south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015

QUILL IAM
however, they were ousted in 2001 by a joint U.S. and Northern
Alliance effort. Mullah Omar has not been seen in public since that
invasion. That reclusiveness helped him cultivate a charismatic
mystique that aided Taliban cohesiveness for much of the past
decade. However, recently it appears to be working against him.
Though the Taliban is theoretically presided over by the Quetta
Shura council, it may in fact have split into factions as well. A group
of IMU fighters formerly allied to the Taliban recently declared
their allegiance to IS on the grounds of Omar’s lack of visible
authority 48 .
There are strong divisions in attitudes to negotiation within the
movement. There are ongoing unofficial talks in Oslo between
Taliban members, female civil society and government
representatives, to discuss the rights of women under a possible
power sharing agreement - a significant concern for the architects
of a prospective peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan
government. In the talks, the Taliban have indicated that they
would allow female education, and that they would allow women
to work in “male dominated professions”. However, such views are
unlikely to hold true across the whole of the Taliban, which has
seen divisions among its leadership about whether or not to
participate in government proceedings before 49 .
The Taliban was originally provided arms by the United State due
to their opposition to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the
weapons are still in the hands of many insurgents today. 50 Pakistan
also supported the Taliban heavily during their 5-year control of
Afghanistan, providing millions in aid money and ISI assistance. 51
Much of the Taliban's current finances come from drug trade.
India
1. Ansar al-Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AUT) acts within India and across the
borders of Kashmir, though its precise location, whereabouts, and
scope of activity is unknown:
It is likely that group is based in Afghanistan, and it threatened
India shortly before their consulate was attacked in Afghanistan
in May, 2014. 52
It is unclear whether the group has successfully carried out any
operations, or whether it is part of an umbrella group in Central
and Southern Asia. In October 2013, the group released a video
through its media arm in order to appeal to Indian Muslims. The
video was titled, ‘In the Land of the Hind: Lions of India – ‘Usud
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