Recent developments in Afghanistan

It is three and a half years since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and international security forces, led by the US, withdrew from the country.

Shortly after the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021, it declared the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan led by Taliban Supreme Leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, and a Leadership Council formed of senior Taliban figures.

An all-male caretaker government, dominated by senior hardline Pashtun members of the original Taliban movement and key Taliban supporters, was formed and the Taliban called on the international community to engage with it, albeit with an acceptance of, and respect for, the Taliban’s laws and religious rules which would be based in Sharia law.

That caretaker government remains in place and consolidation of its position and the implementation of a system in Afghanistan based on Sharia Law has been its priority. The Taliban authorities continue to seek international recognition and engagement.

International engagement with the Taliban government

To date, no country has formally recognised the Taliban-led government, or the establishment of an Islamic Emirate. The Taliban are, however, considered the controlling party of the state and as such have obligations under international law towards the Afghan population.

Recognition has been informally tied to the fulfilment of certain conditions by the Taliban authorities related to inclusive government, mitigating the threats from terrorist organisations operating from Afghanistan and respect for human rights, in particular the rights of women and girls.

While those conditions on recognition largely remain, diplomatic engagement with the Taliban is steadily increasing. Engagement with the Taliban is thus considered “the new normal”.

Many countries have said that such engagement is justified to ensure regional security and stability and promote economic development and has no equivalence with formal political recognition.

UK position on recognition

The government does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and does not have formal diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. However, the government does pursue a policy of “limited and pragmatic” engagement with Taliban officials, where it is in the UK national interest to do so. It has said that such engagement does not “represent legitimisation of the Taliban’s actions”. That contact is primarily undertaken through the UK Mission to Afghanistan which is based at the British embassy in Qatar.

The government has said that it will continue to hold the Taliban to account for its actions, including on the rights of women and girls, counter terrorism, human rights and maintaining humanitarian aid access.

A deteriorating security situation

The ability of the Taliban to maintain control in Afghanistan is an ongoing concern. Islamic State affiliate group, Islamic State-Khorasan province (IS-K or IS-KP) has been consolidating its presence in the country, conducting attacks against Taliban forces and ethnic and religious Afghan minorities but also further afield in Central Asia and Europe.

Armed militant groups opposed to Taliban rule, including the National Resistance Front and the Afghanistan Freedom Front, have significantly stepped up their attacks, while border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are also on the rise. The commitment by the Taliban to sever links with foreign militants and international terrorist networks continues to be questioned.

Human rights

Shia Hazaras, LGBT+ people, women and girls, Taliban opponents, former government officials and members of the security forces, among others, continue to be subject to human rights violations. Severe restrictions on the media and civil society have been imposed.

The status and rights of women and girls is of particular concern and there have been increasing calls to investigate gender persecution as a crime against humanity. In 2024, the UN Human Rights Office said Taliban polices pursued since 2021 seek to “completely erase women’s presence in public” and “disempower and render invisible and voiceless half the population of Afghanistan”.

The Taliban continue to assert that it respects rights “in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law”.

In December 2024 the UN Security Council, whose permanent members include China, France, Russia, the UK and United States, issued a collective press statement calling on the Taliban to restore the rights of women and girls.

Canada, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands have said they would take steps to refer the Taliban to the International Court of Justice for violations by the Taliban under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The UK has lent political support to that effort.

On 23 January 2025, the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan also announced that his office had filed applications for warrants of arrest for the Supreme Leader of the Taliban Haibatullah Akhundzada and the Chief Justice of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Abdul Hakim Haqqani. Both are for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds. ICC judges will now decide whether to issue the arrest warrants.

Humanitarian situation

For 2025, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has appealed for US$2.4 billion to assist 16.8 million of the estimated 22.9 million Afghans in need (around 50% of the population).

UNOCHA says that a legacy of armed conflict, a weak economy, insufficient access to basic services or restrictions on accessing them and natural disasters including earthquakes and flash floods are among the issues that continue to drive high humanitarian need.

Analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies notes that the level of aid to Afghanistan is limited by donors because of a desire to ensure aid is not misappropriated by the Taliban, maintaining standards in transparency and accountability, the Taliban ban on female aid workers and restrictions on other NGOs, international sanctions (though these have humanitarian exemptions), and lack of security of the Afghan banking system.

UK aid to Afghanistan

From 2002 to 2021, the UK provided £3.5 billion in aid to Afghanistan. Since 2021, the year the Taliban captured Kabul, the UK has provided £654 million in bilateral aid (that is, aid for a specific programme or purpose). Aid was at its highest level in 2022, at £353 million.

The FCDO is planning £171 million of aid in 2024/25. This will fund humanitarian operations and essential services. All funding will be partners such as the UN, Red Cross and NGOs.