Asia | Afghan reality

Life under the rule of the Taliban 2.0

For half of Afghans the mullahs’ regime is less bad than feared 

Taliban fighters gather in Massoud Square to celebrate their one year anniversary of the capture of Kabul.
Image: Panos
|KABUL, PARWAN and WARDAK

FOR TWO decades America and its allies expended thousands of lives and some two trillion dollars in Afghanistan to stop, they said, the Taliban returning the Central Asian country to al-Qaeda plotting and chaos. After the Islamist militants regained power 20 months ago, it was feared that would be Afghanistan’s fate. The reality is a little different.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Taliban 2.0”

From the May 6th 2023 edition

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