Taliban Marks 5 Years in Power as Afghans Detail Fear, Separation and Broken U.S. Promises
Updated
Updated · PBS NewsHour · Aug 20
Taliban Marks 5 Years in Power as Afghans Detail Fear, Separation and Broken U.S. Promises
3 articles · Updated · PBS NewsHour · Aug 20
Summary
Five years after the Taliban retook Afghanistan, fighters staged a military parade in Kabul while former soldiers and U.S.-linked families described living in hiding, exile or separation.
Three personal accounts drove the report: an ex-Afghan army soldier said former comrades still disappear despite promised amnesty; a former U.S. worker remains separated from her 2 children; a former USAID employee fears retaliation.
Zahra said she was forced to leave her 5- and 9-year-olds behind during the 2021 airport evacuation, and six later attempts to reunite the family in the United States failed.
Mohammed said Taliban militants kidnapped and tortured his 13-year-old son in 2015, and one perpetrator now serves as a policeman after the Taliban returned to power; his family has stayed in hiding since a refugee freeze.
The report said Kabul is safer from open warfare than in years, but ISIS attacks, resistance activity and tighter Taliban patrols have left many Afghans who backed the former government feeling hunted and abandoned.
As the Taliban elevates former kidnappers to police roles, can international tribunals truly protect the families still trapped in hiding?
Five years after the chaotic Kabul airlift, why are approved visas for targeted Afghan allies suddenly being halted?
Five Years After the Taliban Takeover: Survival, Repression, and the New Regional Order in Afghanistan
Overview
Five years after the Taliban’s return, Afghanistan faces a deepening crisis beneath official celebrations. The forced return of millions of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran has left many without jobs, while a sharp drop in international aid forced the World Food Programme to cut back lifesaving support, worsening hunger and closing hundreds of health clinics. Taliban bans on women’s work and education have stripped female professionals from key sectors, fueling a mental health crisis and pushing families to withdraw children from school. As repression and poverty grow, young Afghans are increasingly drawn to armed resistance, while China and other regional powers fill the vacuum left by Western disengagement.