KABUL: Since trading the battlefield for Afghanistan鈥檚 halls of power, some Taliban members have also swapped their weapons for pens to tell their version of the 20-year conflict with Western forces, who they accuse of distorting 鈥渞eality.鈥�

A flood of books has been written, mostly from a Western perspective, about the war between the US-led forces that invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks until the Taliban鈥檚 return to power in 2021.

But in the years since, a proliferation of writings by Taliban figures 鈥� praising their exploits and the achievements of the 鈥淚slamic Emirate鈥� 鈥� is now the reigning narrative in Afghanistan.

鈥淣o matter what foreigners have written... they have largely ignored the reality of what happened to us and why we were forced to fight,鈥� author Khalid Zadran told AFP.

A member of the Haqqani network 鈥� long viewed as one of the most dangerous militant factions in Afghanistan 鈥� he now serves as the spokesman for the capital鈥檚 police force.

In his 600-page tome in Pashto published in April, he recounts US incursions in his home province of Khost, his childhood steeped in stories of soldiers鈥� 鈥渁trocities,鈥� and his desire to join the Taliban in the name of his country鈥檚 鈥渇reedom.鈥�

鈥淚 witnessed horrific stories every day 鈥� mangled bodies on the roadside,鈥� he writes in 鈥�15 Minutes,鈥� a title inspired by a US drone strike he narrowly escaped.

Muhajer Farahi, now a deputy information and culture minister, penned his 鈥淢emories of Jihad: 20 Years in Occupation鈥� to 鈥渟tate the facts,鈥� he said.

鈥淎merica, contrary to its claims, has committed cruel and barbaric acts, destroyed our country with bombs, destroyed infrastructure and has sown discord and cynicism between nations and tribes,鈥� he told AFP from his office in central Kabul.

Little attention is paid in either book to the thousands of civilians killed in Taliban attacks 鈥� many of them suicide bombings that entrenched fear across the country for nearly two decades.

Farahi insists the Taliban 鈥渨ere cautious in saving civilians and innocent鈥� lives, while criticising fellow Afghans who collaborated with the pro-Western police as a 鈥渟tain鈥� on the country.

Rights groups accuse the current Taliban authorities of widespread abuses 鈥� particularly against women and girls, who the United Nations say are victims of what amounts to 鈥済ender apartheid.鈥�

In his book published in 2023, Farahi claims the Taliban attempted to negotiate 鈥� in vain, he insists 鈥� with the United States over the fate of Osama bin Laden, whose capture or death Washington demanded after his plane hijackers killed around 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, who had been based in Afghanistan, was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011.

鈥淚t was clear... that the Americans had already planned the occupation of Afghanistan,鈥� writes Farahi in the English version of his book, which has been translated into five languages.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Afghans thought it would 鈥渉ave nothing to do with our country,鈥� he continues, but soon realized that Afghanistan would face 鈥減unishment.鈥�

For 20 years, the war pitted Taliban militants against a US-led coalition of 38 countries supporting the Afghan Republic and its forces.

Tens of thousands of Afghans died in the fighting and in Taliban attacks, as did nearly 6,000 foreign soldiers, including 2,400 Americans.

For Farahi, the war reflects the West鈥檚 desire to 鈥渋mpose its culture and ideology on other nations.鈥�

His disjointed journal mixes battlefield memories with polemical chapters railing against the American 鈥渂loodthirsty dragon.鈥�

The book 鈥渞eveals the truths that were not told before because the media, especially the Western media, presented a different picture of the war,鈥� he said.

According to him, the mujahideen, or holy warriors, despite being far less equipped, were able to rely on their unity and God鈥檚 aid to achieve victory.

Only a few of the new wave of Taliban books have been autobiographies, which appeal to an audience seeking to understand the war 鈥渇rom the inside,鈥� according to Zadran.

His book, initially 2,000 copies in Pashto, sold out quickly and another 1,000 are in the works 鈥� along with a Dari-language version, he said.

Many chapters mention Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier held hostage for five years by the Haqqani network.

He recounts treks through the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to move him between hideouts, efforts to convert him to Islam and conversations about his girlfriend back in the US.

Both accounts end in 2021, before the transformation of the fighters who moved from remote mountain hideouts to the carpeted offices of the capital.

There, their battle has turned diplomatic: the Taliban are now fighting for international recognition of their government.

鈥淭he war is over now,鈥� Farahi said, 鈥渁nd we want good relations with everyone鈥� 鈥� even with the 鈥渂loodthirsty dragon.鈥�