Reading Abdul Salam Zaeef: My Life with the Taliban:

For the next few years I lived in Pakistan but frequently visited Kandahar. In the early 1990s, after the fall of Najibullah and the arrival of the mujahedeen government, Afghanistan seemed to disintegrate.

Fighting had broken out in Kabul but soon swept down through the south. Local commanders such as Ustaz Abdul Haleem, Hajji Ahmad, Mullah Naqib and others were clashing within the city limits and in the surrounding districts for power and control. Fighting became so intense that it was impossible to live a normal life.

In 1992, I returned to Afghanistan and became the Imam of the mosque of the late Hajji Khushkiar Aka11 in a tiny village inhabited by no more than ten or fifteen people located on the way to Panjwayi district centre. I felt calm and for once life passed easily, allowing me to keep busy with my studies. I avoided the city altogether and never went anywhere near the various checkpoints and known hangouts of local criminals and gangs. Whenever I needed anything I would ask a member of my congregation to bring it for me. I spent little time with my friends from the jihad period, just meeting them occasionally when they happened to pass through the village.

Many of the people who went to the city would come back with tales of anarchy and chaos, and often I heard artillery fire in the distance. The stories made me feel uneasy; I remembered the jihad and the sacrifices we had made. It seemed that it had been for nothing, but I still remained patient and gave the same advice to my congregation.
…
Everyone became animated when they heard the story. They were already talking about tracking down the men and going to their houses. I stayed silent until Abdul Mohammad had left. Then I spoke. “First, we need more men, a force big enough to be able to hold its own ground and defend itself. We need enough men to stand up to other groups of bandits and robbers, a group that cannot just defend itself, but also other people’s rights. We need the support of the people and we need to find a solution together with the people. We should not only focus on our own problems”.
…
We started to meet other mujahedeen and Taliban from the time of the Soviet jihad. After a few days we decided to hold a meeting in Pashmol. Thirty-three people came to the mosque to attend the meeting which was chaired by Mullah Abdul Rauf Akhund. The discussions lasted for several hours before we reached a plan of action: we would seek the support of other mujahedeen and Taliban and together with them we would clear the streets of the rogue commanders and checkpoints.
…
The founding meeting of what became known as ‘the Taliban’ was held in the late autumn of 1994. Some forty to fifty people had gathered at the white mosque in Sangisar. Mawlawi Saheb Abdul Samad, Mullah Mohammad Omar Akhund, Mullah Abdul Sattar Akhund and Mullah Sher Mohammad Malang all spoke, outlining their responsibilities.

The respected Mawlawi Abdul Samad was designated the Taliban’s Amir, and Mullah Mohammad Omar was its commander. Mullah Mohammad Omar took an oath from everyone present. Each man swore on the Qur’an to stand by him, and to fight against corruption and the criminals. No written articles of association, no logo and no name for the movement was agreed on or established during the meeting.

The shari’a would be our guiding law and would be implemented by us. We would prosecute vice and foster virtue, and would stop those who were bleeding the land. Soon after the meeting, we established our own checkpoint at Hawz-e Mudat along the Herat-Kandahar highway, and we immediately began to implement the shari’a in the surrounding area.

We sent out groups of people to the nearby villages to let them know who we were, and to collect bread and sour milk from the houses. Mullah Masoom was in charge of managing the collection and of informing the people. Many of the Taliban were well known in the area and respected, and people were eager to help.