Five Years On, Taliban Rule Afghanistan Amid Claims of Security and Charges of Suffocating Restrictions
Five years after retaking Kabul, Taliban marks anniversary amid celebrations and tight controls. UN, press groups document restrictions on Afghan society.
The Taliban government’s fifth anniversary of retaking Kabul on August 15, 2026, arrives as the Islamic Emirate marks a milestone with cricket matches and flag-draped convoys — while the UN, press freedom groups, and millions of Afghan citizens document a society under tightening control.
SEO Title: Taliban 5-Year Rule Afghanistan | Celebrations, Restrictions, Kabul
KABUL, August 15, 2026 — Five years after Taliban insurgents entered Kabul unopposed, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is marking the anniversary of its return to power with government-organised sports events, convoy displays of repurposed military vehicles, and murals across the capital declaring, “Independence is a sign of dignity, pride and identity.” The occasion is being observed as a national milestone by Taliban authorities — and as an indictment by the United Nations, press freedom organisations, and many of the country’s own citizens.
Four Days Out, Kabul’s Streets Were Already Showing the Signs
With days to go before the official anniversary, the visual preparations in Kabul were already impossible to miss. Vendors lined the city’s thoroughfares selling flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, rickshaws and motorbikes moved through intersections draped in those same colours, and new murals appeared on walls across the capital. The number of checkpoints in the city increased noticeably ahead of the date.
This is not a simple government celebration.
It is a security operation, a public messaging exercise, a diplomatic signal, and — depending on who is speaking — either a commemoration of liberation or of collapse. The fifth anniversary lands at a moment when the Taliban government holds firmer administrative control over Afghanistan than at any point since 2021, yet remains unrecognised by nearly every government on earth and faces active economic deterioration.
Pirooz Mirzaie, a 20-year-old university student speaking beside flag vendors earlier in the week, told AFP that the government had delivered security, infrastructure projects, and “plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs.” His qualification came in the same breath: “The biggest challenge for young people is that there aren’t many jobs.”
From Cricket Matches to Military Convoys, the Anniversary Programme Unfolds Across Kabul
The Taliban authorities organised a programme for August 15 that spans sports events, public gatherings, and a vehicular convoy through the capital. A cricket match headlined the sporting schedule, with the significant caveat that girls and women are banned from attending. Supporters of the government were expected to gather at locations across Kabul five years to the day since Taliban fighters entered the city following their rapid offensive across the country.
Early on Saturday morning, vehicles formerly belonging to foreign military forces — including Humvees abandoned during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of US-led troops — were driven in convoy through central Kabul. The display served simultaneously as a symbol of military acquisition and a reminder of how the handover occurred: government forces collapsed in the wake of the foreign withdrawal without significant armed resistance to the Taliban’s advance.
Participant categories in the day’s programme included government officials and military commanders attending formal events; sports teams and audiences at the cricket fixture and associated athletics; civilian supporters gathering at public congregation points; and vendors, traders, and informal economy workers active around the anniversary crowds. The day, according to official framing, was designed to project governmental stability — a projection that sits in direct tension with the accounts being offered by independent observers and ordinary Afghans.
Behind the Fifth-Year Milestone Is an Experiment in What ‘Consolidated Control’ Actually Means
The real story here is not the anniversary itself, but the nature of the governance it is commemorating.
Five years in, the Taliban government has achieved what its officials describe as a foundation-building phase. Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated this month that the authorities were laying the “foundations of the economy” and that patience was needed. The World Bank has estimated real GDP growth reaching 4.8 percent — a figure that exists alongside GDP per capita that is in decline, driven in significant part by the arrival of more than six million Afghans from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan over a three-year period as deportations and displacement accelerated.
What consolidated Taliban control has meant in practice, across those five years, breaks into documented policy bans, media suppression, armed conflict with a neighbouring country, and the effective dismantling of girls’ secondary and higher education. On each of these dimensions, international and independent verification points in a consistent direction.
Fiona Frazer, the human rights director for the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told AFP that people had endured the “consolidation of suffocating restrictions that intrude on almost every aspect of their daily lives and their human rights.” The Committee to Protect Journalists described what it called the authorities’ “brutal repression of the press,” documenting media workers who have been “surveilled, detained, beaten, censored, or driven into exile.”
The Taliban government’s strategic ambition, as expressed through its official communications, is to shift its governance from a transitional phase into a permanent, recognised state — an ambition that, five years in, remains unrealised on the international stage.
Kabul’s Position as the Seat of an Unrecognised Government Gives the Anniversary Its Particular Weight
The choice of Kabul as both the physical and symbolic centre of this anniversary is itself a strategic decision worth noting.
The capital is where the Taliban’s return to power was most visibly confirmed in August 2021, and it is where the anniversary’s most organised public programming is concentrated. The government’s audience base for the day spans both domestic supporters and an international diplomatic audience it has been cultivating — with mixed results.
Taliban officials have forged ties with multiple countries, including several in Europe, since 2021. Sourcing materials and official statements project expanding diplomatic engagement. The published external figure, however, remains stark: only Russia has formally recognised the Taliban government as the legitimate authority over Afghanistan.
Public information confirms that the country’s relations with a key neighbour have deteriorated sharply. Relations with Pakistan have plummeted to the point that the two countries went to war earlier in 2026, a development that exacerbated Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis at a moment when the population was already absorbing significant cuts to international aid funding.
Some countries have signalled they are conditioning further engagement on observable changes within Afghanistan, where the UN states people are suffering “very real harm.” A 23-year-old woman, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity for security reasons, described five years of Taliban rule in terms that were among the most direct on record: “The five years have been so gruelling that I feel like a 500-year-old woman, one who cannot die.”
Frequently Asked Questions About Taliban Rule in Afghanistan at the Five-Year Mark
When did the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan? The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, when insurgents entered Kabul unopposed after a rapid offensive that toppled government forces following the withdrawal of US-led troops. August 15, 2026 marks exactly five years since that date.
Which country officially recognises the Taliban government? As of August 2026, only Russia has formally recognised the Taliban government as the legitimate governing authority of Afghanistan. Taliban officials have established ties with multiple other countries, including some in Europe, but formal diplomatic recognition has not followed.
What restrictions have been placed on women and girls under Taliban rule? Under the Taliban government, women and girls face bans from most jobs, from public places including parks, and from attending sports events. Education for girls beyond age 12 has been outlawed. These restrictions have been in place and progressively enforced since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
What is the current economic situation in Afghanistan? The World Bank estimated real GDP growth in Afghanistan reaching 4.8 percent, but GDP per capita is in decline. More than six million Afghans arrived from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan over three years as deportations accelerated, placing additional pressure on the economy. Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated in August 2026 that the government was laying the “foundations of the economy” and that patience was required.
What happened between Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2026? Afghanistan and Pakistan went to war in 2026, following a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations. The conflict exacerbated Afghanistan’s existing humanitarian crisis, coming at a time when international aid to the country had already been significantly cut.
How has the Taliban government treated journalists and media organisations? The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented what it describes as the Taliban authorities’ “brutal repression of the press,” with media workers subjected to surveillance, detention, beatings, censorship, and exile. Press freedom in Afghanistan has contracted substantially under Taliban governance.
What did the UN say about human rights in Afghanistan on the five-year anniversary? Fiona Frazer, the human rights director for the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told AFP that the Afghan population had endured the “consolidation of suffocating restrictions that intrude on almost every aspect of their daily lives and their human rights.” The UN has also stated that people in Afghanistan are suffering “very real harm.”
A Milestone That Means Different Things to Different Afghans
Five years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan have produced a government that controls the territory, has eluded military challenge from within, and is incrementally expanding its international contacts — while remaining diplomatically isolated, economically stressed, engaged in regional conflict, and the subject of sustained human rights criticism from the United Nations and independent monitoring bodies.
The anniversary on August 15, 2026 is being marked in Kabul with flags, convoys, and cricket. It is also being marked, beyond the official programme, by the testimony of citizens — some of whom credit the government with security they did not have before, and others of whom describe the five years as among the most difficult of their lives.
For continued coverage of the Taliban five-year rule in Afghanistan and developments from Kabul, readers may follow:
- AFP Afghanistan coverage: afp.com
- UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA): unama.unmissions.org
- Committee to Protect Journalists: cpj.org
- Free Malaysia Today world desk: freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world
