The Taliban marked five years back in power Saturday with celebrations in Kabul featuring flags, chanting crowds, and graffiti praising fighters' "sacrifice," even as the group faces near-open conflict with Pakistan, growing insurgent attacks, and deep economic distress. A Taliban mayor was assassinated in northern Afghanistan just before the anniversary, the second such killing in that province in two weeks.
Pakistan has launched dozens of airstrikes on Afghan territory, killing 500 civilians since October according to the UN, while accusing the Taliban of harboring militants; the Taliban in turn accuse Islamabad of backing anti-Taliban fighters in Badakhshan province. Meanwhile UNESCO says 2.4 million Afghan girls remain barred from education, religious minorities face closures of worship sites, and UN staff and journalists report arrests and disappearances.
Despite the unrest, the Taliban have expanded diplomatic and trade ties, meeting European officials in Brussels on migrant deportations and courting a possible Trump administration return to Afghanistan, while extreme hunger spreads amid aid cuts.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.