Taliban rulers mark five years in power at Afghanistan's Loya Jirga

Taliban rulers and other officials gathered at Afghanistan's Loya Jirga assembly hall on Saturday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their return to power, touting what they described as restored stability and an end to decades of conflict, even as a top United Nations official warned of a grave human rights crisis and the administration renewed its call for international recognition.

The commemoration marked five years since the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, as U.S. and other NATO troops withdrew following a two-decade war. High-ranking officials were joined by some foreign representatives and thousands of ordinary citizens for speeches marking what they said was Afghanistan's liberation from American forces.

Competing Visions of Afghanistan's Trajectory

Deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said during the ceremony: "We pray to Almighty God to forever protect our homeland from occupation, aggression, wars, and insecurity, and to enable our people to enjoy peace, tranquility, and prosperity under the auspices of the Sharia-based government."

Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy prime minister in charge of administrative affairs, said Taliban rule ended an era of external interventions and internal strife in Afghanistan, restoring security. He also claimed that "at least 300 Afghan youth were martyred or killed every day" in the past, reported the Associated Press.

The Associated Press reported that there were no women present at the ceremony. In Kabul, Afghans took to the squares carrying Taliban flags and chanting slogans, with security tight due to a heavy Taliban security force presence. Celebrations were held in provinces across Afghanistan.

UN Warns of 'Grave Human Rights Crisis'

The anniversary came as a top United Nations official warned of a grave human rights crisis in Afghanistan, where girls over age 12 are barred from attending school, according to the Associated Press. Soon after taking power, the Taliban administration imposed a ban on girls' education beyond the sixth grade and later banned higher education for women, despite having pledged before the takeover that women would be allowed access to education, employment and public participation. Women have also been banned from public spaces such as gyms and parks, from taking part in sports and traveling to distant locations without a male guardian.

Richard Bennett, U.N. special rapporteur, said the human rights situation has steadily deteriorated, most dramatically for women and girls, and that the system amounts to gender persecution. Bennett warned against 'normalizing' the Taliban's policies.

UNESCO estimates that some 2.4 million girls have been excluded from secondary education. The U.N. World Food Program said child malnutrition has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan's provinces, and U.N. Women said women and girls are facing the harshest restrictions in the world.

In an interview, deputy minister Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi said the administration has delivered security and infrastructure and created jobs. Farahi did not address the issue of education of girls and women but said "the level of investment made in universities surpasses anything seen in the past."

Renewed Push for UN Representation

Days after the anniversary, Afghanistan renewed its demands to be included among countries represented at the United Nations, terming reports of the Taliban regime forbidding women from taking up jobs as "propaganda outside the country," according to recent reports from Kabul, as covered by Lokmat Times.

The regime has yet to be granted official recognition by the world body or its member-states, except Russia. Moscow officially recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2025, remaining the only country to do so since Kabul fell to the regime on August 15, 2021. Russia's recognition followed a series of diplomatic steps, including the removal of the Taliban from Russia's list of terrorist organisations in April 2025 and the acceptance of a Taliban ambassador in Kabul.

Afghanistan's Administrative Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi told TOLOnews that with security ensured and poppy cultivation and drug trafficking brought to an end in Afghanistan, Kabul has the right to have its representative at the United Nations. Hanafi also rejected reports about restrictions on women's employment, claiming they work in healthcare, education, and government institutions while observing Islamic hijab, and said Afghanistan has an established government and its territory is not used to threaten other countries.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called for more international engagement and said countries that have engaged have gained.

Afghanistan's Second Political Director Zakir Jalali said engagement with the UN "is effective" but "should be expanded at all levels."

A Divided International Community

About two dozen countries continue to directly maintain de facto diplomatic ties with the Taliban, though at different levels. Some nations, such as Russia and China, host accredited Taliban diplomats and maintain embassies in Kabul, where Beijing is yet to grant official recognition to Afghanistan's current regime. India, too, has representation in Kabul, though without official recognition for the regime. Several Western nations, including the United States, still hold the Taliban as a terrorist organisation, with Afghanistan's assets in the millions remaining frozen and its representatives under a travel ban abroad without prior UN clearance.

A UNAMA report released last week noted "positive steps taken including a ban on opium poppy cultivation" and "improved security" but also pointed to "increasingly damaging restrictions on women and girls" and "terrorism concerns."

Pakistan has accused the Taliban of harbouring organisations like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad has conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan, claiming to target militant hideouts; Kabul claims bombings killed civilians and struck a Kabul hospital in March, leading to over 400 deaths and several hundred injuries. Neighbours have intermittent border skirmishes.

TOLOnews quoted Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, that recognition decisions fall within member states' authority, and no country has recognised the Taliban for taking Afghanistan's UN seat. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Rabab Fatima as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA.

Afghan political analyst Maiwand Jurrat claimed countries led by the US "have exerted pressure" so Kabul remains unrepresented.