The Taliban in Afghanistan

Introduction

The Taliban are a predominantly Pashtun, Islamic fundamentalist group that returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after waging a twenty-year insurgency. 

Following the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the original regime in 2001, the Taliban regrouped across the border in Pakistan and began taking back territory less than ten years after their ouster. By August 2021, the Taliban had swept back into power. Their swift offensive came as the United States withdrew its remaining troops from Afghanistan as outlined in a 2020 peace agreement with the group.

Since their return to rule, the Taliban have imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law—as they did when they first came to power in the 1990s—despite pledges to respect the rights of women and religious and ethnic minorities. But as they have transitioned from an insurgent group to a functional government, the Taliban have struggled to provide Afghans with adequate food supplies and economic opportunities.

How was the Taliban formed?

The group was formed in the early 1990s by Afghan mujahideen, or Islamic guerrilla fighters, who had resisted the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979–89) with the covert backing of the CIA and its Pakistani counterpart, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI). They were joined by younger Pashtun tribesmen who studied in Pakistani madrassas, or seminaries; taliban is Pashto for “students.” Pashtuns comprise a plurality in Afghanistan and are the predominant ethnic group in much of the country’s south and east. They are also a major ethnic group in Pakistan’s north and west.

The movement attracted popular support in the initial post-Soviet era by promising to impose stability and rule of law after four years of conflict (1992–96) among rival mujahideen groups. The Taliban entered Kandahar in November 1994 to pacify the crime-ridden southern city, and by September 1996, seized the capital, Kabul, from President Burhanuddin Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik whom they viewed as anti-Pashtun and corrupt. That year, the Taliban declared Afghanistan an Islamic emirate, with Mullah Mohammed Omar, a cleric and veteran of the anti-Soviet resistance, leading as amīr al-mu’minīn, or “commander of the faithful.” The regime controlled some 90 percent of the country before its 2001 overthrow.

What has the Taliban’s return to power meant for the rights of women and other Afghans?

The Taliban threaten the civil and political rights promised to Afghans in the constitution created by the previous U.S.-backed government. Since regaining control, the Taliban have taken actions reminiscent of their brutal rule in the late 1990s—which included public stoning and floggings.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan has documented numerous human rights violations [PDF] since 2021. The Taliban have intimidated journalists and restricted press freedoms. The government has violently cracked down on demonstrations, and protesters and activists have been monitored and forcibly disappeared. They also reestablished their Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which under their previous rule enforced prohibitions on behavior deemed un-Islamic. In November 2022, they ordered judges to enforce their interpretation of sharia; in the weeks after, authorities resumed public floggings and executions.

The impact of the Taliban’s restrictions has fallen disproportionately on women, who have seen their rights obliterated in Afghanistan. The country ranks at the bottom of the Georgetown Institute’s 2023–24 Women, Peace, and Security Index for measures of women’s inclusion, justice, and security. The Taliban have prohibited most girls from attending secondary school, banned all women from attending and teaching at universities, and prevented women from working. Nearly 80 percent of female journalists have been forced to quit since the Taliban’s return to power. In 2022, Amnesty International reported a drastic increase in the number of women arrested for violating discriminatory policies, such as rules requiring women to only appear in public with a male chaperone and to completely cover their bodies. The rates of child marriage have also increased. UN bodies and international rights groups have called out the regime’s elimination of women’s rights as gender apartheid. The UN Development Program (UNDP) has estimated that the social and economic exclusion of women could cost an estimated 5.8 percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) between 2024 and 2026—the equivalent of $920 million.

The Taliban’s takeover has also wiped out the gains in Afghan living standards made during the two decades after the U.S. invasion, according to the UNDP. A 2025 report from the agency outlined high poverty levels, with acute effects on women. The economy has shrunk by nearly 30 percent since the takeover, and more than five hundred thousand jobs have been lost, according to UN estimates. Since 2021, unemployment levels have nearly doubled. As of 2024, 75 percent of the population is subsistence insecure, meaning they lack the food, basic items, and services needed to survive. Exacerbating the crisis is a pause in aid by some countries and international organizations which had been the lifeline of the economy and public health sector. This included cuts from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the European Union (EU), which cited concerns over Taliban governance and human rights violations. 

Is terrorist activity flourishing in Afghanistan again?

In May 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States was weighing whether to designate the Taliban as a “foreign terrorist organization.” International observers remain concerned that the Taliban supports terrorist organizations—particularly its long-time ally al-Qaeda—posing a threat to regional and international security. The United States invaded Afghanistan after it refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qaeda and the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Since returning to power, the Taliban has stated that “Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against the security of any other country.”

UN Security Council monitors reported in 2025 that the strength of al-Qaeda remains unchanged and that the Taliban has maintained an environment that allows the group to consolidate through “safe houses and training camps scattered across Afghanistan.” In a sign of al-Qaeda’s continued presence in Afghanistan—after a U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul in August 2022—reports suggested that Zawahiri had been living in the home of a Taliban aide. Although a leaked U.S. assessment following Zawahiri’s killing said al-Qaeda has not reconstituted its presence in Afghanistan, some experts disagreed, and other al-Qaeda leaders are still believed to be based in the country.

In addition, violence has increased between Afghanistan and Pakistan due to border disputes, with Pakistan having previously supported the Taliban as a close ally. (Pakistan is thought to have provided financial and logistical support to the Taliban during the U.S. war, though Islamabad denies this.) The Taliban’s return has emboldened a militant group that operates on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border called the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP)—sometimes referred to as the Pakistani Taliban—to increase domestic terrorist acts in Pakistan. In late 2022, the TTP ended a ceasefire with the Pakistani government and launched attacks across the country; they killed 2,526 people in 2024, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies. Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of providing the militants with a safe haven in Afghanistan.

How has the world responded to the Taliban?

During the U.S. war in Afghanistan, governments and international bodies joined U.S.-led efforts to oust the Taliban and bolster Afghanistan’s new government, democratic institutions, and civil society. They have taken various actions since 2001:

Military force. U.S. troops quickly overthrew the Taliban after they invaded Afghanistan in October 2001. The Taliban then waged an insurgency against the U.S.-backed Afghan government. The group withstood counterinsurgency operations from the world’s most powerful security alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and three U.S. administrations over the course of a war that killed more than 6,000 U.S. troops and contractors and over 1,100 NATO troops. Some 47,000 civilians died, and an estimated 73,000 Afghan troops and police officers were killed between 2007 and 2021. Tens of thousands of Taliban fighters are also believed to have died. NATO assumed leadership of foreign forces in 2003, marking its first operational commitment outside of Europe. At its height, U.S. troops in Afghanistan numbered around 100,000, and NATO had more than 130,000 troops from fifty nations stationed in Afghanistan. In the 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement, the United States committed to withdrawing all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan if the Taliban carried out commitments that included cutting ties with terrorist groups. The United States completed its troop withdrawal in August 2021.

Sanctions. The UN Security Council first imposed sanctions on the regime for harboring al-Qaeda in 1999 and expanded the sanctions after 9/11. They target Taliban leaders’ financial assets and ban them from most travel. The Security Council also imposed an arms embargo on the Taliban. The United States and the EU maintain additional sanctions, which have hindered aid deliveries since the Taliban’s takeover. Meanwhile, the United States has blocked the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars in assets.

Aid. For years, the Afghan government depended on assistance from dozens of countries; 75 percent of the government’s public expenditures were covered by grants from international partners, according to a 2019 World Bank report. Many of these countries suspended aid after the Taliban regained power, sparking concerns of further economic turmoil. Aid picked up in 2022, however, due to the worsening humanitarian crisis, with donors providing over $2.6 billion. Still, UN officials said the commitments fell short of the country’s humanitarian needs.

Between October 2021 and December 2024, the United States allocated nearly $3 billion for humanitarian assistance and development in Afghanistan. But in January 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump suspended funding for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, which comprised 45 percent of the country’s humanitarian support. According to a 2025 UN report, without U.S. funding, several million fewer Afghans will receive humanitarian assistance. The World Food Program, a nongovernmental organization that works in Afghanistan, has since cut its food rations to the country.

Refugees. After enduring almost four decades of conflict and instability, Afghans are the third-largest displaced population in the world. While estimates vary, a 2024 UN report stated that there were approximately 6.4 million Afghan refugees worldwide, a majority of which were hosted in Iran and Pakistan. The Taliban’s takeover in 2021 only exacerbated the ongoing refugee crisis, leading to economic strains on neighboring host countries. Iran, which hosts approximately 3.8 million Afghan refugees, has made efforts in recent years to sequester refugees and tighten their access to social services, as well as restrict border crossings. Iran deported more than 1.3 million Afghan refugees in the first half of 2025, according to the United Nations. Meanwhile, Pakistan began cracking down on Afghan migrants in 2023 amid terrorism concerns. These deportation efforts have prompted global concerns that the Taliban would seek to prosecute and punish Afghans who fled upon their return. 

Roughly 180,000 thousand Afghans were accepted to the United States after the 2021 withdrawal, with some receiving special immigration visas and others granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which provides work authorization and protection against deportation. However, the Department of Homeland Security announced in April 2025 that TPS for Afghans would end in July, citing improved security and economic conditions in Afghanistan. Experts have refuted that assertion, warning that returning refugees face danger.

Who leads the Taliban?

The Taliban have been led for decades by a leadership council, called the Rahbari Shura. It is better known as the Quetta Shura, named for the city in Pakistan where Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban’s first leader, and his top aides are believed to have taken refuge after the U.S. invasion. (Omar died in 2013 and was succeeded by Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, who was killed in a 2016 U.S. air strike in Pakistan.) Today, the Rahbari Shura is thought by analysts to oversee the Taliban government’s work, though its precise role is unclear. It is led by Haibatullah Akhundzada, who has made few public appearances. 

The government is led by a thirty-three-member caretaker cabinet. All ministers are men and are former Taliban officials or individuals loyal to the group. A majority are ethnic Pashtuns, and  some ministers are considered terrorists by the United States and are sanctioned by the United Nations.

Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who was close with Omar, is acting prime minister. Taliban cofounder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who led peace negotiations with the United States, is Akhund’s deputy. Sirajuddin Haqqani—who is acting head of the Haqqani Network, a militant group in Afghanistan’s southeast and Pakistan’s northwest with close ties to the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Pakistan’s intelligence services—is the acting interior minister. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, Omar’s son, is acting defense minister. Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi is the acting foreign minister, and Zabihullah Mujahid is the government’s spokesperson.

What is the state of the Taliban’s finances?

Afghanistan’s foreign trade has plummeted since the takeover. The country has experienced a decline in imports and exports and a growing trade deficit [PDF]. The Taliban government’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 was $2.44 billion, the most recent year that the government has published a budget report. (The previous government had a budget of around $6 billion in 2021.) That same year, the government abolished Afghanistan’s public pension system amid the ongoing economic crisis.

Prior to the takeover, the Taliban primarily earned revenue through criminal activities, including opium poppy cultivation, drug trafficking, extortion of local businesses, and kidnapping, according to the UN monitoring group. In 2021, Afghanistan accounted for 86 percent [PDF] of the world’s illicit opium production, but the Taliban banned poppy cultivation in April 2022, decreasing opium production by 95 percent the following year. According to the Global Organized Crime Index, factions of the Taliban independent from the ruling organization reportedly increased kidnappings and extortion schemes in 2023.

Do Afghans support the Taliban?

For years after their fall from power in 2001, the Taliban enjoyed support. The Asia Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, found in 2009 that half of Afghans—mostly Pashtuns and rural Afghans—had sympathy for armed opposition groups, primarily the Taliban. Afghan support for the Taliban and allied groups stemmed in part from grievances against public institutions.

But in 2019, a response to the same survey found that only 13.4 percent of Afghans had sympathy for the Taliban. As intra-Afghan peace talks stalled in early 2021, an overwhelming majority surveyed said it was important to protect [PDF] women’s rights, freedom of speech, and the constitution.

Do any groups threaten the Taliban’s power?

The Islamic State in Khorasan, with up to four thousand members in Afghanistan, has emerged as the Taliban’s main military threat. The terrorist group has continued to launch attacks, particularly against minority communities such as the Hazaras, even as the Taliban work to eradicate it. Amid the U.S. troop withdrawal, the Islamic State in Khorasan claimed responsibility for an attack near the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians. According to the UN monitoring team, that attack elevated the group’s status and led the self-declared Islamic State to provide an additional half a million dollars in funding for the group. Fatal attacks by the group continued in 2024, with specific targets on the Hazara community and threats to international media and foreign aid agencies.

In addition, a resistance movement of former officials, local militia members, and Afghan security forces who call themselves the National Resistance Front formed to oppose the Taliban’s rule, though analysts say the group is currently not strong enough to threaten the Taliban’s control. It is based in the mountainous, northern Panjshir Province and has launched guerrilla-style attacks in several other provinces. The group has called for external support, but U.S. officials have said that Washington does “not support organized violent opposition” to the Taliban.