Taliban the Taliban is a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan the group was formed in the early 1990s and it came to power in 1996 following the end of the Civil War in Afghanistan the taliban's leadership is primarily made up of ethnic pashtuns from Southern and Eastern Afghanistan the group's initial goal was to establish a pure Islamic State in Afghanistan free from corruption and foreign influence the taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law led to a number of Human Rights abuses including the repression of women and minorities the group also provided Safe Haven to Al-Qaeda the terrorist group responsible for the 9 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 the United States with the support of a coalition