The Taliban probably never had a honeymoon period, but if they did, it is now definitely over. This was symbolized by the formation of a High Council of National Resistance in Ankara, in a meeting of 40 leading figures of Afghanistan, at the invitation of veteran leader Abdur Rashid Dostum. Prominent among the signatories are Ahmad Wali Massoud, whose National Resistance Front is already fighting against the Taliban, and Abdur Rab o Rassoul Sayyaf, who had been one of the Mujahideen leaders against the Soviet invasion of the 1980s.
The Taliban government, instead of working to fulfil its pledges to the international community, seems to be bent on reverting to the past. One of the most egregious recent measures was the imposition of a ban on women uncovering their faces in public, which included a ban on women TV presenters appearing without covering their faces. There was also their abolition of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, which was their best vehicle for proving to the res of the world that they were carrying out their commitments to the world community. Apparently, the Taliban do not realize that there is no body which can confirm their measure on meeting human rights criteria, leaving detractors to claim violations without fear of credible rebuttal.
Pakistan has an interest in Afghanistan, and cannot ignore developments there. However, its Afghan policy is treated as a military issue, not a diplomatic one, to the extent that the new DG ISI is here, without any input from the Foreign Office. It is almost as if this vital aspect of foreign policy, during the Zia and Musharraf decades, was taken over as a defence problem rather than a diplomatic one. It is not as if there is parliamentary oversight, which might make it irrelevant whether a general or a soldier did the implementing. There is no one suggesting that the DG ISI should report to a parliamentary committee, which is unfortunate. Unless that happens, how will anyone know whether Afghan policy is consistent with national objectives?
