{"id":131286,"date":"2026-08-15T17:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=131286"},"modified":"2026-08-15T17:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:01:22","slug":"taliban-mark-5-years-in-power-as-aid-groups-warn-of-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131286\/","title":{"rendered":"Taliban mark 5 years in power as aid groups warn of crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KABUL(National Times)- The Taliban marked five years in power on Saturday, seeking to portray their government as in control even as aid and rights groups warned of escalating crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the former US embassy in Kabul, armoured Taliban vehicles took part in a parade, displaying flags and banners, and celebrating what the government described as \u201cvictory day\u201d from Western domination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban\u2019s interior minister, said in a video address that their return to power was the result of \u201cmorale, courage\u201d and \u201cdivine assistance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he also made a rare acknowledgement of \u201cissues and problems that may still exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International organisations and the UN say the Taliban have struggled to address the natural and humanitarian crises Afghanistan has faced over the past five years, in part because Afghan women are under severe restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taliban have also faced a string of assassinations of key regional officials in the country\u2019s northeast in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late July, the Taliban\u2019s information director in Badakhshan province was killed<\/a> in an attack later claimed by Islamic State. The mayor of the province\u2019s capital also died in an attack on Thursday, local media reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taliban officials did not immediately confirm the reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Diplomatic inroads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the Taliban returned<\/a> to power in 2021 amid the withdrawal of the US and its allies, they promised to govern more liberally than they had in the late 1990s and early 2000s a period marked by public executions, the sheltering of Osama bin Laden and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those assurances quickly faltered, human rights groups say. The Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls since 2021, barring 2.5 million<\/a> of them from secondary schools<\/a> and universities<\/a>, according to Unesco, and limiting their freedom of movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month, according to data<\/a> released by UN Women on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taliban say they respect women\u2019s rights in accordance with Sharia law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years on, their government remains internationally unrecognised, with Russia the only country to have formally recognised it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many former embassies in Kabul have remained empty since the Taliban\u2019s return to power, including the US embassy that was the backdrop of Taliban celebrations on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Taliban have made quiet diplomatic inroads, analysts say, as some countries weigh the limits of their influence in Afghanistan and the need to engage with the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taliban are increasingly pushing for arrangements with European nations that have been seeking ways to deport more Afghans. The government in Kabul is also using its geographical location at the crossroads of South and Central Asia and the Middle East to strike economic deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zia Ahmad Takal, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban\u2019s foreign ministry, told Reuters<\/em> that ceremonies marking the government\u2019s fifth anniversary were expected to be held in the capitals of Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkiye and Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy hope for the future of Afghanistan is that we will move toward development, God willing,\u201d Najibullah Ghorzang, a 28-year-old shop owner who attended Saturday\u2019s ceremonies in Kabul, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe defeated a great empire, and we will defeat them again,\u201d he said of the US and its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Existential worries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The International Rescue Committee warned on Friday that Afghanistan\u2019s humanitarian needs had reached a record level, driven by droughts, the fallout from deadly earthquakes and the deportation of Afghans from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While foreign aid budgets have shrunk, the number of Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance has risen by 3.5 million people since 2021, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSustainable peace and prosperity require more than just an absence of conflict,\u201d Georgette Gagnon, a senior UN representative on Afghanistan, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfghanistan\u2019s future depends on building a society in which the rights and potential of all Afghans are realised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fatima, 28, has struggled to survive with her child. After the Taliban\u2019s return to power, she fled to Iran, where she could continue working as a make-up artist even as the Taliban banned women from such work in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, she was expelled from Iran and deported to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery morning, I wake up wondering how I will cover my basic living expenses, and every night I close my eyes with worries about my child\u2019s future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KABUL(National Times)- The Taliban marked five years in power on Saturday, seeking to portray their government as in control even as aid and rights groups warned of escalating crises. 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