afghanistanthe isi called in the Taliban who routed the militia, killed its commander
and hung his body from a tank barrel. On 5 November Kandahar itself
fell after the isi reportedly paid Mullah Naqib, Kandahar’s most powerful
commander, $1.5 million not to oppose the takeover. In December, with
traffic flowing unhindered on the Kandahar–Chaman highway, the first
convoy of Pakistani trucks arrived in Quetta laden with Uzbek cotton.
The fall of Kandahar transformed the Taliban from a small, lightly
armed militia into a major military force armed with Russian tanks, artil-
lery, helicopters and even a few MiG jets. The isi continued to truck in
munitions and provided the Taliban with hundreds of fast-moving pick-
ups and an almost endless supply of cash, while Sami al-Haq called on
Frontier madrasas to send talibs to join the jihad. Within a matter of weeks,
the Taliban ranks had swollen to some 20,000 volunteers. As the mili-
tary balance of power in southern Afghanistan shifted, many mujahidin
commanders and tribal leaders, including Durranis, pledged their alle-
giance to the Taliban. A key facilitator in this process was ‘Abd al-Ahad
Karzai, head of the Popalzai clan, of which the Saddozai royal line was a
sept. Karzai’s father had been Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly in
the reign of King Zahir Shah, while his son Hamid Karzai had been Deputy
Foreign Minister in the Rabbani government until Mas‘ud arrested him
for allegedly spying for Hikmatyar’s Hizb-i Islami and the isi. Somewhat
fortuitously, Hamid Karzai escaped from jail during a particularly fierce
bombardment of Kabul and fled to Quetta, where he and his father
endorsed the Taliban and began to provide cash and logistical support
for the movement.
Following the fall of Kandahar, Uruzgan, ‘Omar’s home province, and
Zabul fell without a struggle and the only opposition the Taliban faced
in Helmand province was from the commander at Girishk. In a bloody
battle, which saw heavy losses on both sides, the Taliban were once more
victorious and they followed up their victory by crossing the Helmand
and attacking the Shindand airbase, only for Isma‘il Khan to defeat them.
A second column sent up the Ghazni highway had more success and in
early February 1995 the Taliban took Maidan Shahr, the provincial capital
of Wardak, from Hizb-i Islami. A week later Hikmaytar abandoned Chahar
Asiyab and Pul-i ‘Alam on the southern outskirts of Kabul. In a matter of
five months, the Taliban had secured control of Afghanistan’s main south-
ern highway from the Helmand to the Pakistan border and from Kandahar
to the outskirts of Kabul.
The sudden irruption of the Taliban caught President Rabbani and
Mas‘ud by surprise, although initially they hoped they could form an