United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk launched a four-week session of the UN's Human Rights Council with a call for global leadership to avert a "dystopian future," invoking urgent warnings about the treatment of women in Taliban-led Afghanistan and Ukrainians under near-constant Russian attack.

Midway through his four-year mandate as the UN's leading voice on human rights, Turk said the world was "at a fork in the road."

The world faces a choice between continuing into "a treacherous 'new normal'" that fosters "sleepwalk[ing] into a dystopian future" or "wak[ing] up and turn[ing] things around for the better, for humanity and the planet," he said.

Turk cited "endless, vicious military escalation and increasingly horrifying, technologically 'advanced' methods of warfare, control, and repression."

He also cited indifference to inequalities between and within countries, a disinformation "free-for-all," the twisting of national sovereignty "to shroud -- or excuse -- horrific violations," and the discrediting of multilateral institutions or trying to "rewrite the international rules."

Turk said human rights aren't in crisis, "but political leadership needed to make them a reality is."

"At their most extreme, for example in Afghanistan, despicable laws and policies are effectively erasing women from public life," Turk said in reference to the Taliban-led government that has led that country since a U.S.-led international coalition withdrew in mid-2021.

The Taliban seized power promising more moderate policies than when the hard-line fundamentalist group ruled the country some two decades earlier, but its leaders have since doubled down on the recreation of a totalitarian clerical regime, especially with regard to women, who have effectively been denied any public role in society.

Afghan women have been banned from working in many sectors and are barred from recreation and leisure activities such as visiting public parks and public baths, and also face severe restrictions on where and how they can appear in public.

Turk's concerns on Afghanistan were echoed in a warning ahead of the session by a Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement saying the UN Human Rights Council "should urgently create an independent body to pursue accountability for all those responsible for serious abuses -- past and present -- in Afghanistan."

HRW said the human rights and humanitarian reality there had "gravely spiraled downward" since August 2021.

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said in his report ahead of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council that women and girls had been victim to ever-greater restrictions under the Taliban.

In his wide-ranging speech, Turk also talked about horrific conditions for millions of Ukrainians and a region of Russia recently occupied by Ukraine as Russia's full-scale invasion grinds through its third year.

"In Ukraine, civilians are trapped in cycles of terror, through ongoing attacks by the Russian Federation striking civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and supermarkets, and repeated waves of targeting of energy infrastructure leading to country-wide blackouts," Turk said. "I fear for Ukrainians this coming winter."

He also cited the "horrific" attacks in Israel by the U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist organization Hamas that killed more than 1,200 people and injured many more, and the subsequent deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces.

Fighting erupted again on September 9 between Taliban forces and Pakistani security forces in the Kurram-Khost border areas, with eyewitnesses saying the violence included heavy weaponry and one elder saying a Pakistani soldier had been killed, although that could not be confirmed.

The outbreak follows reports of intense clashes in the same border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan that caused multiple casualties over the weekend.

Locals on the Afghan side of the border told Radio Mashaal that the latest fighting started around 1 p.m. local time on September 9.

Residents were said to be fleeing the villages of Palotsa and Setwan in the Zazai Maidan district of Afghanistan's Khost Province.

SEE ALSO:

The Azadi Briefing: Reclusive Afghan Taliban Chief Appears To Make Rare Trip

A local elder told Radio Mashaal that a Pakistani soldier had been killed but Radio Mashaal could not independently confirm that report.

Intermittent outbreaks of violence have heightened concerns about security in the region, with recent fighting sparked by an attempt to erect a security outpost on the Afghan side that Pakistani troops tried to stop.

Islamabad insists mutual agreements preclude the construction of new security posts by either side.

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has disputed Pakistani accusations that it is allowing gunmen linked to the outlawed Tehrik-e Taliban to shelter in the area and launch cross-border attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban has moved reinforcement troops, artillery, and tanks to the area.

Radio Mashaal's Khost correspondent said the Taliban was preventing locals and journalists from sharing information with media or outsiders.

House Republicans on September 8 issued a scathing report on their investigation into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, blaming the disastrous end of America's longest war on President Joe Biden's administration and minimizing the role of former President Donald Trump, who had signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban. The partisan review lays out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump's February 2020 withdrawal deal, that allowed America's fundamentalist Taliban enemy to sweep through and conquer all of the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on August 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens, Afghan battlefield allies, women activists, and others at risk from the Taliban. Defending the administration after release of the report, a State Department spokesman said Biden acted in the U.S.'s best interest in finally ending the country's deployment in Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan's foreign minister said on September 6 that the country had taken the Taliban off of its terrorist list "to secure regional stability and further develop the ongoing dialogue." A day earlier, the Taliban-led Afghan government's Foreign Ministry expressed thanks to Bishkek for removing the group from its terrorist list. The Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General's Office earlier this week issued a list of 20 groups labeled as terrorist organizations. It did not include the Taliban. In early June, Kazakhstan said it removed the Taliban from its terrorist list. The Taliban regained control over Afghanistan in August 2021 after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, appears to have made a rare trip outside his stronghold in southern Afghanistan.

The reclusive leader seldom leaves the southern city of Kandahar, which is known as the birthplace of the Taliban and has become the de facto capital under the militant group’s rule.

But this week, the Taliban said Akhundzada travelled to northern Afghanistan in what is believed to be his first trip to the region since the group’s takeover in 2021.

Videos uploaded by the Taliban on social media showed a long convoy of armored cars traveling to cities and towns in the provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Jowzjan, Balkh, and Samangan.

Akhundzada was not seen in any of the videos or photos released by the Taliban. In its press statements, the Taliban said he met local officials and called on them to enforce a new draconian morality law.

Adopted on August 21, the widely condemned law imposes severe restrictions on the appearances and movements of women and men.

Why It's Important: Akhundzada, a hard-line cleric, is believed to only meet a small cadre of Taliban officials and avoids public appearances. He has rarely met foreign diplomats or dignitaries visiting Afghanistan. The Taliban chief also avoids being photographed or filmed.

Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, said Akhundzada’s trip to northern Afghanistan was aimed at projecting power and confidence.

As the Taliban’s “Amir ul-Momineen," or leader of the faithful, Akhundzada has the final say on all important matters.

Akhundzada’s extremist policies, many of them reminiscent of those under the Taliban’s brutal regime in the 1990s, has made the militant group an international pariah.

What's Next: It’s unclear whether Akhundzada will play a more active and visible role, or if his recent trip was a one-off.

But what is clear is that he has consolidated power and empowered extremist clerics within the Taliban, despite growing internal opposition to his policies.

What To Keep An Eye On

Afghan migrants and refugees have complained that they are being detained and harassed in neighboring Pakistan.

Police detained a group of Afghans in a neighborhood in the capital, Islamabad, on September 4.

"We were scared and surprised," Sabira, an Afghan woman, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

She said police questioned several Afghan families visiting a park in Islamabad's B-17 neighborhood.

Why It's Important: The detentions appear to suggest the Pakistani authorities could launch a new crackdown on Afghans.

Last year, Islamabad expelled more than 500,000 Afghans as part of its campaign to deport undocumented migrants from the country.

Earlier this year, Pakistan suspended the planned expulsion of more Afghans amid mounting international pressure.

That's all from me for now.

Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility on September 3 for an attack in the Afghan capital a day earlier that killed at least six people and injured 13 more. The attack is believed to have been targeting the Taliban-led government's prosecution offices. VOA's Pashto service and the AFP news agency quoted the IS group's Amaq media wing as claiming IS was behind what it said was a suicide attack once "prosecutor's employees were leaving their shifts." Some witnesses claimed a much higher death toll, and the Amaq report claimed "more than 45" had been killed or wounded. The Sunni-led Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) branch has carried out numerous attacks since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, often targeting Taliban officials, foreign nationals, and the Shi'ite Hazara community.

At least six people were killed and 13 injured in a blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on September 2, representatives of the de facto Taliban rulers said. Witnesses said the incident took place near the Attorney General's Office in the capital, with some residents telling RFE/RL's Radio Adazi that at least 15 people had been killed. Police officials declared it a "suicide attack," but details remain scarce. Residents near the emergency hospital in the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood told Radio Azadi they saw bodies and injured being taken by ambulance to the hospital. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Sunni-led Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) branch has carried out numerous attacks since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, often targeting Taliban officials, foreign nationals, and the Shi'ite Hazara community. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, click here.

Richard Bennett, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, says he has arrived in Qatar to meet with "diverse groups" of Afghan men and women, along with government representatives, on the situation in Afghanistan. The country's de facto Taliban rulers barred Bennett from entering Afghanistan late last month, accusing him of "spreading propaganda." Since being appointed to the UN post in May 2022, Bennett has made several trips to Afghanistan and has accused the Taliban of violating human rights, especially in regard to the rights of girls and women. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

The United Nations said it will continue to engage with all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, even after the hard-line rulers issued a “distressing” new morality law that severely bans women’s activities in public.

“We have been very vocal on the decision to further make women’s presence almost disappear in Afghanistan,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news conference in New York on August 31.

“In terms of the contacts with the de facto authorities...we will continue to engage with all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.”

"We have always done so following our mandate. And I would say impartially and in good faith, always upholding the norms of the UN, pushing the messages of human rights and equality. And we will continue our work as mandated by the Security Council,” he added.

Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said on August 25 that the laws presented a “distressing vision” for Afghanistan’s future.

The laws expand the "already intolerable restrictions” on the rights of women and girls -- with “even the sound of a female voice” in public deemed a violation of morality laws.

SEE ALSO:

Afghanistan Slides Into 'Ever More Hellish Conditions' After New Morality Law Enacted

The Taliban has attempted to police the public appearances and behavior of millions of Afghans, especially women, since seizing power in 2021.

Enforcement of the extremist group’s rules governing morality, including its strict Islamic dress code and gender segregation in society, was sporadic and uneven across the country.

But on August 21, the hard-line Islamist group formally codified into law its long set of draconian restrictions, triggering fear among Afghans of stricter enforcement.

The Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice imposes severe restrictions on the appearances, behavior, and movement of women. The law also enforces constraints on men.

Taliban leaders say the laws are based on their interpretation of Shari'a law.

SEE ALSO:

The Azadi Briefing: Afghan Clerics Are Opposing Taliban Bans On Female Education

Several leading Afghan clerics have come out publicly to oppose the latest restrictions.

Mawlawi Abdul Sami Ghaznavi, said it was the Taliban’s "responsibility to create favorable conditions for women's education."

On August 27, the UN Human Commission on Human Rights demanded that the "repressive law be immediately repealed."

"This is utterly intolerable," it said.

"We call on the de facto authorities to immediately repeal this legislation, which is in clear violation of Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law."

With reporting by AP

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban's hard-line higher education minister has defended the extremist group's severe restrictions on female education.

The Islamist group has barred girls from attending school past the sixth grade and banned women from going to university.

In a press conference on August 24, Nida Mohammad Nadim said the Taliban's widely condemned restrictions were "not in conflict with Islam."

He added that questioning the Taliban's policies on education were also banned.

But that has not stopped senior Afghan clerics from criticizing Nadim and the Taliban's controversial education policies.

Mawlana Sibghatullah Mawlawizada, one of the most senior clerics in the western city of Herat, on August 25 challenged Nadim to a public debate.

"I urge him to discuss the [religious] legality of [of the ban on] female education in the presence of national and international media," Mawlawizada said in a video message.

Nadim has not publicly responded to Mawlawizada.

Another leading Afghan cleric, Mawlawi Abdul Sami Ghaznavi, also challenged the Taliban. He said it was the group's "responsibility to create favorable conditions for women's education."

Why It's Important: A growing number of Afghan religious scholars are openly challenging the Taliban's restrictions on female education.

Even some Afghan clerics working for the Taliban-led government have publicly opposed the bans. They have said there is no justification for banning female education under Islam.

Islamic scholars across the world have condemned the Taliban's restrictions. Afghanistan is the only country in the Muslim world where teenage girls and women are banned from receiving an education.

What's Next: Despite domestic and international criticism and pressure, the Taliban is unlikely to reverse its education bans.

Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban's extremist policies have made its unrecognized government an international pariah.

What To Keep An Eye On

Protesters in northwestern Pakistan have blocked Torkham, a key border crossing with Afghanistan. The move has concerned Afghan traders who fear a big financial hit.

Khan Jan Alakozai, a senior official of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said thousands of trucks transporting fresh Afghan fruits and vegetables have been stranded at the crossing.

"If the border is not opened, some traders will lose their businesses altogether while others will incur mourning custom duties," he told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi on August 29.

Since August 22, members of a Pashtun tribe displaced by a Pakistani military operation have blocked the crossing in protest.

Why It's Important: The frequent closures of Torkham and Chaman, another key crossing, have disrupted trade between the two neighbors.

In recent years, Islamabad has closed the border crossings after clashes between Pakistani and Taliban border guards.

Pakistan has also shuttered the border to pressure the Afghan Taliban to expel the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan extremist group, which is believed to be based in Afghanistan.

That's all from me for now.

Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

Germany has followed through on its announcement that it would deport "criminal" Afghan refugees and asylum seekers back to Afghanistan despite not having formal relations with the Taliban’s de-facto government.

A plane carrying 28 Afghan men convicted of crimes in Germany took off from Leipzig/Halle Airport for Kabul early on August 30, according to German officials. The men had been transported from across the country to Leipzig for the flight, which was arranged by the Interior Ministry.

A senior official from the Taliban's Transportation and Civil Aviation Ministry, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Radio Azadi that they had given approval for a plane flying from Leipzig to land at Kabul International Airport. The official declined to provide any details regarding the passengers onboard the aircraft, which was expected to arrive in Kabul in the evening.

All of the deportees aboard the chartered Qatar Airways flight were "convicted offenders who had no right to stay in Germany and against whom deportation orders had been issued," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.
Hebestreit said Berlin had "asked key regional partners for support in order to facilitate the deportations," without providing further details.

A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said on August 30 that Germany had no intention of normalizing its relations with the Taliban.

SEE ALSO:

Afghanistan Slides Into 'Ever More Hellish Conditions' After New Morality Law Enacted

"As long as the general conditions are as they are and the Taliban behave the way they do, there will be no effort to normalize relations with the Taliban," the spokesperson said. "There are contacts on a technical level, especially through our representative office in Doha."

Germany's Der Spiegel magazine said the operation followed two months of "secret negotiations" in which Qatar, which has sustainable contacts with the Taliban authorities, served as an intermediary between Germany and the Taliban-led government.

The controversial development comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in June that Germany would restart deportations of dangerous criminals and terror suspects to Afghanistan and Syria.

Scholz's announcement came after an Afghan refugee was charged in a deadly knife attack in the city of Mannheim in May. This week, after a Syrian refugee suspected of killing three people in Solingen was taken into custody, Scholz vowed to speed up deportations.

The issue has also become a major topic of debate ahead of regional elections on September 1 in the Saxony and Thuringia regions, where anti-immigration parties are expected to do well.

SEE ALSO:

3 Years Later, Afghans Still Reeling From Impact Of Devastating Kabul Airport Attack

Germany emerged as a major destination for Afghans fleeing insecurity and poverty at home and, after the Taliban retook power after nearly 20 years of war against a U.S.-led coalition, the prospect of persecution by the hard-line Islamist group.

Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, Germany halted deportations to Afghanistan and, like all countries, has refused to recognize the Taliban-led government and has no formal relations with it.

Germany is also a major destination for Syrians seeking to escape that country's civil war and rule under leader Bashar al-Assad. Syrians are the largest refugee group in Germany, with hundreds of thousands allowed into the country since 2015.

In 2020, Germany allowed a ban on deportations to Syria that had been in place since 2012 to expire.

The backlash against refugees and asylum-seekers rose significantly among conservative and hard-right politicians after a 25-year-old Afghan was accused of stabbing a German police officer to death and injuring five others in May.

In June, Scholz met with leaders of Germany’s 16 states in Berlin to discuss restarting deportations of Afghan and Syrian immigrants convicted of serious crimes.

SEE ALSO:

The Azadi Briefing: Thousands Of Afghans Detained By Taliban's Morality Police

Michael Stuebgen, the interior minister of the eastern state of Brandenburg, argued that Germany could engage in talks with the Taliban and that parts of Syria are secure enough to allow the returns of refugees.

In lieu of relations with the Taliban, Interior Ministry officials reportedly considered the possibility of routing Afghan deportees through third countries such as Uzbekistan and also discussed ways of conducting asylum proceedings in third countries.

Opponents argue that deportations of Afghans and Syrian refugees would go against the German Constitution and commitments under international law and that the outsourcing of asylum procedures would violate asylum-seekers' human rights.

Amnesty International Germany on August 30 harshly criticized the resumption of deportations.

"The rule of law also means adhering to international law," the rights watchdog said on X. "Extrajudicial executions, disappearances, and torture are the order of the day in Afghanistan. No one is safe there. If the German government deports people anyway it risks becoming an accomplice of the Taliban."

As the issue heated up in recent months, the Interior Ministry stressed that the deportations would affect only a small number of people.

The German government did not provide details on the crimes for which the 28 Afghans deported on August 30 had been convicted. However, AFP quoted the Justice Ministry of the Baden-Wuerttemberg state reportedly said one was convicted of participating in a gang rape of a 14-year old girl and another had more than 160 criminal convictions.

Following news that the deportation of Afghans had resumed, Green party co-leader Omid Nouripour was quoted as saying he welcomed the effort to expel serious criminals but said it did not signal the start of large-scale deportations.

"Law-abiding people, especially families and children who have fled from radical Islamists," are protected in Germany, he said.

With reporting by AP and AFP

A Pakistani Army colonel and several members of his immediate families have been abducted, authorities said early on August 29. The officer, two of his brothers, and a nephew were kidnapped while attending a family funeral in the Kalach area of Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, security sources told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. The banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in a message to Radio Mashaal, adding that those kidnapped were safe. The incident comes after the government launched an operation against militants that it says are coming into Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan.

The Taliban has attempted to police the public appearances and behavior of millions of Afghans, especially women, since seizing power in 2021.

But the enforcement of the extremist group’s rules governing morality, including its strict Islamic dress code and gender segregation in society, was sporadic and uneven across the country.

Now, the hard-line Islamist group has formally codified into law its long set of draconian restrictions, triggering fear among Afghans of stricter enforcement.

The Law On the Propagation Of Virtue And Prevention Of Vice, which was officially enacted and published on August 21, imposes severe restrictions on the appearances, behavior, and movement of women. The law also enforces constraints on men.

Adela, a middle-aged woman, is the sole breadwinner for her family of 10. She is concerned that the new morality law will erode the few rights that women still have.

The Taliban has allowed some women, primarily in the health and education sectors, to work outside their homes.

"I fear that Afghan women will no longer be able to go to their jobs," Adela, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

Dilawar, a resident of the capital, Kabul, warned of a public backlash if the Taliban intensified the enforcement of its widely detested restrictions.

"The youth are suffering from extreme unemployment. Oppressing them…will provoke reactions," the 26-year-old, whose name was also changed due to security concerns, told Radio Azadi.

Long List Of Restrictions

The new morality law consists of 35 articles, many of which target women.

Women are required to fully cover their faces and bodies when in public and are banned from wearing "transparent, tight, or short" clothing. The law also bans women from raising their voices or singing in public.

Women must also be accompanied by a male chaperone when they leave their homes and cannot use public transport without a male companion.

The law forbids unrelated adult men and women from looking at each other in public.

Men must also dress modestly, even when playing sports or exercising. They are prohibited from shaving or trimming their beards. Men are also compelled to attend prayers as well as fast during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan.

“[Men] should not get haircuts, which violate Islamic Shari’a law,” says one of the articles in the law. "Friendship and helping [non-Muslim] infidels and mimicking their appearance" is prohibited.

Afghans are forbidden from "using or promoting" crossses, neckties, and other symbols deemed to be Western.

Premarital sex and homosexuality are outlawed. Drinking alcohol, the use of illicit drugs, and gambling are considered serious crimes.

Playing or listening to music in public is banned. Meanwhile, the celebration of non-Muslim holidays, including Norouz, the Persian New Year, are also prohibited.

The Taliban’s dreaded morality police are responsible for enforcing the morality law. The force, believed to number several thousand, is overseen by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Under the new law, the powers of the morality police have been expanded.

Members of the force will be deployed across the country to monitor compliance, according to the law. Members of the morality police are instructed to issue warnings to offenders. Repeat offenders can be detained, fined, and even have their property confiscated.

The morality police can detain offenders for up to three days and hand out punishments "deemed appropriate" without a trial.

The Taliban revealed last week that the force detained more than 13,000 Afghans during the past year for violating the extremist group’s morality rules.

'Hellish Conditions'

The Taliban’s morality law has been widely condemned by Afghans, Western countries, and human rights organizations.

The Taliban has defended the law, which it claims is “firmly rooted in Islamic teachings.”

"This new law is deeply harmful," said Heather Barr, associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch. "It represents a hardening and institutionalization of these rules by giving them the status of law."

She said the law is a "serious escalation" and "swift slide to ever more hellish conditions for Afghan women and girls."

Roza Otunbaeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, on August 25 called the law a "distressing vision for Afghanistan's future" because of the broad powers the Taliban’s morality police will have "to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions."

Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer of politics at the American University of Afghanistan, said that parts of the morality law are "extremely vague."

Yet, the morality police are given broad powers, including to "arbitrarily" punish people without due process, he said.

"[This is] making them the judge, jury, and executioner," said Baheer.

Afghanistan is one of the largest recipients of humanitarian aid from the European Union, EU officials said on August 27, one day after saying it was appalled by a new decree issued by the Taliban-led government further restricting the lives of women.

The European Union this year has provided 125 million euros ($139 million) to Afghanistan for humanitarian-aid purposes, Balazs Ujvari, European Commission spokesman for budget, human resources, humanitarian aid, and crisis management, said at a European Commission news briefing in Brussels.

In addition to classic aid distribution, the EU has also organized 35 “air-bridge” flights carrying 1,600 tons of aid since 2021.

“This shows that in a broad variety of areas, we are deploying a variety of humanitarian and civil-protection tools as well to try and alleviate the ongoing difficulties in the country," Ujvari said.

European Commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer added that when the EU distributes humanitarian aid, it works with partner organizations, not the government.

Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said the EU reacted very quickly on August 26 to the Taliban’s so-called Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, but at the same time she defended keeping ties with the Taliban.

“When it comes to the engagement with the Taliban, we do maintain contact...to allow the dialogue for political priories of the EU and to ensure that the EU can provide support to the Afghan people, and this is very important,” she said at the briefing. “The EU engagement with the Taliban is not an acknowledgement of legitimacy.”

SEE ALSO:

Taliban Morality Laws Provide 'Distressing Vision' For Afghanistan, Warns UN Envoy

In addition to saying it was appalled by the August 26 decree, the EU statement called it a “serious blow undermining the rights of Afghan women and girls, which we cannot tolerate.”

The decree imposes further restrictive dress codes for women and says that voices of women must not be heard in public, “which effectively deprives Afghan women of their fundamental right to freedom of expression,” the EU statement said.

The European Union said the decree, issued on the third anniversary of a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 U.S. soldiers and scores of Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal, also gives the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice a mandate to enforce it.

“This, together with the restrictions imposed, punishable under Taliban law, violates legal obligations and treaties to which Afghanistan is a state party, including by undermining Afghan people’s right to due process,” the EU statement said.

It also noted that the decree creates another obstacle to normalized relations and recognition by the international community -- goals that the Taliban publicly aspires to.

The harrowing events of August 26, 2021, are seared into Shafiullah Samsor's memory.

Twenty-two years old at the time, Samsor was among the thousands of desperate Afghans who had amassed outside Kabul airport hoping to be airlifted from the country by the U.S. military.

Just days before, the Taliban had seized control of the Afghan capital, triggering panic among the city's 5 million inhabitants.

Amid the chaotic scenes outside the airport, which was still controlled by departing U.S. forces, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest among the crowd, unleashing a scene of horror.

"Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, which threw me to the ground," Samsor recalled. "There was shouting, and people began running everywhere. I remember the blood and dust around me before I fell unconscious."

The university student was rushed to hospital, where he remained in a coma for four days. When he woke up, the doctors informed him that his spine was fractured in four places. A piece of shrapnel had also pierced his throat.

Around 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel were killed in the bombing, one of the deadliest attacks of the entire 19-year U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Hundreds more like Samsor were wounded.

The bombing claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group became a symbol of the chaotic and deadly U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan that was completed on August 31.

Three years on, survivors are still reeling from the psychological and physical effects of the attack.

Samsor never returned to university to complete his degree in English literature. He cannot work and can barely walk even with the help of crutches.

He and his five sisters and mother depend on remittances sent by his older brother, who works in neighboring Iran.

Samsor's family spent all their savings and sold off a plot of land and their car to fund his treatment.

"I hope that Allah will punish those responsible for devastating my life and the lives of so many others," he said.

Meisam Ahmadi lost his two brothers in the bombing.

Alireza Ahmadi, a journalist, and Mujtaba Ahmadi, a photojournalist, had joined the crowd outside Kabul Airport's Abbey Gate after a friend told them he had been allowed to enter the airport by U.S. forces. The friend, Meisam said, had promised to help the brothers get in.

"Unfortunately, there was an explosion there, and both of them were standing together, and they lost their lives," Meisam said.

'Badly Handled'

Survivors and the families of the victims of the bombing are still seeking answers about what happened.

Two investigations by the Pentagon concluded that all the victims were killed by a lone suicide bomber.

But a CNN investigation based on new video evidence and released in April this year suggested dozens of the victims may have been shot dead by U.S. soldiers.

Three days after the Abbey Gate bombing, the U.S. military carried out a drone strike targeting what it initially said was an IS-K compound in Kabul.

Instead, the U.S. drone strike killed an Afghan aid worker and nine people from his extended family in what the Pentagon called a "tragic mistake."

Michael Semple, an Afghanistan expert at Queen's University Belfast, said the horrific Kabul Airport attack embodied Washington's mishandling of the international military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"It was time for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan, but the scenes of disorder which we saw, and which were sort of epitomized by the carnage which happened at Abbey Gate, show that it was badly handled," Semple said.

In 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement for the phased withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

But a lightening Taliban military offensive in the summer of 2021 led to the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government before all international forces had left the country.

U.S.-led forces kept control of Kabul Airport for two weeks after the Taliban takeover, evacuating tens of thousands of foreign nationals as well as at-risk Afghans.

The Taliban’s new vice and virtue laws that include a ban on women's voices and bare faces in public provide a "distressing vision" for Afghanistan's future, a top UN official warned on August 25. Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the UN mission to Afghanistan, said the laws extend the "already intolerable restrictions" on the rights of women and girls, with "even the sound of a female voice" outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation. Afghanistan's Taliban rulers recently issued a set of morality laws that include a requirement for women to conceal their faces, bodies, and voices outside the home.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban has revealed that its notorious religious police detained more than 13,000 Afghans during the past year for violating the extremist group's morality laws.

The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which oversees the religious police, said those detained had violated the group's strict Islamic dress code and gender segregation in society.

Other violations, the ministry said, included gambling, the use of illicit drugs, and playing or listening to music, which is banned.

Muhibullah Mukhlis, a ministry official, said on August 20 that the Taliban had "confiscated and destroyed" over 20,000 musical instruments and closed 25 bars across the predominately Muslim country in the past year.

He also added that nearly 300 Taliban members were fired from their jobs for trimming their beards, which is also banned.

Why It's Important: The Taliban's religious police have been accused of creating a "climate of fear and intimidation" in Afghanistan.

The force has publicly punished offenders, often violently. Men and women convicted of violating the Taliban's morality laws have been jailed or publicly flogged, often in fields or sports venues.

"We are terrified and cannot celebrate anything," said a resident of the northern province of Parwan, where the Taliban publicly destroyed confiscated musical instruments on August 20.

"If we celebrate, the Taliban's morality police beat and humiliate us," he told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi while requesting anonymity because of concerns over his safety.

What's Next: The Taliban's dreaded religious police are likely to remain a cornerstone of the extremist group's brutal rule.

This week, the Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, issued a decree that expanded the powers of the religious police.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban has banned UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Richard Bennett from entering the country.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on August 21 accused Bennett of providing "false" information about the situation in Afghanistan and spreading "propaganda."

Bennett called the ban "a step backward" and said it "sends a concerning signal" about the Taliban's engagement with the UN and the international community on human rights.

Bennett was appointed in 2022 to monitor Afghanistan's human rights situation. He has traveled to Afghanistan several times and pointed to grave human rights violations, especially against Afghan women and girls.

Afghan and international human rights campaigners have condemned the Taliban's decision.

Heather Barr, associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch, said "the Taliban are giving up some of their last pretenses of wanting to look rights-respecting."

Why It's Important: While Bennett will still document rights abuses in Afghanistan, the ban will harm the Taliban's efforts to gain international recognition.

Despite increased international engagement with the Taliban-led government, Western nations will likely find it difficult to overlook the group's extensive rights abuses, including denying women most of their fundamental rights and carrying out extrajudicial killings as well as the torture and ill-treatment of detainees.

That's all from me for now.

Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have banned UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Richard Bennett from entering the country, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted as saying by private Afghan broadcaster Tolo. Mujahid accused Bennett of providing "false" information about the situation in Afghanistan and spreading "propaganda." Bennett called the ban "a step backwards" and said it "sends a concerning signal" about the Taliban's engagement with the United Nations and the international community on human rights. Bennett was appointed in 2022 to monitor Afghanistan's human rights situation. He has traveled to Afghanistan several times and pointed to grave human rights violations, especially against Afghan women and girls.

Top officials of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan marked 105 years of of the country's independence on August 18 by demanding mutual respect from the international community.

Afghanistan gained its independence in August 1919 after the signing of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty, which ended British control over the country’s foreign affairs.

Afghanistan currently remains unrecognized internationally, largely because of the restrictions the Taliban-led government has placed on women since it returned to power in August 2021.

SEE ALSO:

'Systematic Discrimination': Taliban's Drastic Cut In Salaries Of Female State Employees Triggers Anger

The anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty was marked at a meeting of top Taliban leaders in Kabul broadcast live by the Taliban-controlled National Radio and Television.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the Taliban's acting defense minister, told the meeting that the government wants strong relations with the world based on mutual respect but will never give in to pressure.

He also said the Taliban, which seized power after the U.S.-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile, will never allow the Islamic State and other destructive groups to create chaos in Afghanistan.

"Whether they are Daesh (Islamic State) or other rebels, they should hear…that we have not surrendered to anyone's power at any cost. By any name, we have established the Islamic system in this land. We will defend it till death and the last century."

The international community has previously expressed concern about the presence of the extremist Islamic State group in Afghanistan, while the Taliban has said it is the only group capable of ruling and establishing security in the country.

SEE ALSO:

At Least 1.4 Million Afghan Girls Banned From Attending School Since Taliban Takeover, UNESCO Says

Hamid Karzai, who served as the first elected president of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014, marked the anniversary of the signing of the treaty by calling on the Taliban to allow girls and women to attend school and university.

“I call on the caretaker Islamic government to open the doors of schools and universities in the country as soon as possible so that girls equipped with the jewels of knowledge can play their part in the development of the country alongside their brothers,” Karzai said on X. “Education and national unity are the forces that will keep the country strong.”

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has banned girls and women from studying beyond primary school.

The United Nations said on August 15 that at least 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education and this has almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan, leaving the future of an entire generation in jeopardy.

The Afghan Taliban's acting prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who is on a UN sanctions list, is receiving medical treatment in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), officials said. U.A.E. President Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan visited the Taliban leader "to inquire about his health," a spokeswoman for the U.A.E. Foreign Ministry said on social media, without providing many details. Akhund did not attend Taliban ceremonies in Kabul on August 14 that marked the third anniversary of the group's return to power in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov arrived in Kabul on August 17 in the first high-level visit by an Uzbek delegation since the Taliban returned to power three years ago, ousting a Western-backed government. Aripov will take part in bilateral meetings to discuss trade between the two neighboring countries, the Taliban-led Ministry for Industry and Commerse said on X, sharing a photo of the Uzbek delegation arriving at Kabul's airport. No country has officially recognized the Taliban-led government in Kabul. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

An Afghan press-freedom watchdog says media freedom continues to decline as the Taliban marks three years in power.

In a new report on August 13, the Afghanistan Journalist Center (AFJC) said the Taliban's brutal treatment of the media was on the rise.

Its government issued "new guidelines" to reign in the once vibrant Afghan press, which was already reeling from pressure to implement 14 detailed instructions the group had issued during the previous two years.

The report said that during the past year of Taliban rule, it decreed what kind of language and terminologies the Afghan print and electronic media should use.

As part of its growing restrictions, the group has banned photography and filming of all meetings in the southern province of Kandahar, where Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada lives.

Hamid Obidi, the head of the AFJC, said the Taliban's three years in power had proved it doesn't believe "in a free press and the citizen's right to access free information."

The AFJC documented 181 cases of threats, detentions, and convictions of journalists from August 2023 to the present.

Exiled Afghan journalists in the West say the Taliban has detained more than 300 journalists during the past three years.

Why It's Important: The Taliban has attempted to systematically dismantle the freedoms previously enjoyed by the Afghan press because it sees it as a legacy of the fallen Afghan republic and its Western allies.

The Islamist group has not honored any of its early promises to allow freedom of the press. Instead, it wants Afghan journalists to “reorient their thinking,” according to the AFJC, whose report cites statements by senior Taliban officials.

Taliban actions speak much louder than its promises. Intimidation by its officials has forced hundreds of journalists into exile. Taliban restrictions or the loss of Western funding has forced scores of Afghan media outlets to shut down.

In order to deny Afghans access to the free flow of information, it has banned international broadcasters whose content in Pashto and Dari is widely popular. The Taliban has also denied visas to independent foreign correspondents.

What's Next: The Taliban has been quite successful in shaping a media environment inside Afghanistan that serves its government.

Its restrictions even prompt independent media outlets inside Afghanistan to self-censor and avoid critical reporting.

Waning international interest in Afghanistan and the lack of access to the country make in-depth reporting from the government very difficult.

All this has paved the way for the Taliban to replace journalism with propaganda.

What To Keep An Eye On

Ten major international nongovernmental aid groups have called for more Western donor engagement with the Taliban's unrecognized government.

CARE, the Danish Refugee Council, Save the Children International, and other groups have called on Western capitals to rethink their approach to the Taliban.

"Diplomatic engagement is crucial to creating an enabling environment in Afghanistan that will support upscaling international aid efforts to include development projects alongside emergency assistance," the NGOs said in a joint statement on August 13.

International donors have suspended most of their funding for Afghanistan over the Taliban's ban on most education and employment for women and its reportedly extensive human rights abuses.

The statement said the current "isolationist approach" of donor countries does not help alleviate the suffering of Afghans as they face one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

More than half of Afghanistan's 40 million population needs humanitarian assistance, but funding for the crises is declining, with only 25 percent of the funds pledged for the current UN humanitarian appeal of more than $3 billion.

Why It's Important: The statement is part of a new trend that favors engagement over pressure to change the Taliban's behavior.

It is, however, not clear whether the Taliban will commit to reversing its extremist policies if its government is recognized and receives international assistance.

That's all from me for now.

Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

At least 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, said on August 15.

"In just three years, the de facto authorities have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan, and the future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy," the agency said in a statement.

It comes as the Taliban marked three years since its forces seized Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, on August 15, 2021, after the U.S.-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile.

Since the Taliban's return to power, women have been squeezed from public life -- banned from many jobs as well as parks and gyms -- and barred from secondary and higher education.

The restrictions amount to what the United Nations has described as "gender apartheid."

SEE ALSO:

Afghan Taliban Created World's Most Serious Women's Rights Crisis, HRW Says

There are now nearly 2.5 million girls deprived of their right to education, representing 80 percent of Afghan school-age girls, UNESCO said. This represents an increase of 300,000 since the previous count carried out by the UN agency in April 2023.

"As a result of bans imposed by the de facto authorities, at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since 2021," UNESCO said.

Access to primary education has also fallen sharply, with 1.1 million fewer girls and boys attending school, the agency added. It blamed the drop on the authorities' decision to ban female teachers from teaching boys as well as the lack of incentive for parents to send children to school.

The agency is "alarmed by the harmful consequences of this increasingly massive drop-out rate, which could lead to a rise in child labor and early marriage."

Enrolment in higher education is equally concerning, the statement said, adding that the number of university students had decreased by 53 percent since 2021.

SEE ALSO:

The Push To Recognize 'Gender Apartheid' As A Crime

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay urged the international community to remain mobilized "to obtain the unconditional reopening of schools and universities to Afghan girls and women."

Lack of access to education has been among the main points of criticism by Afghans toward the Taliban authorities.

"There are those who are not literate enough, and more importantly, a part of society, women, are deprived of education, and this is a big problem for the people of Afghanistan," a male resident of the northern Balkh Province who preferred not to be named due to security concerns, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

"The issues of education -- women's education and work -- and their participation at national and international level have been completely nullified and pushed to the sidelines," a female resident of Kabul, who also preferred not to be named, said.

The Taliban celebrates their return to power both in mid-August around the date Kabul fell and at the end of the month, when the last U.S.-led international troops left Afghanistan.

The withdrawal, agreed by the United States and the Taliban on February 29, 2020, allowed the radical Islamist movement's return to power 20 years after being ousted by U.S. forces following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

The Taliban government remains unrecognized by any other state.

WATCH: Rights groups have documented targeted killings, disappearances, and extrajudicial arrests of hundreds of former Afghan service personnel, while RFE/RL has spoken to two women who say they live in fear due to their past roles in the military.

Embed share

Torture And Death: The Dangers Faced By Former Afghan Soldiers Under Taliban Rule

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:04:32 0:00

International aid organizations have warned that millions of Afghans struggle in "one of the world's largest and most complex humanitarian crises, three years after the change in power."

"Heavily dependent on humanitarian aid, Afghans are trapped in cycles of poverty, displacement, and despair," a statement by 10 aid groups -- including Save the Children, World Vision, Islamic Relief Worldwide, and the International Rescue Committee -- said on August 13.

SEE ALSO:

Afghan Evacuees Remain In Limbo In Albania 3 Years After Taliban Takeover

Women and girls are among the most seriously affected by this humanitarian crisis, Human Rights Watch has said. The Taliban has created "the world's most serious women's rights crisis," the organization said on August 11.

With reporting by AFP

Fatima and her young son fled their home soon after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

A former lawmaker, she was in danger of reprisals from the hard-line Islamist group.

But three years after the Taliban takeover, Fatima lives with her 7-year-old son in limbo in Albania, waiting to be resettled to the United States.

"The uncertainty is excruciating," said the single mother, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. "Our futures are hanging in the balance."

Fatima was among the hundreds of thousands of at-risk Afghans who escaped their homeland after the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban's seizure of power.

The United States and its allies airlifted tens of thousands of Afghans out of the country during the chaotic and deadly evacuation of Kabul.

Fatima was among those who fled by road to neighboring Pakistan. From there, several thousand Afghans were relocated temporarily to Albania as they waited for their U.S. visas to be processed.

But three years on from the Taliban takeover, dozens of Afghans remain stranded in the small Balkan country.

"It is painful not to know what's wrong with my case," said Fatima, who lives in an apartment in the capital, Tirana. "Why is it being delayed?"

According to the State Department, more than 160,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program since September 2021. SIVs are intended for Afghans who served the U.S. government or U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan for at least one year.

U.S. allies in the West have also taken in tens of thousands of Afghans.

Afghans who do not qualify for SIVs can apply for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which gives special priority status for Afghans who worked for U.S.-government funded projects in Afghanistan, interpreters for the U.S. government, and stringers for U.S.-based media organizations.

The application process for SIVs and resettlement through USRAP can take years, and advocacy groups have said the programs are proceeding too slowly.

That has meant that thousands of Afghans hoping to resettle in the United States have remained in extended limbo in third countries, including in Albania, Kosovo, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

'Adding To Our Anxiety'

Fatima admits she is lucky to be alive. But she also revealed that the uncertainty has taken a toll on her.

"I never even took a pill for a headache," she said. "But I now take medication three times a day."

The former member of parliament is not allowed to work. She makes ends meet with the help of a Washington-based nongovernmental organization. Her son attends a local school, although the language barrier has deprived him of a meaningful education, she said.

Fatima is not alone.

Ahad, a former Afghan military officer, is among the around 40 Afghans stranded in Albania.

Ahad, who requested his real name not be used for security reasons, lives with his four children and wife in a resort town along the Adriatic coast.

Each member of the family receives a $50 monthly stipend from the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR. But Ahad says the money is barely enough to pay the rent for their small apartment.

"Mounting financial problems are adding to our anxiety," he said.

Unable to work, Ahad says he has accumulated debts to local shopkeepers from whom he has received food and other essential items.

'Why Have They Left Us Here?'

The U.S. State Department says the cases of Afghans in Albania are being considered under the U.S. refugee program.

"We are focused on increasing capacity, expediting processing, and resolving long-delayed applications," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL in written comments. "While continuing to maintain the program's rigorous screening and vetting standard."

The spokesperson said the State Department is "issuing SIVs to Afghan partners at record rates."

In the last U.S. fiscal year that ended in September 2023, the State Department issued more than 18,000 SIVs to Afghans, the most in a single year, the spokesperson said.

"In this fiscal year (FY2024), we have already surpassed that figure," the spokesperson added.

But the assurances from Washington have not quelled the concerns of Afghans stuck in Albania.

"Why have they left us here when they even evacuated animals from Afghanistan?" said Fatima, referring to the British government's evacuation of animals from Kabul in 2021 even as London left behind thousands of at-risk Afghans who had worked with the British military.

Going back to Afghanistan is not an option for Fatima or Ahad.

The Taliban declared a general amnesty shortly after seizing power that included all Afghan officials, security forces, and individuals who cooperated with the departed U.S.-led military presence in Afghanistan.

But international rights watchdogs and the United Nations have documented widespread cases of retribution including extrajudicial killings and torture.

Ahad says if he does not qualify for resettlement to the United States, Washington should help him move to a third country.

"I want our misfortune to end," he said.

Days after the Taliban seized power in 2021, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, the powerful head of Pakistan's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence agency, took what seemed a victory lap in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"Please don't worry -- everything will be OK," he told a Western journalist while smiling and sipping tea in the five-star Sarena Hotel.

Allies Turn Into Enemies

But three years later, Pakistan's sense of scoring a strategic victory by helping the Taliban to reclaim power has vanished as the Taliban-led government has cemented its position as Pakistan's key foe.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the Tehrik-e Taliban (TTP), which has killed hundreds of its soldiers since 2021. Repeated Pakistani air strikes on the TTP's alleged hideouts inside Afghanistan and diplomatic warnings of severe consequences have not led to the Taliban reigning in the group as Islamabad has frequently demanded.

On August 14, Torkham, the main border crossing connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan, remained closed for a third day after a firefight that injured several Taliban fighters and at least three Pakistani soldiers on August 12. The Taliban said three Afghan civilians were killed in the cross fire.

Such clashes are almost a weekly occurrence along their 2,500-kilometer border.

Frequent border closures and the expulsion of nearly 1 million impoverished Afghans from Pakistan have also failed to pressure Afghanistan's current rulers to acquiesce to Islamabad's demands.

"The situation has turned 180 degrees," said Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, news director at the Khorasan Diary, a website tracking militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "There is now a conflict situation inching toward a war."

In a conciliatory gesture on Pakistan's Independence Day on August 14, the country's powerful army chief, General Asim Munir, asked the Taliban-led government to reciprocate Islamabad's desire for cordial, cooperative relations.

He asked the Taliban-led government not to "prioritize" ties with the TTP over relations with Pakistan.

"Just as Pakistan has always helped you out, you should join us in finishing off this scourge," he told a gathering of new military graduates.

Reverse Strategic Depth

But Michael Semple, a former EU and UN adviser to Afghanistan, told RFE/RL it would be difficult for the Taliban to give up on the TTP's nearly two-decade campaign when it sees a tipping point given the grave political and economic crises engulfing Pakistan.

"Can the level of backing which [the TTP militants] are receiving from the Afghan Taliban change?" asked Semple, a professor at Queen's University Belfast.

After the Taliban's return to power, the TTP emerged with new vigor. It had retreated to Afghanistan in 2014 after a Pakistani military operation and U.S. drone attacks decimated its ranks and leadership.

As a close ideological and organizational ally, the TTP cloned the Taliban insurgency's tactics. It mainly targeted security forces while establishing a shadow government to challenge Islamabad's authority in some border regions.

SEE ALSO:

Taliban Battles Boredom, Risk Of Fighters Joining Enemy Ranks

Semple said there is now "mounting evidence" that the General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban spy service, is supporting the TTP with the blessing of its supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.

"There's this dream of achieving the strategic depth -- being sort of the senior partner in delivering a Shari'a-based system in Pakistan," he said.

"Strategic depth" once denoted a Pakistani military doctrine. After Islamabad became a frontline state against the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, its military planners pushed for eventually dominating the neighboring country so it could be used as a rear base in case of a war with its archrival India.

In Islamabad, Mehsud said a sizeable number of Afghan Taliban fighters seem to be embedded in the TTP. He noted some Taliban-allied clerics have repeatedly issued fatwas or religious decrees supporting the TTP's campaign in Pakistan.

"Things will keep on getting worse," he said, adding that the Pakistani government claims at least 15 suicide bombers who conducted attacks in Pakistan were Afghan nationals.

Interdependence

But Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, said high anti-Pakistan sentiment among Afghans who blame Islamabad for their misery prompted the Taliban to adopt hard-line public positions against Islamabad.

"Being seen as Pakistani proxy by the Afghans is a major disadvantage for the Taliban," he said.

SEE ALSO:

Three Afghan Civilians Reported Killed In Clash Between Afghan, Pakistani Troops

Islamabad's covert military support enabled the Taliban to sweep through most of Afghanistan by 1996. Pakistan then joined Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to formally recognize the first Taliban-led government after it seized Kabul in September 1996.

"This relationship gets very tense at times, but they can still reach an understanding," he said.

Hameed Hakimi, an Afghanistan expert at London's Chatham House think tank, sees relations between the Taliban and Pakistan shifting toward greater interdependence.

He said Islamabad is unlikely to seek "instability in relations" with Afghanistan at a time when India is cementing its role as a regional hegemon because of its rising global clout.

He said the Taliban's relations with Pakistani Islamist factions are much more profound than its ties with Islamabad's security establishment.

"These contacts and networks immediately come into play when there is a risk of escalation of violence between Kabul and Islamabad," he told RFE/RL.