Afghanistan is starting its fifth year of Taliban rule. Here are 5 things to know

Share

AP, 15 August 2025

In this overview, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted with an anecdote from the first Taleban regime which possibly can contribute to explain the Taleban’s position on the country’s humanitarian crisis:

Thomas Ruttig, from the Afghanistan Analysts Network, recalled meeting a leading Taliban figure in a “completely rundown” office during the late 1990s. The Taliban fighter told him they could live under those circumstances, but foreigners couldn’t. 

“What they also say is that Afghans can live under those circumstances, which, to an extent, is true,” said Ruttig. “They were forced to live under those circumstances and have learned how to cope.” Now their means of coping — houses, land, and some savings — are gone.

The Taliban took it for granted that they won the war with the help of Allah and the population, he explained. He added that, although the Taliban [claimed they] were a reflection of Afghans’ ambitions, they needed to open up and listen to people’s concerns. 

“But they know the more they open up, the more they are questioned, and their rule might be undermined.” 

The Taliban needed to think about whether they wanted to govern the country simply to rule it, said Ruttig. “Or do we want to rule this country to make Afghanistan a better place to live? That’s probably the big question in front of them.”