Life under the Taliban’s iron fist: Five years to the day since the fall of Kabul, DAVID PATRIKARAKOS travels to Afghanistan where he meets AK-47 toting officials as well as the men and women abandoned by the West
The article follows reporter David Patrikarakos’s visit to Afghanistan five years after Kabul fell to the Taliban, portraying daily life under the group’s strict rule. It argues that the country’s people—particularly men and women affected by the Taliban’s restrictions—have been left behind following the West’s withdrawal.
The report describes encounters with armed Taliban officials carrying AK-47 rifles alongside Afghans living with the consequences of the new regime. Its central context is the fifth anniversary of Kabul’s fall, using personal accounts to examine the enduring impact of Taliban control and international disengagement.
- Report examines Afghanistan five years after Kabul’s fall.
- Taliban rule is depicted as heavily restrictive.
- Afghans describe feeling abandoned by the West.
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The Taliban is an Islamist movement that first ruled most of Afghanistan from the late 1990s until it was removed by a US-led invasion in 2001. It returned to power in August 2021 as foreign troops withdrew and the Afghan government collapsed, taking control of Kabul and then the rest of the country.
Since then, Afghanistan has been governed by Taliban leaders and their security forces, while no country has formally recognised their government. The authorities have imposed rules based on their interpretation of Islamic law, including severe limits on women’s education, employment, travel and public life.
The withdrawal ended two decades of Western military involvement and reduced much international aid and diplomatic engagement. Afghanistan now faces economic hardship and a humanitarian crisis, while many people who worked with the former government or foreign organisations have left or remain at risk.
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The case for
Critics of the Taliban and of the Western withdrawal argue that Afghans, especially women and those who supported the previous order, have paid the price for a regime that restricts freedoms through coercion and armed authority. They contend that withdrawing without securing durable protections or meaningful support left ordinary people exposed, and that international governments retain a moral responsibility not to abandon them.
The case against
Supporters of ending the foreign intervention argue that an indefinite military presence could not legitimately determine Afghanistan’s political future and had itself imposed grave human and civilian costs. They may contend that engagement should now prioritise humanitarian aid, diplomacy and Afghan-led solutions rather than renewed coercion, while noting that the Taliban presents its rule as restoring security, national sovereignty and social order after decades of war.