![\"afghan-foreign-minister-amir-khan-muttaqi-center-sits-as-taliban-delegates-from-across-the-country-gather-for-a-meeting-opening-celebrations-marking-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-u-s-withdrawal-and\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786841483_303_.JPEG\")
\n Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, center, sits as Taliban delegates from across the country gather for a meeting opening celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the US withdrawal Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
THE TALIBAN GOVERNMENT is celebrating five years of ruling Afghanistan today, with the authorities hailing their country\u2019s \u201cfreedom\u201d and security, while critics decry tightening restrictions in all areas of daily life.<\/p>\n
Afghans riding rickshaws and motorbikes decorated with flags were driving around the city, where new murals declared: \u201cIndependence is a sign of dignity, pride and identity\u201d.<\/p>\n
The authorities will host a cricket match and other sports events \u2013 which girls and women are banned from attending \u2013 while their supporters are expected to gather five years to the day since Taliban insurgents entered the city.<\/p>\n
They took the capital unopposed after a lightning offensive that swept across Afghanistan, toppling government forces in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops.<\/p>\n
Some of the vehicles abandoned by foreign forces, such as Humvees, were driven in convoy early Saturday through Kabul, where there was an increase in the number of checkpoints.<\/p>\n
\n Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, center, sits as Taliban delegates from across the country gather for a meeting opening celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the US withdrawal Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
Beside vendors selling flags earlier this week, university student Pirooz Mirzaie said the government has brought security, infrastructure projects and \u201cplenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenge for young people is that there aren\u2019t many jobs,\u201d the 20-year-old told AFP.<\/p>\n
Zabihullah Mujahid, the government\u2019s chief spokesman, said this month that the authorities were laying the \u201cfoundations of the economy\u201d and that patience was needed.<\/p>\n
GDP per capita is in decline, due to more than six million Afghans arriving from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan in three years, while the World Bank estimated real growth reaching 4.8%.\n<\/p>\n
\u2018Suffocating restrictions\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although Taliban officials have forged ties with multiple countries, including in Europe, their government is still only recognised by Russia.<\/p>\n
Relations with neighbouring Pakistan have plummeted and the two countries went to war this year, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan when people were already hit hard by international aid cuts.<\/p>\n
Some countries have opted to limit their relations with the Taliban authorities until there are changes in Afghanistan, where people are suffering \u201cvery real harm\u201d according to the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Fiona Frazer, the human rights director for the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told AFP that people have endured the \u201cconsolidation of suffocating restrictions that intrude on almost every aspect of their daily lives, and their human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Committee to Protect Journalists criticised the authorities\u2019 \u201cbrutal repression of the press\u201d which has seen media workers \u201csurveilled, detained, beaten, censored, or driven into exile\u201d.<\/p>\n
Women have been particularly affected by Taliban government measures, being banned from public places including parks and from most jobs, while education for girls beyond age 12 is outlawed.<\/p>\n
A 23-year-old woman said she felt a \u201cprofound sense of suffocation\u201d, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity for security reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe five years have been so gruelling that I feel like a 500-year-old woman, one who cannot die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s minister for foreign affairs Helen McEntee said today that Ireland stands with the people of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. We will continue to advocate for their rights, dignity and freedom, and we will not cease our call for the full reversal of the Taliban\u2019s discriminatory and oppressive policies,\u201d she said in a statement this morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past five years, women and girls in Afghanistan have been subjected to an appalling campaign of discriminatory violence, abuse, and exclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Taliban\u2019s restrictions on their access to education, employment, freedom of movement and public life are an assault on human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
With reporting from David Mac Redmond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE TALIBAN GOVERNMENT is celebrating five years of ruling Afghanistan today, with the authorities hailing their country\u2019s \u201cfreedom\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[18928,9,10,13,14,6,44566,11,12,15,16,5,2214,550,33010,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":["post-639440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-afghanistan","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-kabul","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-pakistan","tag-russia","tag-taliban","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-world","tag-world-news","tag-worldnews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117102450881381697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}