This article examines the emergence of the neo-Taliban and its encroachment in non-Pashtun regions after the debacle of the old Taliban following the post 9/11 US-led NATO intervention in Afghanistan. It seeks to understand what aspirations drive the neo-Taliban and how they have reframed their ideology after 2001, leading to growing acceptance of a future role for the neo-Taliban in Afghanistan, while foreign-led counterinsurgency seems to fail. The article argues that due to the extremely fractious nature and continuing precariousness of the Afghan political climate, the neo-Taliban could emerge as a formidable power, with an agenda of bringing peace and stability to the entire ‘Af-Pak’ region. However, to what extent the neo-Taliban may be successful in countering widely held perceptions that it is a Pashtun nationalist movement, antagonistic to women, dissent and minorities, remains part of the challenging puzzle, as much for analysts as for the movement itself, which is not trusted in terms of delivering good governance in Afghanistan.

本文研究了在美国领导的9/11后北约干预阿富汗之后，在老塔利班崩溃之后，新塔利班的出现及其在非普什图地区的侵占。它试图了解什么驱动了新塔利班的抱负，以及他们如何在2001年后重新构造了自己的意识形态，从而导致人们越来越接受新塔利班在阿富汗的未来角色，而外国领导的平叛似乎失败了。文章认为，由于阿富汗政治气候的极端脆弱和持续动荡，新塔利班有可能成为强大的力量，其议程是为整个“北非”地区实现和平与稳定。但是，新塔利班人在多大程度上可以成功地反驳人们普遍认为它是普什图民族主义运动的看法，