It has been five years since the Taliban returned to Kabul, bringing an end to the U.S.-led military presence in Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic that had ruled the country for two decades. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered the Afghan capital as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The collapse of the government marked the end of America’s longest war and the Taliban’s return to power.

Five years later, the Taliban remain in control of Afghanistan.

So, what has changed since 2021? The most immediate change was the end of the war between the Taliban and the then Afghan government.

The U.S. and NATO completed their military withdrawal in August 2021. Afghan security forces collapsed soon afterwards. The Taliban took control of Kabul and established themselves as the country’s de facto government.

There is now no nationwide armed conflict comparable to the fighting that took place before 2021. The Taliban control Afghanistan’s major government institutions, security forces and borders, and the armed Opposition groups have not been able to mount a significant nationwide challenge.

For many Afghans, the reduction in fighting has meant improved security. Roads that were previously affected by battles and checkpoints are generally more accessible, and the risk of being caught in clashes between the Taliban and government forces has fallen.

But that does not mean Afghanistan is free of violence.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province, or the ISKP, remains active and has carried out attacks against civilians, Taliban officials and foreign nationals. The Taliban have also carried out operations against the group.

There are also growing tensions with Pakistan. The two countries have repeatedly accused each other of allowing militant groups to operate from their territory, while clashes along the border have become more frequent. Pakistan had been an important supporter of the Taliban for years, but since 2021, Islamabad’s concerns over militant attacks and border security have increasingly complicated relations with Kabul.

Restrictions on women

If the end of the war is one of the biggest changes since 2021, the restrictions on women and girls are another. The situation of women and girls has changed sharply since the Taliban returned to power.

When the Taliban took control in 2021, they said they would respect women’s rights under their interpretation of Islamic law. But restrictions on women have steadily increased.

Girls remain barred from secondary education and higher education. Women have been excluded from many areas of employment and face restrictions on movement and access to public spaces. The restrictions have affected almost every aspect of women’s participation in public life.

The education ban has also created a longer-term problem. Girls who are unable to complete school cannot easily move on to university or professional training. This means fewer women will enter professions such as medicine, teaching, journalism and public administration, says Zan times, an exiled media organisation led by Afghan women.

Economic picture

The economic picture is a bit complicated. Before the 2021 takeover, international aid accounted for a significant part of government spending and economic activity. The withdrawal of foreign troops and the sudden reduction in aid created a major economic shock.

There were fears that the Afghan economy could collapse but that did not happen.

The Taliban have increased domestic revenue collection and have tried to expand trade with neighbouring countries. The regime has also invested in infrastructure and attempted to increase economic activity within the country.

Afghanistan has therefore achieved a degree of economic stability since the severe crisis that followed the Taliban takeover. But economic stability should not be confused with economic recovery.

Poverty remains widespread, unemployment remains a major problem and humanitarian assistance continues to be important for millions of Afghans. The country is also dealing with the return of large numbers of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran. Their arrival has created additional pressure on housing, employment and public services.

The Taliban regime has not received widespread international recognition. Most countries continue to avoid formally recognising the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. The main concerns include restrictions on women, the absence of an inclusive political system and questions about terrorism and human rights.

At the same time, countries have increasingly had to deal with the Taliban because they control Afghanistan.

Russia has formally recognised the Taliban regime. China and the UAE have accepted Taliban-appointed ambassadors, while several Western governments have maintained contact with Taliban officials.

Ties with India

India has followed a cautious but increasingly pragmatic approach towards the Taliban since they returned to power in August 2021.

New Delhi did not recognise the Taliban regime. But it has gradually expanded diplomatic engagement with Kabul. India reopened its diplomatic mission in Kabul in 2022 and continued providing humanitarian assistance, including food, medicines and other supplies.

The engagement became more significant in 2025. In October, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited New Delhi — the first official visit to India by a senior Taliban leader since the group returned to power. He met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and held talks on political, economic and security issues.

Other Taliban officials followed. Taliban Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi visited India in November 2025 to discuss trade and investment, while Health Minister Noor Jalal Jalali visited in December to strengthen cooperation in healthcare.

Afghanistan remains important to India for several reasons. Security is one of the biggest concerns and Pakistan is another factor.

Five years after the Taliban returned to Kabul, the Taliban have demonstrated that they can maintain control of the state. But the country continues to face major challenges. The economy remains weak; humanitarian needs are high and security threats have not disappeared; relations with Pakistan have become difficult; and the restrictions on women and girls have significantly changed.

Published – August 21, 2026 06:00 am IST

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021 for the second time. Since then, the former insurgents have consolidated their grip on power, excluded women and girls from public life, stamped out internal dissent and external challengers, and gained debut recognition as the country’s official government from Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

The Taliban govern through decrees, but Afghans have aspirations and needs that cannot be fulfilled through edicts and ideology.

Timeline of events in Afghanistan since Taliban takeover

Climate change, an increasing population, and severe cuts to foreign aid will test the Taliban’s ability to lead and not just rule. Here are five things to know about the Taliban as they start their fifth year in power:

Kandahar-based Hibatullah Akhundzada has led the Taliban from insurgency to authority since his appointment in 2016. But transition and status are peripheral to what he has wanted for the past 20 years: establishing an Islamic system.

Central to this vision was his ratification last year of the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law, which codifies many aspects of Afghan life, including who people can befriend.

UN concerned by Taliban’s arrest of Afghan women and girls for dress code violations

In June, Akhundzada said the Taliban had fought and sacrificed themselves for the implementation of Islamic law. “It was obligatory to follow the leadership’s commands and directives,” he added, and everyone was required to act within the bounds of this obedience.

His supporters emphasise his superior religious authority to issue decrees. The Higher Education Minister went one step further in April, equating criticism of Akhundzada with blasphemy and saying obedience to him was a divine order.

“He [the leader] decides what moves and what doesn’t move, what happens and what doesn’t,” said Ibraheem Bahiss, a senior analyst with Crisis Group’s Asia programme.

There were pockets within the Taliban that initially advocated lifting bans on women and girls, or at least modifying them, to allow greater global and financial engagement. Akhundzada and his circle withstood such pressure, however, and the Taliban government has emerged from its isolation to develop diplomatic ties and raise several billion dollars every year in tax revenues to keep the lights on.

Power brokers, including Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, have been weakened. Since November, Akhundzada has had direct control over Afghanistan’s weapons and military equipment, sidelining the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry, which is run by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, whose father founded the Taliban.

Pakistan in no hurry to recognise Afghan Taliban rule: Officials

Haqqani, whose uncle was killed in a high-profile suicide attack last December, used to take swipes at the leadership. Not anymore. Haqqani, who heads a powerful network of his own, cannot start a fight with the Kandahar faction and win.

Political deputy Sher Abbas Stanikzai rebuked Akhundzada in January, stating the education bans had no basis in Islamic law or Sharia. He left Afghanistan shortly afterwards and remains outside the country. He denies reports that he fled or faced arrest had he stayed.

Akhundzada has put Islamic law at the heart of his leadership, while also putting his leadership at the heart of its implementation. “He’s made himself indispensable, and the entire movement is beholden to him,” Mr. Bahiss said.

Russia’s recognition of the Taliban sends a “deeply troubling” message, said Zahra Nader, the editor-in-chief of the Afghan women-led newsroom Zan Times. “It tells the Taliban they can continue to suppress women’s rights and commit systematic human rights violations without facing consequences. They are being rewarded for it. This move is a slap in the face to Afghan women.”

“There is opposition to the Taliban’s policies, but people are fearful because no powerful alternative exists,” she said. The Taliban “took the country by force and maintained control” through violence. Women took to Afghanistan’s streets in protest after the takeover, but these were met with retaliation.

“The absence of visible protest should not be mistaken for acceptance,” said Ms. Nader. “It reflects the extreme risks people face for dissent. The resistance is still there, quiet, private, and simmering, but public expression has been crushed through fear and force.”

The Taliban insist that women’s rights are protected. Ms. Nader says that, although there is “little faith” that the country’s rulers will change their policies, women are preparing themselves “emotionally and intellectually” for a future beyond the Taliban.

“That hope, that this brutality will not last forever, is what keeps many of them going. These women do not believe the regime will change its stance on women’s rights.” It’s not trust or shared values that define the Taliban’s relationships.

Afghanistan borders six countries, many of which are trade partners and also balk at being lectured by the West on rights and freedoms. Landlocked Afghanistan is sandwiched between the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, making it strategically located for energy-rich and energy-hungry nations.

The Taliban’s bilateral relations proceed on common ground: borders, water, transit, and security. Anti-migrant rhetoric, especially in Europe, could increase diplomatic engagement as political parties in the West seek to placate their supporters.

The U.K.-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said the Taliban’s broader diplomatic interactions were eroding the “non-recognition” approach of the West and ushering in “creeping normalisation.”

The Taliban feel comfortable in the region and have found an acceptable way of operating, while the region has adjusted to their presence.

“What we’ve seen in the last four years is not real pressure (on the Taliban), but rather normalisation and appeasement,” Ms. Nader said. “For those of us watching from inside and outside Afghanistan, this is not just political, it’s personal. It’s painful. It confirms our fear that the suffering of Afghan women is being sidelined in favour of political interests.”

Until April, the U.S. was the largest donor to Afghanistan, where more than half of the population relies on aid to survive. But it terminated this emergency assistance owing to concerns that the Taliban were benefiting from such aid.

Thousands of Afghans, including women, will lose their jobs as non-governmental organisations and agencies scale back their work or shut down. The loss of jobs, contracts, and the shrinking humanitarian footprint also equate to a loss in revenue for the Taliban.

One U.N. agency said there were “reputational and staff security risks” where humanitarian agencies were forced to suspend operations owing to reduced funding, causing grievances among communities, or after partners couldn’t pay suppliers or complete contracts. Aid officials warn that frustration and an increase in tensions will trigger spontaneous violence as people compete for resources and services.

The cuts coincide with the mass expulsions of Afghans from neighbouring countries, swelling the population and the ranks of the unemployed while also halting the flow of inward remittances. The World Health Organization estimates the population will increase by 85% to 76.88 million by 2050. Afghanistan needs to give people food, shelter, and economic opportunities.

Thomas Ruttig, from the Afghanistan Analysts Network, recalled meeting a leading Taliban figure in a “completely rundown” office during the late 1990s. The Taliban fighter told him they could live under those circumstances, but foreigners couldn’t.

“What they also say is that Afghans can live under those circumstances, which, to an extent, is true,” said Ruttig. “They were forced to live under those circumstances and have learned how to cope.” Now their means of coping — houses, land, and some savings — are gone.

“The Taliban took it for granted that they won the war with the help of Allah and the population,” he explained. He added that, although the Taliban were a reflection of Afghans’ ambitions, they needed to open up and listen to people’s concerns.

“But they know the more they open up, the more they are questioned, and their rule might be undermined.”

The Taliban needed to think about whether they wanted to govern the country simply to rule it, said Ruttig. “Or do we want to rule this country to make Afghanistan a better place to live? That’s probably the big question in front of them.”