Taliban mark five years in power as aid groups warn of crisis
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- Taliban marked five years in power on Saturday with armored vehicles parading past the former U.S. embassy in Kabul, celebrating what the government called "victory day" from Western domination
- Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, credited their return to "morale, courage" and "divine assistance" while making a rare acknowledgement of "issues and problems that may still exist"
- The Taliban have barred 2.5 million girls and women from secondary schools and universities since 2021, and half of Afghan women now leave home only once or twice a month, according to UNESCO and UN Women data
- Islamic State claimed the killing of the Taliban's information director in Badakhshan province in late July, with the mayor of the provincial capital killed in a separate attack on Thursday
- Russia remains the only country to formally recognize the Taliban government, while Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring Pakistani insurgents
- The International Rescue Committee warned that 3.5 million more Afghans need humanitarian assistance than in 2021, driven by droughts, earthquakes, and mass deportations from Iran and Pakistan
- Fatima, a 28-year-old deported from Iran, said she cannot work as a make-up artist in Afghanistan after the Taliban banned women from such professions, leaving her struggling to cover basic expenses for her child
Why it matters: Five years after the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban govern a country only Russia recognizes diplomatically, with 2.5 million girls locked out of secondary education and 3.5 million more Afghans needing aid than in 2021 as foreign budgets shrink. The Taliban's quiet pivot — fifth-anniversary ceremonies planned in Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, and Malaysia, plus deportation arrangements with European governments — shows Kabul trading on geographic necessity rather than winning political legitimacy.
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