'Shut Down Projects, Leave Afghanistan'

Mohammad Hanif, 39, is one of the two spokesmen of the Taliban (the other is Qari Yousaf Ahmadi). A dispenser of medicines in Afghanistan's remote areas, severely lacking in qualified doctors, Hanif has come to be known as 'doctor'. He treated the mujahideen during their war against the Soviets, and joined the Taliban movement as soon as it was launched in Kandahar in the autumn of 1994. He and Qari were designated as spokesmen by the Taliban shura (council) a few months back, after their predecessors Ustad Mohammad Yasir and Latifullah Hakimi were captured in Pakistan. Both Dr Hanif and Qari are perpetually on the move, to evade arrest. But they do contact a select band of journalists almost daily, providing the Taliban's version of developments in Afghanistan and often doling out exaggerated claims of their battlefield achievements. Yet it helps the media get the other side of the messy Afghanistan picture. Rahimullah Yusufzai spoke in Pashto to Hanif over a satellite phone, though the latter refused to disclose his location. Excerpts from the interview:

The Taliban has claimed Suryanarayana was killed because he was an American agent. Did they have any proof of the Indian engineer's complicity with the Americans?
Taliban fighters recovered quite a few things from Suryanarayana including a satellite phone, GPS, recording equipment and a gadget that could enable identification of a target for directing aircraft fire against it. All these equipment could be used for spying. Our men told us that the Indian engineer confessed during interrogation that he was an American spy. We are convinced he was spying for the US. That was in fact the reason why he tried to escape to avoid death. We would have loved to show these things to the media but Zabul province is far away and consequently arranging such an event there wouldn't have been possible.

Why didn't the Taliban wait for the negotiations to begin before killing Suryanarayana?
We had decided to negotiate with the Indian government and extended the deadline three times for 24 hours each in the hope of striking a deal. The Indian decision to send a delegation to Kabul was a positive step. But then our hostage tried to escape and was almost gone. Taliban fighters were left with no choice but to shoot him to prevent his escape. We regret his death, and are sad that it happened.

Don't you think you lost an opportunity to negotiate and bargain with the Indian government after killing Suryanarayana?
It's true the Taliban lost the chance to achieve something from his abduction. He would have been precious for us had he been alive.

Was Suryanarayana killed because he was an American agent or because he was Indian?
Our men killed him because he was an American agent. In our eyes, whoever serves the US agenda is not different from the Americans. The Taliban does not even spare those Afghans who work as agents for the US. We have no problem with Afghan Hindus who belong to Afghanistan. For us, they are just like Afghan Muslims. But our fight is against all those foreigners, Indians included, who strengthen the hands of US-led foreign forces occupying our homeland.

Suryanarayana was an employee of a Bahrain company. He wasn't employed by the Indian government. So, are the Taliban opposed to Indians in league with the Americans or are they opposed to Indians working in Afghanistan per se?
We oppose anyone supporting or spying for the US. We have no problem with foreigners who are not on the payroll of the Americans. But Afghanistan is presently under foreign occupation; it's an insecure place due to our resistance against foreigners (occupiers). Therefore, we would advise foreigners not to come to Afghanistan as they risk their lives by coming to this unstable country.

What was the message the Taliban wanted to convey to the Indian government through this act?
We want everyone to realise that US-led forces invaded and occupied Afghanistan. We are resisting the invaders to free our homeland. Anyone coming to Afghanistan in support of the invading forces or their Afghan puppets is our enemy. We would use every means to harm such people.

Why is the Taliban opposed to India?
The Taliban opposes India due to its pro-US policy in Afghanistan. Indians have come to our country to strengthen the hands of the US and its handpicked regime in Kabul. We know the Indians are in Afghanistan for strategic reasons. We have our men in almost every government department in Afghanistan and the Taliban are aware as to who is doing what. We want all Indians to leave Afghanistan and shut down their (development) projects.

The Indian government has called the Taliban a terrorist organisation, and said it would not bow down to such pressure. What do you say?
It doesn't matter if India considers us terrorist. We know what we are doing is the right thing to do in the prevailing situation.

The Indian government claims it is only involved in humanitarian activities in Afghanistan. Do you agree?
This is not true. We know the reason for India's interest in Afghanistan. All its (humanitarian) assistance is geared toward securing its defence and strategic interests in Afghanistan. As for reconstruction, there's very little to show on the ground. Starting projects for humanitarian purposes is a method to hide real objectives. In the name of reconstruction, mansions and palaces are being built for the rulers while projects benefiting people are being shelved.

Does the killing of Suryanarayana mark a change in the Taliban's stance towards Indians?
We have always been critical of India's policy toward Afghanistan. But strategies change in keeping with ground realities. Taliban commanders and fighters devise tactics and bide their time while planning attacks. The decision to target Indians was made and implemented by Taliban operating in the battlefield.

What is the Taliban agenda now?
Regaining power isn't our goal. Our objective right now is to regain freedom, and expel the Americans and others from our homeland.