Taliban marks five years in power amid Afghan curbs

The Taliban government marked five years in power in Afghanistan on Saturday with street rallies, flag-decorated convoys and ceremonies in Kabul and other cities, while the United Nations and rights groups warned of tightening restrictions across daily life.

Hundreds of people gathered around a square beside the former US embassy in Kabul. Afghans packed into cars decorated with flags and drove around the capital, where checkpoints were increased and some vehicles abandoned by foreign forces, including Humvees, were driven in convoy.

Fresh flowers were thrown from military helicopters over a parade of athletes that featured only men because women are banned from sport in Afghanistan. AFP journalists said Afghans also rallied in Kandahar, home to the Taliban's supreme leader, and in Herat, where stuntmen performed in the streets.

Taliban fighters took Kabul unopposed on August 15, 2021, after a rapid offensive across Afghanistan as US-led troops withdrew.

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the anniversary “will be written in golden lines in the history of Afghanistan”. Asif Khan Barakzai, a 21-year-old in Kabul, said he felt “peace, comfort and calmness” under the Taliban administration.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal invited countries to “come here, invest, and make extensive use of the available economic opportunities” in Afghanistan. GDP per capita is in decline after more than six million Afghans arrived from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan in three years, while the World Bank estimated real growth at 4.8 percent.

Taliban officials have built ties with several countries, including in Europe, but their government is still recognised only by Russia. Relations with Pakistan have worsened, and the two countries went to war this year, adding to Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis as international aid cuts also hit the country.

Fiona Frazer, human rights director for the UN mission in Afghanistan, told AFP that people had endured the “consolidation of suffocating restrictions” affecting almost every aspect of daily life and human rights.

The Committee to Protect Journalists criticised what it called the authorities' brutal repression of the press, saying media workers had been surveilled, detained, beaten, censored or driven into exile.

Women have been particularly affected by Taliban government measures, with bans from public places including parks and from most jobs, while education for girls beyond age 12 is outlawed. A 35-year-old woman in Kabul, who said Taliban insurgents killed her husband before they came to power, told AFP she would remain in mourning as long as they remained in power.