Taliban mark five years in power with flags, speeches and flowers dropped from military helicopters
Ceremonies in Kabul featured renewed flags, motorcades and aerial flower drops as Afghanistan faces a humanitarian crisis and international isolation.
Taliban leaders marked the fifth anniversary of their return to power with public ceremonies in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan, displaying flags, holding formal speeches and releasing flowers from military helicopters over the capital.
At a ceremony in Kabul broadcast by state television, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said, "Today the outlooks and values of the Afghan government and the nation are in harmony." The event included motorcades and public addresses as the movement sought to stage a celebratory tone.
Afghan broadcaster ToloNews aired footage showing flowers being dropped from a military helicopter above Kabul. In the days leading up to the anniversary, Taliban banners with black inscriptions on a white background were re‑raised across parts of the city, and similar ritual displays were reported from other provinces.
The anniversary recalls the swift collapse of the Western‑backed Afghan government after the announced withdrawal of NATO and U.S. forces in late summer 2021, when the Taliban entered Kabul on 15 August practically without resistance. The takeover was followed by chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as Western countries scrambled to evacuate staff and Afghan partners.
Casualty figures recorded during the long conflict underline its human cost: U.S. armed forces lost more than 2,300 service members in the Hindu Kush region up to 2021, the German military recorded 59 dead, and Brown University estimates that in the nearly two‑decade war more than 46,000 civilians and almost 70,000 members of Afghan security forces were killed.
Afghanistan today faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with international aid access constrained in part by Taliban governance. The movement has sharply curtailed freedom of expression and restricted the rights and educational opportunities of women and girls. Critics also note that, while the German federal government refuses formal recognition of the Taliban over human rights abuses, it has made practical concessions to facilitate deportations.
Photo: AP
