2. Fighting continued throughout Afghanistan after the Taliban took control
Kabul fell to the Taliban in September 1996. With its capture, the group held control of Afghanistan’s major cities. Nonetheless, civil war continued in the hinterlands, including along the borders with Tajikistan, and Pakistan. Taliban patrols policed the villages, towns, and camps under their control, as well as in the cities. Omar ruled as the Head of the Supreme Council of Afghanistan. In October 1997, he declared the nation was the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with himself as Emir. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan granted official recognition to the new emirate. No other nations did. Though the council did exist, staffed with other members of the Taliban, Omar ruled by decree and made all decisions unilaterally. In short, he operated as a dictator with supreme powers, granted him by his decisions which were based on his interpretation of Islamic law.
At this stage, the Taliban enjoyed limited support from the United States, though the latter did not recognize the new emirate. Support centered around a proposed oil pipeline project, entertained by the US-based company Unocal. By the mid-1990s the Taliban also enjoyed the support of the population for their suppression of the warlords which had long applied brutal tactics over them. As the Taliban moved to consolidate their rule, they introduced laws which removed all vestiges of the western influences which had emerged during the former government. These laws led to repression which dwarfed that of the warlords, as well as the Soviets during their occupation. They also continued to harbor bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, despite increasing calls from the West to hand him over for trial as an international terrorist. And fighting with anti-Taliban factions continued throughout the 1990s.