January 3, 2006
by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK – The appointment of a religious-affairs official of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime to the country's new parliament is prompting concern among international human rights advocates.

"There's a growing feeling of an opportunity lost," Sam Zarifi, Asia research director for Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights organization, said recently after a three-week visit to Afghanistan.

Zarifi's visit coincided with the convening on Dec. 19 of Afghanistan's first democratically elected parliament since the ouster of the Taliban in a United States-led military campaign in late 2001.

He said the appointment of Arsala Rahmani, a high-ranking official of the Taliban religious-affairs ministry, to the parliament's upper house is contributing to a feeling of "real pessimism" among human-rights groups in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"A lot of Afghans see his presence now and ask, ‘Why is he back?'" Zarifi said, referring to Rahmani.

The former Taliban official was appointed by President Hamid Karzai, who has the support of the United States and western allies.

The religious-affairs ministry was notorious for demanding strict adherence to Islamic law when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. The Taliban reaped international condemnation for its human-rights record, particularly for its treatment of women. However, Zarifi noted that the Taliban is increasingly popular among ordinary Afghans.

Observers say its popularity is fueled by a growing perception that the Afghan government is corrupt and ineffective and that day-to-day security is declining.

"There are several districts, particularly in southern Afghanistan, where the government doesn't even really exist," Zarifi said.

The Taliban and other government opponents, he said, are encouraged by signals that the United States and its allies are undergoing "a wavering commitment on the ground."

In some areas, "the U.S. projects control during the day, but the Taliban projects control at night," Zarifi said.

Presbyterian News Service