History
The province was one of the last captured by the Taliban in their military offensive before the American invasion in 2001. Even after their official takeover of the province, the largely Tajik population of the province never welcomed the Pashtun Taliban. The province was quickly retaken by Northern Alliance forces as the United States initiated hostilities, which was followed by a brutal cleansing of the Pashtun minority in the province.
Various influential warlords have traded control of the province in recent years, including:General Ab.Rashid Dostum, Abdul Zahir Naibzadah, Gul Mohammad Arifi, Mohammad Yaqoub Sorkhabi and Qazi Sulaiman Hamid. During the fight against the Taliban, the Northern Alliance commanders received military aid from Shi'ite Iran, fearful of the Sunni Taliban. In one notable incident, Malik temporarily switched his allegiances from Dostum, allowing the Taliban to gain control of the province.
Read more about this topic: Badghis Province
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