While Officially Still Under Sanctions and Treated As Pariahs, the Regime Has Re-established Itself As a Diplomatic Interlocutor

Five years after the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, the group has managed to break its international isolation without making any concessions on human rights, particularly regarding Afghan women and girls. While officially still under sanctions and treated as pariahs, the regime has re-established itself as a diplomatic interlocutor. In late July, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid publicly celebrated this regained status, telling the press: "We are seeking to establish relations with all countries.

He noted that since January, most neighboring countries have sent delegations to Kabul. In April, deputy foreign ministers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, along with officials from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, attended a conference in Kabul aimed at developing export routes through ports in Iran and Pakistan. Meanwhile, American and European officials are negotiating with the regime on counterterrorism cooperation and the repatriation of asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected.

During their fight against US and NATO forces, the Taliban often said their enemies had "the watches" — technology — but that they possessed a superior weapon: "time. That maxim appears to still hold true.