Since they celebrated the fall of Kabul a month ago - after a years-long war that toppled the US-backed government - 250 Taliban fighters under Abdul Rahman Neves have struggled to adapt to their new operational tasks of securing the Afghan capital.

And the writer Susanna George quotes in an article published by the American newspaper "Washington Post" about Commander Neves saying that all the fighters who work under his command love jihad and fighting;

"So when they came to Kabul they did not feel comfortable, there is no more fighting here."

Just a few months ago, the unit led by Neves was launching attacks on government sites and convoys, but today its fighters stand at checkpoints to check cars and check their registration papers.

“Most of the fighters under my command are in distress because they lost the opportunity to be martyred in the war. I tell them you need to relax, and you still have a chance to become martyrs, but it takes time to adapt (to the new life),” says Neves.

openness to change

Taliban leaders claim - according to the author - that their movement has changed since the last time it took control of Afghanistan in the 1990s, and they asserted that it is capable of being a more tolerant ruling force.

The Washington Post journalist comments in her article on this, saying that the interviews she conducted with more than 20 Taliban military commanders, political leaders, and combatants - after the fall of Kabul - indicate that the movement is open to some change, "but it is a change dedicated to the strict enforcement of laws, as they are." The case in the separation of the sexes,” noting that it is an approach dating back to the founding of the movement.

While the movement's political leadership has spent years holding meetings with foreign officials in preparation for peace talks with the United States, Taliban fighters, from soldiers and junior ranks, have been fighting a war "belief in the belief that it is a clear path to heaven," in the words of Susanna George.


The writer returns to quote the military commander, Abd al-Rahman Nefez, as saying, "Our new mission is different, and this is a big change, and day after day everyone is gaining more experience, and for this reason we are changing."

His fighters praise his speech;

This is a fighter named Ahmed (19 years old), who says, "We are obeying the orders of our leadership, which told us that this is our new duty."

But many of these men told the author of the article that they felt nostalgic for their villages in Wardak Province (central Afghanistan), from which Neves and his soldiers hail.

Commander Neves says that in Wardak they used to live among the people, "not as it is now."

Referring to the government police compound, which is now their headquarters.

In the center of the capital, Kabul, Taliban leaders described similar ordeals;

When "peaceful" protesters were recently attacked by Taliban fighters who were sent to disperse their demonstration, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid justified the violence used, saying that "the fighters are not yet trained to deal with protests."

According to the article's author, Mujahid offered a similar justification when journalists were severely beaten.

Challenges

She explained that the Taliban leadership - made up of figures belonging to the movement's old guard - is under great pressure to restore billions of dollars in aid that kept the previous government going before it was recently overthrown.

Many of the countries that control the flow of that money stress that the Taliban's actions with regard to human rights, women's rights, and civil liberties;

It will be a key element in making its decisions in this regard.

Susanna George noted that increasing numbers of Taliban fighters are wearing uniforms in Kabul, a development that the movement's leadership believes will help distinguish them from criminals claiming to be soldiers in the movement.

The unit called "Badri 313" - which contributed to securing Kabul airport during the "chaotic" US air evacuations - was the first to wear those clothes, and they were equipped as a professional army.

According to the commander-in-chief of Badri's unit - whose first name the writer referred to as "Saad" after he refused to give his full name or the province to which he belongs - the men of his unit were chosen from among those seeking martyrdom within the Taliban movement.

Saad adds that those seeking martyrdom have different skills, some of them received training in how to use explosive belts, and some chose to train for martyrdom inside car bombs or during targeted killing operations, while others were fighters on the front lines leading the operations.


New missions

Susanna George met another fighter named Hekmatullah Hafez, who had arrived in Kabul after being chosen to join the elite unit, and attributed to him the saying, "I was a guerrilla fighter, and now I'm a soldier."

He said this while pointing to his military uniform and equipment, before continuing, saying, "We want the world to accept the idea that we are a legitimate army, and that we are part of an organized apparatus."

Khalid Abdullah, 26, was working as a taxi driver in Dubai when he received a letter earlier this year inviting him to return to Afghanistan to become a "suicide bomber".

Abdullah met in Kabul 3 of his friends, who were working as workers in Iran, before they all traveled to Paktika Province (eastern Afghanistan) to train there.

Abdullah explained that he had never thought of becoming a soldier with the main task of securing an airport, and admitted that he was disappointed when he was informed of the mission.

"As a suicide bomber, martyrdom is guaranteed, but of course that is still possible while doing this job because this is also jihad," he added.

On the western edge of Kabul, fighters from another Taliban unit tasked with protecting the Afghan National Museum from looting said they had been told their mission was to boost confidence in the residents of the capital.

"Our leadership told us that this building is important, and we should not allow anyone to loot its contents," said Muhammad Javed Mubari, 30, a leader of about 10 people stationed in the museum.

He continued, "Before that, I was a mujahid in the war. I fought in different states in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and we also received training in Pakistan, and we fought against the Pakistani army."

Mubari pointed out that he became the leader of his group after the killing of 3 former leaders in drone strikes, adding that he has no knowledge of archeology, although his current task is to protect artifacts, including ancient Buddhist monuments, "which many Taliban fighters consider an insult to Islam."