The date, the 27th of September 1996 –

On this day, the Taliban seized Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.


The Taliban is a group in Afghanistan that follows fundamentalist Islamic teachings, practiced through the prism of Pashtunwali, an ethical code and lifestyle the predates Islam.

After the Soviet occupations of Afghanistan, which began in December 1979, ended in early 1989, the Mujahideen there, a collection of loosely aligned groups who had collectively fought the soviet occupation, did not form a coercive, united government, and fought each other for territory and resources. The Taliban movement itself may have begun in the early 1990s, but emerged in 1994 as an alternative faction in a multisided civil war, and offered a hopeful alternative for Afghanis in comparison to the feudalistic fighting conducted by the Mujahideen under Mullah Mohammed Omar, with at least some considerable backing from the Pakistani Intelligence Services, who among other things wished to stabilise the region. In September the Taliban took control of Kandahar, which had until then been lawless and an extremely dangerous place for its citizens. Although they suffered significant defeats before attempting to wrestle Kabul from government forces, Taliban numbers and equipment were bolstered by funding from sources within Pakistan and Saudia Arabia, and possibly by previous streams from the American Central Intelligence Agency.

On the 27th of September they seized Kabul, with much of the government’s forces withdrawing to the country’s south rather than engaging in street fighting. On that same day Omar became the Head Of The Supreme Council of Afghanistan, and from then until the US led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, they led a government that followed strict interpretations of Sharia law, and even though civil conflict continued, ruled much of the country.

After sheltering members of Al-Qaeda the were pushed out of office by foreign intervention in late 2001, however remain an active insurgent militia across various places of Afghanistan.

Sources:

Taliban Islamic Rebels Sieze Kabul – AP Archive
   • AFGHANISTAN: KABUL: TALIBAN ISLAMIC R...  

Afghanistan - Taliban take Jalalabad and Laghman – AP Archive
   • Afghanistan - Taliban take Jalalabad ...  

Afghan: Taliban Continues Executions after taking Kabul – AP Archive
   • AFGHAN: TALIBAN FORCES CONTINUE EXECU...  

Afghan NDS and CIA knew Mullah Omar was dead - The Nation
http://nation.com.pk/international/03...

Pakistan: The Taliban's Godfather? - National Security Archive
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEB...