Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities marked the fourth anniversary of their takeover on Friday, buoyed by Russia’s decision to grant the first official recognition of their government — a step they hope other nations will follow.
Parades were planned in several cities, including central Kabul, where helicopters were slated to drop flowers and the white-and-black flags of the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” were displayed across the city to commemorate the fall of the capital on August 15, 2021.
On Thursday night, Taliban members gathered at a square near the shuttered U.S. embassy — the former hub of their adversary during the 20-year insurgency — waving flags and launching fireworks, according to an AFP journalist.
A military parade staged with fanfare last year at Bagram airbase, once the linchpin of U.S.-led operations, was canceled this year without public explanation.
The Taliban government remains largely isolated internationally due to restrictions imposed under their stringent interpretation of Islamic law, measures that have targeted women in particular.
In July, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls, who are banned from most education and employment, as well as from parks and gyms, and from traveling without a male guardian.
Even so, the authorities claimed a diplomatic victory in early July when Russia became the first country to officially recognize their administration.
Kabul also maintains close ties — despite a lack of formal recognition — with several countries, including Central Asian states, China, and the United Arab Emirates.
On relations with Western countries, the Taliban reported holding talks in Kabul with officials from Norway, Britain, the United States, and others.
Domestically, the authorities face almost no organized opposition, but they confront steep challenges stemming from a fragile economy, cuts in international aid, and the influx of four million Afghans expelled from neighboring countries.
On Thursday, independent experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council urged the international community not to normalize relations with the Taliban authorities and to reject their “violent and authoritarian rule.”
“Operating without legitimacy, the Taliban enforces an institutionalised system of gender oppression, crushes dissent, exacts reprisals, and muzzles independent media while showing outright contempt for human rights, equality and non-discrimination,” the experts said in a statement.
