The Taliban has maintained control of Afghanistan for five years. Mounting domestic pressures include poverty and refugee returns. Internal factionalism and security strains also challenge the regime. External engagements have expanded, though Pakistan relations have worsened. India pursues calibrated engagement with humanitarian support and strategic patience.

Economic despair, social repression, and regional friction have preserved Afghanistan as an enduring catalyst for crises

Five years after the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is worsening as women and girls remain barred from education, work and public life.