Five Years of Taliban Rule: Afghanistan’s Government Builds Ties without Recognition
Taliban authorities have deepened regional and Western contacts as 4.7 million Afghans face life-threatening malnutrition, the World Food Programme said.
- On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the Taliban marks five years since fighters entered Kabul and the Afghan government collapsed. Despite lacking formal recognition from most Western nations, the regime has built pragmatic working relationships with various international partners.
- Regional neighbors, including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have adopted pragmatic engagement to secure trade routes through Afghanistan. This contrasts sharply with the Taliban's draconian policies, which Human Rights Watch says have created one of the world's gravest human rights crises for women and girls.
- The World Food Programme reports nearly 19 million Afghans face acute hunger, with 4.7 million suffering life-threatening malnutrition. Meanwhile, women remain banned from secondary school and university, while morality police patrol streets enforcing strict dress codes.
- Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated the government "seeks relations with all countries," hosting envoys in Kabul as part of its diplomatic strategy. India has leveraged this approach, securing sanctions waivers in 2025 to facilitate travel for Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
- Erica Gaston of the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research noted regional states view engagement as "inevitable." Yet many nations restrict further ties pending changes to rules preventing girls' education at age 12, with no policy shift expected.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Women and girls have been forced out of public life. International aid has fallen dramatically, the country is experiencing a hunger crisis.
EU's Taliban tension laid bare five years after Afghanistan takeover
Exclusive: Five years after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, former women’s affairs minister Sami Samar tells Euronews she is disappointed by the EU’s engagement with a regime overseeing a "human rights disaster."
Five Years On, Taliban Builds Global Ties Despite Lack Of Recognition
As well as coordinating on security, Taliban officials have been touting cross-border infrastructure projects to boost the country's fragile economy while Afghans are hit hard by international aid cuts.
Five years on, Afghanistan's Taliban build foreign ties despite rights concerns
Since they seized power in Afghanistan five years ago, the Taliban have succeeded in expanding their diplomatic and economic ties with countries around the world. But Afghanistan remains largely isolated due to a widespread refusal to formally recognise the Taliban government over human rights abuses.
derwesten.de
A travel influencer visits a lake in Afghanistan and notes: women are missing. Behind that is a ban of the Taliban.
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