The Enduring Legacy: Northern Alliance's Continued Influence In Afghanistan's Turbulent Politics

The Northern Alliance was a military alliance of groups that operated between 1992 and 2001, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan. The alliance was formed by non-Pashtun Northerners who had been part of the Republic of Afghanistan and became disaffected with Pashtun Khalqist Afghan Army officers holding control over non-Pashtun militias in the North. The Northern Alliance fought a defensive war against the Taliban regime and received support from India, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United States, and Uzbekistan. By 2001, the Northern Alliance controlled less than 10% of Afghanistan, cornered in the north-east and based in Badakhshan province.

In 2021, former Northern Alliance leaders and other anti-Taliban figures regrouped as the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan.

The Northern Alliance's formation and early resistance to the Taliban

The Northern Alliance was a loose coalition of militias in Afghanistan that opposed the first Taliban regime from 1996 until the regime's fall in 2001. The alliance was formed in 1992, following the withdrawal of the Soviets and the end of the Afghan War (1978-1992). Afghan guerrilla groups known as the mujahideen toppled the Soviet-backed government, and some of their leaders, including Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Masoud, formed an interim government. However, the conflicting interests of the diverse and multiethnic mujahideen rendered that government ineffective.

Militias and warlords throughout the country vied for control of their respective localities, leading to high levels of violence and extortion. The Taliban, a predominantly Pashtun faction that emerged in the Kandahar province in the mid-1990s, swept through southern Afghanistan, taking control of the capital, Kabul, in 1996. Members of the interim government fled north to Mazar-i-Sharif, where they formed the Northern Alliance.

The Northern Alliance fought a defensive war against the Taliban, receiving support from India, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United States, and Uzbekistan. By 2001, the alliance controlled less than 10% of the country, confined largely to the Panjshir Valley in the northeast. However, with US support, the tide turned in favour of the Northern Alliance in 2001. Following the September 11 attacks, the US launched an intensive bombing campaign against the Taliban and provided significant logistical support to the Northern Alliance, leading to the fall of Kabul in mid-November and the surrender of the Taliban's last stronghold in early December.

The Northern Alliance played a crucial role in establishing the post-Taliban interim government of Hamid Karzai in late 2001, and several of its members became prominent figures in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was formally installed in 2004.

The Northern Alliance's role in the US invasion of Afghanistan

The Northern Alliance was a military coalition of groups in Afghanistan who opposed the Taliban regime from 1996 until 2001. The Alliance was formed by Ahmad Shah Massoud, Abdul Rashid Dostum, and Ali Mazari, and included various factions, such as the Sunni Tajik-dominated Jamiat-e Islami, the Shia Hazara-dominated Hezb-e Wahdat, and the Sunni Uzbek and Turkmen-dominated Junbish-i Milli. It received support from India, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United States, and Uzbekistan.

In 2001, the Northern Alliance controlled less than 10% of Afghanistan, confined mostly to the northeast corner of the country. The Taliban, on the other hand, had seized around 85% of the country, including the capital, Kabul. The Northern Alliance was locked in a losing fight with the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War.

Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, the tide turned in favour of the Northern Alliance. The attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda, a militant Islamist organization operating out of Afghanistan, led by Osama bin Laden. In response, the United States declared a "war on terror" and, along with the United Kingdom, led a multinational invasion of Afghanistan with the stated goal of dismantling al-Qaeda and toppling the Taliban government. The US-led invasion, known as Operation Enduring Freedom, began on October 7, 2001, marking the first phase of the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan.

The US military presence in Afghanistan bolstered the Northern Alliance, providing significant logistical support. The Northern Alliance troops on the ground played a crucial role in the two-month war against the Taliban. The invasion consisted of American, British, Canadian, and Australian forces, with other countries providing logistical support. General Tommy Franks of US Central Command was the overall commander of the operation.

The Northern Alliance, with US air support, played a pivotal role in ousting the Taliban from power in Kabul and other major Afghan cities. The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, an important transportation hub and sacred Muslim site, was a significant victory, enabling humanitarian aid to reach millions facing starvation. The Northern Alliance entered Mazar-i-Sharif on November 10, followed by Kabul on November 13, and toppling the Taliban by December 17.

The Northern Alliance's collapse and the Taliban's takeover

The Northern Alliance was a military coalition of groups that operated between 1992 and 2001 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The alliance was formed by non-Pashtun Northerners who were originally with the Republic of Afghanistan led by Mohammad Najibullah but became disaffected with Pashtun Khalqist Afghan Army officers holding control over non-Pashtun militias in the North. The alliance was formed by defectors such as Rashid Dostum and Abdul Momim who allied with Ahmad Shah Massoud and Ali Mazari.

The Northern Alliance fought a defensive war against the Taliban regime and received support from India, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United States, and Uzbekistan. By 2001, the Northern Alliance controlled less than 10% of the country, cornered in the northeast and based in Badakhshan province.

The tide turned in favour of the alliance in 2001 when on September 11, members of al-Qaeda, a militant Islamist organization operating out of Afghanistan, hijacked and crashed four U.S. jetliners on U.S. soil, killing thousands of civilians. On October 7, after the Taliban failed to meet U.S. demands to dismantle al-Qaeda and extradite its leaders, the United States and its allies launched an intensive bombing campaign against the Taliban and provided significant logistical support to the Northern Alliance. The Taliban fled Kabul in mid-November and surrendered Kandahar city, its last stronghold, on December 6.

With the Taliban forced from control of the country, the Northern Alliance was dissolved as members and parties supported the new Afghan Interim Administration, with some members later becoming part of the Karzai administration.

In 2021, amidst the Fall of Kabul, former Northern Alliance leaders and other anti-Taliban figures regrouped as the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. The Taliban surprised many by capturing the provinces of Northern Afghanistan, which had been assumed to be anti-Pashtun and therefore against the Taliban. This raised questions about what had happened to the old Northern Alliance and its leaders, and why they were unable to keep the Taliban out of the Northern provinces. Many of the former leaders of the Northern Alliance are now elderly and have moved out of the country.

In August 2021, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, twenty years after their ouster by U.S.-led forces. The Taliban imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law despite pledges to respect the rights of women and religious and ethnic minority communities. The Taliban's takeover has also wiped out gains in Afghans' standards of living that were made over the two decades after the U.S. invasion, according to the UNDP.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan

The NRF is the only organised resistance to the Taliban in the country and is possibly planning an anti-Taliban guerrilla struggle. The NRF has called for an "inclusive government" in Afghanistan, but this has been ruled out by the Taliban's leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The NRF previously held de facto control over the Panjshir Valley, which was the only region not under Taliban control as of August 2021. However, the Taliban claimed victory in the province in September 2021, and the NRF was forced to retreat to the mountains.

In December 2022, the NRF controlled no territory but continued to carry out guerrilla attacks. By August 2023, NRF leader Ahmad Massoud claimed that the group was conducting attacks in 20 out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The NRF has expanded its operations into 12 provinces, mainly in the north of the country.

The NRF has urged the international community not to recognise the Taliban, arguing that the group lacks "internal legitimacy". Massoud has also criticised the US for its handling of Afghanistan, including the decision to withdraw troops in August 2021.

The NRF has been described as "weak" and lacking tribal support, and analysts have argued that it does not pose a serious threat to Taliban rule. However, some commentators have suggested that the NRF could gain more support if the Taliban continue to target persons with links to the former government.

The Northern Alliance's human rights abuses

The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, was a military alliance of groups that operated between 1992 and 2001. The alliance was formed by non-Pashtun Northerners who were originally with the Republic of Afghanistan led by Mohammad Najibullah but became disaffected with Pashtun Khalqist Afghan Army officers holding control over non-Pashtun militias in the North.

The human rights situation during combat was heavily dependent on the specific commander and their troops. Here are some examples of human rights abuses committed by the Northern Alliance:

• In 1997, planes belonging to General Dostum's militia dropped cluster munitions on residential areas of Kabul. Several civilians were killed and others wounded.
• In March 1995, Massoud forces were responsible for rape and looting after they seized control of Kabul's predominantly Hazara neighbourhood of Karte Seh.
• On the night of February 11, 1993, the Massoud and Sayyaf forces conducted a raid in west Kabul, killing Hazara civilians and committing widespread rape. Estimates of fatalities range from 70 to more than 100.
• In 1997, some 3,000 captured Taliban soldiers were summarily executed in and around Mazar-i-Sharif by Dostum's Junbish-i Milli forces under the command of Abdul Malik Pahlawan.
• In 2001, Dostum's forces killed between 250 and 3,000 Taliban prisoners who were shot or suffocated to death in metal truck containers. This became known as the Dasht-i-Leili massacre.
• Commanders and other members of the Northern Alliance sexually abused dancing boys they and their friends owned as part of a regional custom known as bacha bazi (boy play), a practice which was downplayed and covered up by United States and Afghan authorities.

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