Taliban mark five years in power as aid groups warn of crisis

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.

Armoured vehicles paraded outside Kabul's former US embassy to mark what officials called "victory day." Interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani credited the movement's return to "morale, courage" and "divine assistance."

How has Afghanistan's humanitarian situation changed under the Taliban?

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, partly because of severe restrictions on Afghan women. The International Rescue Committee warned Friday that Afghanistan's humanitarian needs have reached a record level, driven by droughts, deadly earthquakes and the deportation of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan.

What restrictions have the Taliban placed on Afghan women?

When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 amid the US withdrawal, they promised to govern more liberally than during their previous rule in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period marked by public executions and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Those assurances quickly faltered, human rights groups say. The Taliban have barred 2.5 million women and girls from secondary schools and universities since 2021, according to UNESCO, and have limited their freedom of movement.

Half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month, according to data released by UN Women on Wednesday. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with Islamic sharia law. Five years on, their government remains internationally unrecognised, with Russia the only country to have formally recognised it.

Is the Taliban government internationally recognised?

Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan, initially their most important partner, are tense, as Islamabad accuses Kabul of supporting Pakistani insurgents. Many former embassies in Kabul have remained empty since the Taliban's return, including the US embassy that served as the backdrop for Saturday's celebrations. But the Taliban have made quiet diplomatic inroads, analysts say, as some countries weigh the limits of their influence in Afghanistan against the need to engage with the government.

The Taliban are increasingly pushing for arrangements with European nations seeking ways to deport more Afghans, and are using Afghanistan's location at the crossroads of South and Central Asia and the Middle East to strike economic deals. Zia Ahmad Takal, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban's foreign ministry, told Reuters that anniversary ceremonies were expected in the capitals of Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey and Malaysia.

"My hope for the future of Afghanistan is that we will move toward development, God willing," said Najibullah Ghorzang, a 28-year-old shop owner who attended Saturday's ceremonies in Kabul. "We defeated a great empire, and we will defeat them again," he said of the US and its allies.

What security challenges have the Taliban faced recently?

The Taliban have also faced a string of assassinations of key regional officials in the country's northeast in recent weeks. In late July, the Taliban's information director in Badakhshan province was killed in an attack later claimed by Islamic State. The mayor of the province's capital also died in an attack on Thursday, according to local media, though Taliban officials did not immediately confirm the reports.

How has foreign aid to Afghanistan changed since 2021?

While foreign aid budgets have shrunk, the number of Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance has risen by 3.5 million people since 2021, the International Rescue Committee said. "Sustainable peace and prosperity require more than just an absence of conflict," said Georgette Gagnon, a senior UN representative on Afghanistan. "Afghanistan's future depends on building a society in which the rights and potential of all Afghans are realised."

Fatima, 28, has struggled to survive with her child. After the Taliban's return to power, she fled to Iran, where she continued working as a make-up artist even as the Taliban banned women from such work in Afghanistan. She was deported back to Afghanistan last year. "Every 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's future," she said.