Taliban

Former top US diplomat reveals mistakes made after 9/11 attacks

Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad describes misgivings about the US handling of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

‘I want to cry’: Afghan medical students in Pakistan face expulsion fear

A court has temporarily suspended a directive to expel the students, but the threat of eviction lingers.

Taliban release two detained UN staff members in Afghanistan

The two men, detained in the western city of Herat on August 9, were released on Thursday morning.

Taliban secures pragmatic global alliances without formal recognition

The Taliban navigates a complex web of global trade and security alliances without gaining full political recognition.

Patriotic music and flags mark Taliban rule anniversary in Kabul

A Taliban fighter holds a yellow canister meant to represent a homemade explosive in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, as he rides in a vehicle with children during celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the group’s return to power. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Taliban security personnel dance while holding a launcher for rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons during celebrations at Ahmad Shah Massoud Square in Kabul, Afghanistan. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

A flower seller arranges bouquets ahead of celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal

A flower seller arranges bouquets before celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power. [Nava Jamshidi/AP Photo]

Four young girls dressed in matching outfits hold Taliban flags on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal

Four girls hold Taliban flags in Kabul on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the US withdrawal. [Nava Jamshidi/AP Photo]

Roller skaters perform stunts near the Eidgah mosque in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

A Taliban security personnel holds a marigold flower and a gun.

A Taliban security officer holds a marigold and a gun at a sports event during the anniversary celebrations. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

A portrait of Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani is displayed on a car in Kabul during the celebrations. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Children collect flowers dropped from a military helicopter during an athletes’ parade. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Children ride on a motorcycle carrying Taliban flags during celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal

Dancing to loud patriotic music and taking selfies, supporters of the Taliban rallied in central Kabul. [Nava Jamshidi/AP Photo]

People pack into cars and spill out of windows, sunroofs and the back of pick-up trucks, waving the white flag of the Taliban government. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

A burqa-clad woman in Mazar-i-Sharif sells Taliban flags. [Atif Aryan/AFP]

Taliban officials watch athletes perform near the Eidgah mosque in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghan men near the Eidgah mosque in Kabul watch cyclists perform. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Young Afghans hold a bloodstained effigy of US President Donald Trump during the anniversary celebrations in Herat. [Mohsen Karimi/AFP]

Hundreds of Afghans gather just metres from the former embassy of the United States, whose drawdown of troops resulted in the chaotic exit of foreign forces in 2021. [Siddiqullah Alizai/AP Photo]

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