focus on controlling or coercing elements of society seen as tied to the old order, sometimes through staggering violence. And a quest for foreign support and recognition as they strain to overcome the pariah status that tends to greet militants who shoot their way into power.

Those habits have a common purpose: consolidating authority. It is almost always the paramount concern for rebel rulers, who tend to understand that seizing a government building is not the same as becoming a government.

That years long process, civil war scholar Terrence Lyons has written, is shaped as much by the victors’ need for "postwar legitimacy and power consolidation" as it is by "the nature of victorious insurgent groups": hardened, disciplined and ideological.

Rebel Governance

Insurgents who seize power tend to quickly convert themselves into a very specific kind of government: party-based authoritarianism.

Think of China’s Communist Party, a one-time rebellion that took power in 1949. It is tightly unified, with rigid internal hierarchies and a practiced hand at bureaucratic organizing but little tolerance for dissent.

Rebels choose this model for the simple reason that it’s how they’re already organized.

"A successful rebel group is simultaneously a political party, a military organization and a business," Lyons wrote in a study on how rebels govern.

In power, the discipline and cohesion of rebel groups often make their governments more stable and pragmatic than other types of authoritarianism, perhaps even longer-lived.

They tend to express "ambivalence, if not hostility, toward democracy," Lyons found, even as they claim to represent popular liberation. And their experience in the zero-sum contests of war can lead them to see peacetime competition — elections, protests, dissent — as a threat.

After taking power over China, Mao Zedong invited intellectuals, journalists and others to critique the new government. But, apparently taken aback, he jailed or killed many who had taken up his offer.

Still, while rebel governments’ capacity for violence can be vast, years of hiding out in villages and mountain passes leaves them keenly aware of the value of cultivating popular support.

Many continue this practice in power, especially those who represent a particular ethnic or religious group, like the Taliban, and may wish to put the others at ease.

The rebels who seized Uganda in 1986 offered amnesty to supporters of the old order. Ethiopian militants who took power in 1991 hosted "peace and stability committees" across the country in an attempt to show that they intended to represent everyone. In 1994, when ethnic Tutsi militias took control of Rwanda amid a genocide of their kin, they promised reconciliation and a pan-ethnic unity government.

All three held elections, albeit mostly for show, and allowed a degree of political freedom, within tightly controlled limits.

But make no mistake: Insurgents, as a rule, cling to office with an authoritarian’s iron grip, guarded and perhaps paranoid about losing the power they fought so hard to win.

Purges and Mass Exodus

Rebel governments tend to organize much of their early rule around fears of being rejected by the public, undermined by holdovers from the previous government, even confronted by a rebellion of their own.

In response, they will often seek to control, coerce and even violently purge whole social classes seen as aligned to the old order, which may still hold sway over the culture, economy and governing bureaucracy.

One of Mao’s first acts was purging rural landowners, an economically powerful group considered to be right wing.

His forces rounded up thousands, encouraging local villagers to root out any left. Many were sent to forced labor camps or beaten to the death on the spot. Mao estimated the death toll at 2 million, though some historians put the number at 200,000.

The violence of Mao’s campaign is unusual, but the scale is not.

On taking power in 1959, Cuba’s revolutionaries made clear that they saw the middle and upper classes, which had largely backed the old government, as enemies. About 250,000 people fled. Their exodus permanently altered Cuban society.

The Taliban have said they wish to avoid this in Afghanistan, warning of a "brain drain" if its educated middle class flees. The group did not stand in the way as tens of thousands were evacuated over the past two weeks but has said it wishes to work with those who remain.

Since the extremes of the Cold War, when insurgents easily won superpower blessing for mass murder, rebels have learned to cater to the expectations of the international community.

Uganda has made a show of moderation and inclusion that, while superficial, averted the worst fears of postwar recrimination.

Seeking Recognition

The quest for legitimacy, to persuade subjects at home and governments abroad to treat insurgents as a rightful government, typically involves seeking public acknowledgment from social and religious leaders, even the war’s losers.

Accounts of the Taliban’s advance toward Kabul have included such scenes: local leaders or strongmen greeting the group in a show of acceptance.

But much of rebels’ focus is often abroad. Recognition from foreign powers can bring legitimacy and aid — essential for rebuilding after civil war — and stave off the threat of isolation.

Rwandan and Ugandan rebel leaders sat down with Western diplomats even as their forces still fought for control, promising to do as told.

The Taliban’s diplomatic outreach has been almost obsequious, praising even long-hostile governments such as India’s. For the group that harbored al-Qaida, international acceptance is unlikely to come easily.

Others have arguably confronted chillier receptions. It took Mao’s government 22 years to secure United Nations recognition and several more to win over the United States.

The episode is instructive. Though Mao oversaw a world power, the weaknesses inherent in rebel rule created a need for recognition deep enough that he radically altered his foreign policy to get it.

Internationally reviled and facing a potentially devastating economic crisis, the Taliban’s need may be even greater.

Barnett R. Rubin, an Afghanistan scholar, wrote this spring that the group’s "quest for recognition and eventual eligibility for aid provides some of the most important leverage that other actors have over them."

Still, China’s government changed only in the ways that the world demanded of it. As President Richard Nixon landed in Beijing in 1972, his hosts were overseeing one of the longest-running political purges in modern history. The inclinations and habits of their rebel origins still held.

As Taliban commanders exchange their guns for the reins of power, some 38 million Afghans can do little but hold their breath and wait to see how their latest conquerors will rule.

As Taliban commanders exchange their guns for the reins of power, some 38 million Afghans can do little but hold their breath and wait to see how their latest conquerors will rule. That uncertainty, also palpable in foreign capitals from Washington to Beijing, is compounded by the deep contradiction between the group’s record of extremism and brutality during its prior reign, from 1996 to 2001, and its promises of moderation today. History may offer a few clues. The Taliban are, depending on how one counts, something like the sixth or seventh rebel group to take over a country in the modern era. And while no two are exactly alike, certain patterns have emerged in how rebels rule. Some learn to govern effectively, even to modernize, while others collapse in chaos or renewed war. Some grow crueler in power, lashing out at their subjects in fear and insecurity. Others moderate, though mostly in search of legitimacy and foreign aid. But all seem to share a few traits: A tightly bureaucratic authoritarianism, albeit sometimes allowing a degree of political opening. A focus on controlling or coercing elements of society seen as tied to the old order, sometimes through staggering violence. And a quest for foreign support and recognition as they strain to overcome the pariah status that tends to greet militants who shoot their way into power. Those habits have a common purpose: consolidating authority. It is almost always the paramount concern for rebel rulers, who tend to understand that seizing a government building is not the same as becoming a government. That years long process, civil war scholar Terrence Lyons has written, is shaped as much by the victors’ need for "postwar legitimacy and power consolidation" as it is by "the nature of victorious insurgent groups": hardened, disciplined and ideological. Rebel Governance Insurgents who seize power tend to quickly convert themselves into a very specific kind of government: party-based authoritarianism. Think of China’s Communist Party, a one-time rebellion that took power in 1949. It is tightly unified, with rigid internal hierarchies and a practiced hand at bureaucratic organizing but little tolerance for dissent. Rebels choose this model for the simple reason that it’s how they’re already organized. "A successful rebel group is simultaneously a political party, a military organization and a business," Lyons wrote in a study on how rebels govern. In power, the discipline and cohesion of rebel groups often make their governments more stable and pragmatic than other types of authoritarianism, perhaps even longer-lived. They tend to express "ambivalence, if not hostility, toward democracy," Lyons found, even as they claim to represent popular liberation. And their experience in the zero-sum contests of war can lead them to see peacetime competition — elections, protests, dissent — as a threat. After taking power over China, Mao Zedong invited intellectuals, journalists and others to critique the new government. But, apparently taken aback, he jailed or killed many who had taken up his offer. Still, while rebel governments’ capacity for violence can be vast, years of hiding out in villages and mountain passes leaves them keenly aware of the value of cultivating popular support. Many continue this practice in power, especially those who represent a particular ethnic or religious group, like the Taliban, and may wish to put the others at ease. The rebels who seized Uganda in 1986 offered amnesty to supporters of the old order. Ethiopian militants who took power in 1991 hosted "peace and stability committees" across the country in an attempt to show that they intended to represent everyone. In 1994, when ethnic Tutsi militias took control of Rwanda amid a genocide of their kin, they promised reconciliation and a pan-ethnic unity government. All three held elections, albeit mostly for show, and allowed a degree of political freedom, within tightly controlled limits. But make no mistake: Insurgents, as a rule, cling to office with an authoritarian’s iron grip, guarded and perhaps paranoid about losing the power they fought so hard to win. Purges and Mass Exodus Rebel governments tend to organize much of their early rule around fears of being rejected by the public, undermined by holdovers from the previous government, even confronted by a rebellion of their own. In response, they will often seek to control, coerce and even violently purge whole social classes seen as aligned to the old order, which may still hold sway over the culture, economy and governing bureaucracy. One of Mao’s first acts was purging rural landowners, an economically powerful group considered to be right wing. His forces rounded up thousands, encouraging local villagers to root out any left. Many were sent to forced labor camps or beaten to the death on the spot. Mao estimated the death toll at 2 million, though some historians put the number at 200,000. The violence of Mao’s campaign is unusual, but the scale is not. On taking power in 1959, Cuba’s revolutionaries made clear that they saw the middle and upper classes, which had largely backed the old government, as enemies. About 250,000 people fled. Their exodus permanently altered Cuban society. The Taliban have said they wish to avoid this in Afghanistan, warning of a "brain drain" if its educated middle class flees. The group did not stand in the way as tens of thousands were evacuated over the past two weeks but has said it wishes to work with those who remain. Since the extremes of the Cold War, when insurgents easily won superpower blessing for mass murder, rebels have learned to cater to the expectations of the international community. Uganda has made a show of moderation and inclusion that, while superficial, averted the worst fears of postwar recrimination. Seeking Recognition The quest for legitimacy, to persuade subjects at home and governments abroad to treat insurgents as a rightful government, typically involves seeking public acknowledgment from social and religious leaders, even the war’s losers. Accounts of the Taliban’s advance toward Kabul have included such scenes: local leaders or strongmen greeting the group in a show of acceptance. But much of rebels’ focus is often abroad. Recognition from foreign powers can bring legitimacy and aid — essential for rebuilding after civil war — and stave off the threat of isolation. Rwandan and Ugandan rebel leaders sat down with Western diplomats even as their forces still fought for control, promising to do as told. The Taliban’s diplomatic outreach has been almost obsequious, praising even long-hostile governments such as India’s. For the group that harbored al-Qaida, international acceptance is unlikely to come easily. Others have arguably confronted chillier receptions. It took Mao’s government 22 years to secure United Nations recognition and several more to win over the United States. The episode is instructive. Though Mao oversaw a world power, the weaknesses inherent in rebel rule created a need for recognition deep enough that he radically altered his foreign policy to get it. Internationally reviled and facing a potentially devastating economic crisis, the Taliban’s need may be even greater. Barnett R. Rubin, an Afghanistan scholar, wrote this spring that the group’s "quest for recognition and eventual eligibility for aid provides some of the most important leverage that other actors have over them." Still, China’s government changed only in the ways that the world demanded of it. As President Richard Nixon landed in Beijing in 1972, his hosts were overseeing one of the longest-running political purges in modern history. The inclinations and habits of their rebel origins still held.

How will the Taliban govern? A history of rebel rule offers clues

Top leaders of the United Arab Emirates will arrive&nbsp;in Kabul to meet with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as he prepares to build a new government in Afghanistan.

According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, a UAE plane carrying at least 60 tonnes of food and health products have already landed at Kabul airport on Friday.

In related news, ex-Afghan President Asraf Ghani has sought asylum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, after Tajikistan denied his jet permission to land there.

On the request of the US, the UAE has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan people who will be evacuated from their country for ten days on their route to a third country.&nbsp;

Furthermore, the UAE has participated in the Doha peace negotiations alongside the US, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.

(With inputs from agencies)

Top leaders of the United Arab Emirates will arrive in Kabul to meet with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as he prepares to build a new government in Afghanistan.

Top leaders of the United Arab Emirates will arrive in Kabul to meet with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as he prepares to build a new government in Afghanistan. According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, a UAE plane carrying at least 60 tonnes of food and health products have already landed at Kabul airport on Friday. In related news, ex-Afghan President Asraf Ghani has sought asylum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, after Tajikistan denied his jet permission to land there. On the request of the US, the UAE has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan people who will be evacuated from their country for ten days on their route to a third country. Furthermore, the UAE has participated in the Doha peace negotiations alongside the US, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Taliban. (With inputs from agencies)

As Baradar prepares to lead the new Afghan government, UAE leaders to arrive in Kabul 

Taliban’s co-founder <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/who-is-mullah-abdul-ghani-baradar-that-can-lead-new-afghanistan-government-410422">Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar</a> will be leading the Afghanistan government, as per sources.<o:p></o:p>

Sources from the Taliban have revealed that the full government will be announced sometime post the Friday afternoon prayers.

<o:p></o:p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is to head the executive council/Government of the Afghan Taliban which would be functioning under the Emir, Taliban sources say. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afghanistan</a>
— Anas Mallick (@AnasMallick) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnasMallick/status/1433681883364306951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/who-is-mullah-abdul-ghani-baradar-that-can-lead-new-afghanistan-government-410422">Baradar</a> currently handles Taliban's political office and is labelled to be one of the most important members of the leadership if the terrorist organisation.

He will also be&nbsp;joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-feel-betrayed-as-us-army-disabled-helicopters-and-planes-before-leaving-afghanistan-410379" hreflang="en">Taliban feel ‘betrayed’ as US army disabled helicopters and planes before leaving Afghanistan</a>

Sources have claimed the Taliban's supreme leader,&nbsp;Haibatullah Akhunzada, will soon step out in public eye after years of staying in hiding, soon. He will, reportedly, concentrate on religious matters and governance of the state as per the Sharia law, sources claim.

The new government is in final stages of formation and the names are expected to be announced very soon as the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, as per sources. <o:p></o:p>

"All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government," a Taliban official told news agency Reuters.

<o:p>Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 and gave the US and other countries time till August 31 to evacuate their citizens and withdraw troops from the nation. Since the beginning of September, Taliban has been planning to launch the new government, with reports of the supreme leader being present in Kandahar.</o:p>

Meanwhile, the Taliban has been working on reinstating normalcy in Afghanistan since the US troops left.&nbsp;Ariana Afghan Airlines also announced on Friday that domestic flights will now be resuming.

Taliban’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be leading the Afghanistan government, as per sources. Sources from the Taliban have revealed that the full government will be announced sometime post the Friday afternoon prayers.

Taliban’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be leading the Afghanistan government, as per sources. Sources from the Taliban have revealed that the full government will be announced sometime post the Friday afternoon prayers. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is to head the executive council/Government of the Afghan Taliban which would be functioning under the Emir, Taliban sources say. #Afghanistan — Anas Mallick (@AnasMallick) September 3, 2021 × Baradar currently handles Taliban's political office and is labelled to be one of the most important members of the leadership if the terrorist organisation. He will also be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government. Also read | Taliban feel ‘betrayed’ as US army disabled helicopters and planes before leaving Afghanistan Sources have claimed the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, will soon step out in public eye after years of staying in hiding, soon. He will, reportedly, concentrate on religious matters and governance of the state as per the Sharia law, sources claim. The new government is in final stages of formation and the names are expected to be announced very soon as the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, as per sources. "All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government," a Taliban official told news agency Reuters. Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 and gave the US and other countries time till August 31 to evacuate their citizens and withdraw troops from the nation. Since the beginning of September, Taliban has been planning to launch the new government, with reports of the supreme leader being present in Kandahar. Meanwhile, the Taliban has been working on reinstating normalcy in Afghanistan since the US troops left. Ariana Afghan Airlines also announced on Friday that domestic flights will now be resuming.

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to lead new Afghan government: Sources

To intensify efforts to establish a new Afghan government, Taliban's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has arrived in Kabul on Saturday to hold talks with fellow group members and other politicians. &nbsp;

A senior Taliban official told AFP, "He will be in Kabul to meet jihadi leaders and politicians for an inclusive government set-up." &nbsp;&nbsp;

Baradar is the chief of the Taliban's political office. The Taliban leader took a C17 aircraft from Qatar and chose to land in the group's spiritual birthplace Kandahar on Tuesday night. The city was the capital of the group during its first time in power in the 90s. &nbsp;

After his return, the Taliban announced its rule would be "different" this time. &nbsp;

A controversial figure in the Taliban, Baradar was arrested in 2010 in Pakistan but was released from prison three years ago at the request of the former Trump administration as it prepared to open peace talks with the militant group. &nbsp;

Baradar is widely seen as a possible future leader of Afghanistan as the Taliban take control of Kabul. &nbsp;

He oversaw the signing of the US forces' withdrawal agreement with the Americans. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

To intensify efforts to establish a new Afghan government, Taliban's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has arrived in Kabul on Saturday to hold talks with fellow group members and other politicians.

To intensify efforts to establish a new Afghan government, Taliban's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has arrived in Kabul on Saturday to hold talks with fellow group members and other politicians. A senior Taliban official told AFP, "He will be in Kabul to meet jihadi leaders and politicians for an inclusive government set-up." Baradar is the chief of the Taliban's political office. The Taliban leader took a C17 aircraft from Qatar and chose to land in the group's spiritual birthplace Kandahar on Tuesday night. The city was the capital of the group during its first time in power in the 90s. After his return, the Taliban announced its rule would be "different" this time. A controversial figure in the Taliban, Baradar was arrested in 2010 in Pakistan but was released from prison three years ago at the request of the former Trump administration as it prepared to open peace talks with the militant group. Baradar is widely seen as a possible future leader of Afghanistan as the Taliban take control of Kabul. He oversaw the signing of the US forces' withdrawal agreement with the Americans. (With inputs from agencies)

With new Afghan govt on cards, Taliban's co-founder Baradar reaches Kabul

baradar

Baradar, News on Baradar, stories on Baradar, articles on Baradar, Baradar stories at Wion, Baradar news, Baradar latest news