Khalaq party; activities; treatment of supporters by Taliban (Taleban) in Marawara county, Kunar province [AFG36180.E]

No references to a Khalaq party could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, several sources refer to a Khalq faction within the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) (Islam and Politics in Afghanistan 1996, 268-9; The Fragmentation of Afghanistan 1995, 82). According to The Fragmentation of Afghanistan, the PDPA was founded in 1965, split into the Khalq and Parcham factions in 1967, and reunited in 1977 under pressure from the Soviet Union and Indian and Pakistani communists (ibid.). In 1990 the split between the two factions became manifest in an internal coup attempt and since 1992 those aligned with the Khalq faction have "generally sided with [Gulbuddin] Hikmatyar's Pashtun-dominated and more radical Hizb-i Islami" (Islam and Politics in Afghanistan 1996, 269). For additional background on the Khalq and Parcham factions, please consult AFG21272.E of 11 July 1995.

According to two sources, the Khalq faction are actually linked to the Taliban (AFP 22 Apr. 1997; Online Center for Afghan Studies 2000). AFP, citing "western diplomatic sources" stated that former Afghan defence minister Shanawaz Tanai had "acted as an agent for ISI [Pakistan Intelligence Service] by providing the Taliban a skilled cadre of military officers from the Khalq faction of the Afghan communist party now exiled in Pakistan" (22 Apr. 1997). A book review of the 1998 publication Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban, on the Website of the Online Center for Afghan Studies, indicates that Khalq faction members had not been identified among the Taliban leadership (2000).

A 10 July 2000 report cites the claims of a "prominent tribal chieftain" from Kunar province that the Taliban serve external, non-Afghan, interests (IRNA). However, the report does not indicate the political affiliation, if any of the person quoted.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


AFP (Agence France Presse). 23 April 1997. "Masud Says Pakistan Engineering 'Third Force' in Politics." (FBIS-NES-97-112 22 Apr. 1997/WNC)

IRNA. [Tehran, in English]. 10 July 2000. "Afghan Provincial Tribal Chief Condemns Taleban for 'Serving Outside Forces'." (FBIS-BNES-2000-0710 10 July 2000/WNC)

Olesen, Asta. 1995. Islam and Politics in Afghanistan. Richmond, Surrey, UK: Curzon Press.

Online Center for Afghan Studies. 2000. Jan Mohammad. "A Critical Review of Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban. http://www.afghan-politics.org/Reference/BookRev/Maley.html [Accessed 5 Jan. 2001]

Rubin, Barnett R. 1996. The Fragmentation of Afghanistan. New Haven:Yale University Press.

Additional Sources Consulted


Afghanistan: From Holy War to Civil War.

IRB Databases

Political Handbook of the World.

Political Parties of Asia and the Pacific. 1985.

Internet sites, including:

Afghan-Web

Political Resources on the Net