There is no doubt that the Taliban's brutality over almost the last two decades has made them the most hated force among Afghan people. The Taliban not only confine women to home and do not accept any freedom for them but also burn schools and oppose modern education. The militants are also against a modern state that functions to provide security and deliver public services to its citizens, and serve as ultimate arbitrator among its subjects.

The Taliban have been fighting, according to them, a jihad against Afghan government backed by international community. This is because they believe that such a government runs counter to their line of interpretation of Islam.

In this respect, the militants never regret to brutally kill those who work with or for this government. Based on these fundamentals of their belief and conviction, they deem all those who do not pledge their allegiance to the Taliban's line of interpretation as "others." According to them, these others deserve to be punished in a most brutal fashion.

In the meanwhile, they believe that they have the right to be served and protected by the people and those who refuse to serve and protect them deserve to be killed.

The militants have been using local people as a human shield against operations conducted by Afghan and foreign security forces. They infiltrate into local houses but when the people refuse to accommodate them they kill them. In a recent case, the Taliban killed five members of a family in the northern province of Faryab when they refused to accommodate the militants. The victims are reported to include three women and two men.
Earlier, in Ghazni province local people rose against the Taliban who had infiltrated into their areas and were closing schools. The local people drove the militants out of their areas to allow their children to go to schools and get education. This shows that the Taliban have lost their status and popularity among Afghan people.

In fact, they have become the most hated and repugnant force. But unfortunately it is only President Hamid Karzai that continues to call them his brothers. President Karzai must begin to understand that he may also be driven out by the people if he continues to associate himself with the Taliban and ignore the people of Afghanistan that suffer in the brutal hands of Taliban.