Who are the Taliban?
The Taliban are active in both Afghanistan and PakistanThe hardline Islamic Taliban movement has proved to be a formidable fighting force in Afghanistan and a major threat to its government.
The Taliban also threatens to destabilise Pakistan, where they control areas in the north-west and have been blamed for a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks.
Many observers now believe that future peace in Afghanistan can only come if the government in Kabul negotiates with the Taliban.
The announcement of Taliban plans to open an office in Qatar is seen as a positive step in those negotiations, but mistrust on both sides remains high.
There has also been speculation that some of the Taliban-linked groups in Pakistan have held talks with the government in Islamabad - although this is not confirmed.
Austere ruleThe Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
A predominantly Pashtun movement, the Taliban came to prominence in Afghanistan in the autumn of 1994.
It is commonly believed that they first appeared in religious seminaries - mostly paid for by money from Saudi Arabia - which preached a hard line form of Sunni Islam.
The Taliban's promise - in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan - was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.
In both countries they introduced or supported Islamic punishments - such as public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers and amputations of those found guilty of theft.
Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering burka.
The Taliban banned television, music and cinema and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over from going to school.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied that it is the architect of the Taliban enterprise.But there is little doubt that many Afghans who initially joined the movement were educated in madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan.Pakistan was also one of only three countries, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which recognised the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s until 2001.It was also the last country to break diplomatic ties with the Taliban.But Pakistan has since adopted a harder line against Taliban militants carrying out attacks on its soil.The attention of the world was drawn to the Taliban in Afghanistan following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001.The Taliban in Afghanistan were accused of providing a sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda movement who were blamed for the attacks.Soon after 9/11 the Taliban were driven from power in Afghanistan by a US-led coalition, although their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was not captured.
Foreign forces have poured into Afghanistan in an effort to crush the insurgencyIn recent years the Taliban have re-emerged in Afghanistan and grown far stronger in Pakistan, where observers say there is loose co-ordination between different Taliban factions and militant groups.The main Pakistani faction is led by Hakimullah Mehsud, whose Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is blamed for dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks.Observers warn against over-stating the existence of one unified insurgency against the Pakistani state, however.The Taliban in Afghanistan are still believed to be led by Mullah Omar, a village clergyman who lost his right eye fighting the occupying forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.Afghans, weary of the mujahideen's excesses and infighting after the Soviets were driven out, generally welcomed the Taliban when they first appeared on the scene.Their early popularity was largely due to their success in stamping out corruption, curbing lawlessness and making the roads and the areas under their control safe for commerce to flourish.US onslaughtFrom south-western Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly extended their influence.
The Afghan people are weary of conflictThey captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran, in September 1995.Exactly one year later, they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, after overthrowing the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani and his defence minister, Ahmed Shah Masood.By 1998, they were in control of almost 90% of Afghanistan.They were accused of various human rights and cultural abuses. One notorious example was in 2001, when the Taliban went ahead with the destruction of the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues in central Afghanistan, despite international outrage.On October 7, 2001, a US-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan and by the first week of December the Taliban regime had collapsed.Mullah Omar and his comrades have evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world.They are generally thought to be taking refuge in the Pakistani city of Quetta, from where they are guiding the resurgent Taliban.But the existence of what is dubbed the "Quetta Shura" is denied by Islamabad.Despite ever higher numbers of foreign troops, the Taliban have steadily extended their influence, rendering vast tracts of Afghanistan insecure, and violence in the country has returned to levels not seen since 2001.Their retreat earlier this decade enabled them to limit their human and material losses and return with a vengeance.
Foreign forces have poured into Afghanistan in an effort to crush the insurgencyThe Afghan people are weary of conflictWhy Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan
Many doubt Afghan forces will be able to withstand the Taliban after 2014Nato has invested hundreds of billions of dollars over the past 10 years trying to raise a modern army for Afghanistan and to rebuild the country's infrastructure.
But if a leaked classified report prepared by the alliance is to believed, all this will go to waste soon after foreign combat forces withdraw in 2014.
The latest in a series of leaks suggests that Nato is much more worried about the course of the war than it lets on in public.
Nato has tried to play down the importance of the report by calling it a "compilation of opinions expressed by Taliban detainees", but it highlights many failures in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.
The harsh reality is that an increasing number of Afghans are turning to the Taliban, having grown mistrustful of Nato and Afghan forces.
In remote parts of the country where the government rules only on paper, the Taliban are often preferred.
"Americans are like Kuchi nomads," a tribal elder from the south-east once told me. "They come with their tents for some time and before you know them, they leave."
Taliban courtsPeople have little choice but to support the Taliban in many areas, given the power of the militants.
But widespread corruption in the government and a culture of impunity - where senior bureaucrats or those with connections to them easily escape punishment even for serious crimes like murder - are seen as reasons for people moving closer to the Taliban.
In Kunduz in the north, for instance, several militia commanders working for the government have been accused of extortion, robbery and rape, but not one has ever been tried.
Locals say corruption is rampant even in the judiciary and they have no option but to turn to shadowy Taliban judges to resolve disputes.
One Kabul man I spoke to, Jamshid, a fruit vendor in his 30s, compared the judicial system of the Karzai administration with the desert courts of the Taliban.
"The Taliban courts were swift and strict," he said with admiration.
"A thief would be given the death sentence after a short trial. But under Mr Karzai's rule, it will take a century to prove a thief guilty - and even then there is no guarantee that he will be punished."
The country's poor literacy rate and the Taliban's psychological war in many districts is believed to have helped the insurgents to win the hearts of the Afghan population.
Taliban songs, videos and ringtones play on people's emotions.
Taliban leader Mullah Omar has launched his own style of counter-insurgency, and a shadow Taliban administration of sorts is in place in many areas.
Taliban officials do the rounds in villages, districts and valleys collecting taxes and dispensing their version of justice.
I know of several cases where Taliban officials have been fired because people have complained about them - many people see this as a more responsive system than the actual government where such action is rare.
And family loyalties run deep. People from the same village or district as a Taliban fighter will never hand him over to Nato or the Afghan government.
Many families have members working on both sides, some for Afghan forces, others for the Taliban - this is seen as a form of local insurance policy. When villagers hear US President Barack Obama or Vice-President Joe Biden discussing withdrawal in 2014, the Taliban come and say, look Nato is leaving, but we will be here.
The Taliban's reach is thought to extend right into parts of the government.
When I was in Sarkano district in the eastern province of Kunar, I could hear the Taliban presenter on Radio Voice of Sharia FM: "This is a message for apostate employees of the Afghan government. But not to some of our friends in the government - they know who they are."
Serious threatSenior officials have told me some government members think the Taliban might return.
"So, they tell the Taliban, 'look we have sympathy with you'," one of the officials said.
"Then the Taliban tell these officials to prove their support. Sometimes, they ask these officials to help carry a fighter, a suicide attacker, or to help with weapons and access."
Another reason for locals turning away from the elected government is its failure to restore or maintain order in areas vacated by Western forces. Afghan security forces, grappling with high illiteracy rates, desertion, drug addiction and Taliban infiltration, have failed to instil confidence in the people.
There have even been several reports of Afghan police selling their weapons to militants.
While Afghan officials admit there are problems in the army and police - on whom the country's future security depends - they say there is no systemic failure.
"The reality is that they sell their bullets and weapons in the market to the highest bidder and that sometimes includes Taliban or other insurgent groups," said one senior Afghan security official in Kabul.
Pakistan is crucialThe leak also puts Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a very difficult position.
He has been trying to repair ties with Afghanistan's not-so-friendly neighbour, Pakistan, which denies sheltering the militants. The report's claims that Pakistani security services are helping the Taliban will do nothing to help his efforts.
Mr Karzai has told his confidants on several occasions that a peace dialogue with the Taliban will succeed only when it has the backing of Pakistan.
"If you have a hundred channels to talk to the Taliban through, and Pakistan is not on board, all of these channels will get closed, but if you have a small number of channels to contact Taliban through, along with Pakistan's approval, it will surely take you somewhere," one senior aide to the president told the BBC.
The leaked document seriously undermines Nato and Afghan government claims over the years that the Taliban have lost their punch.
On the contrary, the Taliban remain a more serious threat than ever to peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Can Pakistan step back from the brink?
The murder of Salman Taseer was both the start and the symbol of Pakistan's unravelling in 2011One year ago, Pakistan was shaken when leading politician Salman Taseer was murdered by his own bodyguard. His violent death and the lack of government response were merely the beginning of a turbulent year for the country. Writer Ahmed Rashid considers whether Pakistan can step back from the brink in 2012.
The death of Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province, now appears as both the start and the symbol of the political, economic and social unravelling of Pakistan that has taken place since that fateful 4 January day.
The gruesome aftermath of his death, when the governing Pakistan People's Party, the army, the mullahs and civil society appeared to deny the reality of what had happened, made many Pakistanis ashamed of their rulers.
Roses for a killerMumtaz Qadri, an elite police force member, pumped 27 bullets into the politician as he was walking back to his car after lunch at an Islamabad restaurant.
Qadri had informed his police colleagues standing nearby that he would commit murder and throw down his weapon, so there would be no need to kill him. The police obliged by giving no warning to Taseer or shooting Qadri dead.
Qadri, who belonged to a small Islamic group called Dawat-e-Islam, said he killed Taseer because of his attempts to change the controversial blasphemy law. He was showered with roses when he made his first appearance in court.
Hundreds of lawyers pledged to defend him and he was treated as a celebrity by many.
Qadri was showered with roses when he appeared in courtQadri was later tried and sentenced to death but he has appealed against the sentence.
Meanwhile Asia Bibi, the jailed Christian woman whose case of alleged blasphemy had so appalled Taseer, continues to grow weaker in jail and more isolated. There are fears that a zealous prisoner or guard in jail may try to kill her.
When Taseer's funeral was held, no cleric could be found in Lahore who would read his funeral prayers out of fear of the extremists - some of whom declared that the dead Taseer was no longer a Muslim.
The country's few liberal civil society members tried to counter the wave of intolerance that swept the country by holding small but ultimately meaningless demonstrations.
More important was the reaction - or total lack of it - by the government, the army, parliament and the political parties. There was no public condemnation of the murder by the highest authorities in the land, except for politician Sherry Rehman, now ambassador to the US.
More sectarian attacksAs if the family had not suffered enough, Taseer's son Shabaz was kidnapped by an extremist group in August and has not been heard of since.
Taseer was a multi-dimensional politician, businessman, writer and raconteur but he seemed to move to another level when he became governor, taking up controversial issues and defending human rights which even the government was too scared to do.
His death a year ago has brought many consequences.
During the past year, no politician has dared raise the issue of reforming the blasphemy law. Intolerance by extremists against both Muslims and non-Muslims has increased enormously and there has been a dramatic rise in the number of sectarian attacks, which are usually perpetrated by Sunni extremists against Shia citizens.
The Pakistani Taliban has continued to carry out brutal suicide attacks against the army and civilians and appears to be in control of more territory in Pakistan and also in Afghanistan's Kunar province.
The meltdown in relations between the US and Pakistan started just two weeks after Taseer's death, when Raymond Davis, a CIA operative, killed two gunmen in Lahore. The wave of anti-Americanism that followed prepared the ground for a much wider outbreak months later.
The killing of Osama Bin Laden by US special forces in May resulted in the biggest crash in US-Pakistan relations.
After that, alleged leaks from Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, forced two successive CIA station chiefs in Islamabad to leave the country.
Later, the US stepped up confrontation by demanding the ISI curb attacks inside Afghanistan by the Pakistan-based Haqqani network.
When Islamabad shut down the Nato supply route through Pakistan after Nato mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops, all links between the two military establishments were severed.
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