By IANS,
Washington : The Taliban in Afghanistan has launched a public relations exercise to win the hearts of people by circulating among them a ‘field manual’ that calls for efforts to limit civilian casualties, a media report said Thursday.
The little book with a blue cover, “Rules for Mujahedeen”, directs Taliban militants on how to behave while on deployment and how to deal with enemy combatants, treat prisoners of war and interact with civilians, the Washington Times reported.
The manual, which has been given extensive coverage on Al Jazeera’s Arabic service, seem aimed at renewing popular support among Afghans in the face of a US-led offensive against the militants, it said.
The directive also could be an attempt by Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban leader, to reassert himself as the uncontested chief of an entire flock of Taliban subgroups.
“This is part of their strategic thinking,” Yonah Alexander, a specialist on counterterrorism with the Washington-based Potomac Institute, was quoted as saying.
“This is an old trick to play both ends of the stick and to gain time.”
The booklet was issued in May and is the first of its kind in the history of the Taliban, according to a State Department report on counterterrorism.
The report, made available to the Washington Times, said the emphasis is on “improving their image and winning over civilians.”
The manual also aims to transform the group into a more disciplined and organised political force by centralising decision-making and discouraging formation of unauthorized factions, the Washington Times said.
The manual asks Taliban fighters to avoid civilian deaths, civilian injuries and damage to civilian property, restrict suicide attacks to “high value” targets, “behave well” to win over the “hearts of Muslim civilians” and avoid discrimination based on tribe, language or geography.
The booklet, according to the Times report, also says that enemy soldiers should not be killed if they surrender and that prisoners should not be harmed. Only the Taliban leader or his deputy can decide to trade or execute a prisoner.
It also directs that executions are not to be filmed, and enemy corpses should not be desecrated. Only those young men old enough to grow a beard are eligible to join the Taliban.