New Delhi: Four years after U.S. troops withdrew and the Taliban entered Kabul, ending the Western-backed Republic, Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate on Friday marked the anniversary of its return to power. Officials called it a “day of pride and honor for Afghans,” while acknowledging that the country continues to face sanctions, economic strain, drought, and the challenge of winning broader international recognition.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, senior officials of the Emirate stressed that the challenges of the past four years have not shaken their grip on power. “International isolation created unnecessary suffering for ordinary Afghans, yet the Emirate has persevered by strengthening ties with regional partners,” one official said, adding that Russia’s decision this month to extend recognition is “a diplomatic breakthrough” and “a step that others will follow.”
Economic hardship has been one of the toughest tests. After foreign aid was cut off in 2021, wiping out three-quarters of the government’s budget, the Emirate turned to customs and mining revenues to keep state institutions running. Officials highlighted that they had “shifted to cash-based transactions to bypass restrictions” and sought to expand trade with neighbours, including Iran, China, and Central Asia. “Exports have increased, and the economy is slowly adapting despite the freeze of our reserves,” a senior official said, referring to the nearly $9 billion of Afghan assets still blocked overseas.
The humanitarian crisis remains acute. With droughts destroying crops and livestock, millions of Afghans survive on food aid. Malnutrition among children continues at alarming levels. Officials noted that the Emirate “expanded wheat cultivation and launched water management projects despite climate challenges” but conceded that “rural poverty risks remain long term.”
Security, once fragile, has been a central focus. In the years after the takeover, terrorist group ISIS-Khorasan, supported by patronage from Islamabad, carried out repeated bombings and assassinations. “Our counterterrorism campaigns dismantled their networks and eliminated their leaders,” a senior official claimed. “Today, ISIS-K’s operational capacity has been reduced, and for the first time in decades no armed opposition controls territory.”
The Emirate also points to what it calls “social order and governance” reforms. Anti-corruption drives have been launched against “networks of embezzlement” from the previous government, and a strict narcotics ban is said to have brought a “significant reduction” in opium cultivation, something that has been confirmed by international agencies.
Critics abroad continue to raise concerns over bans on female education and employment, but Emirate officials insist that these reports are “misunderstandings” and that “Afghan society must be governed according to Islamic principles.”
Diplomatically, Kabul has oriented itself toward regional capitals. “Our ties with neighbors like China, Iran, Russia, and the Central Asian republics have strengthened,” one official said, pointing to participation in multilateral talks on trade, security, and counternarcotics. Russia’s recognition, they said, “opens a new chapter for Afghanistan’s integration in regional systems.”
Relations with India, often viewed with caution in the past, are now described in positive terms. “Relations with India over the past four years have been at an exceptionally high level, more organized and moving in a positive direction than ever before,” a senior official of the Islamic Emirate told The Sunday Guardian. Sources within the Emirate stressed that “there has never been confrontation with India since 2021, and efforts continue to steer the situation towards a positive course.”
As the Islamic Emirate looks back on its fourth year in power, its officials cast the day as both a commemoration of victory and a message of resilience. “This day stands as one of pride and honor for Afghans,” a senior official based in Kabul said. “Despite sanctions, despite isolation, the Emirate has stabilized security, defended independence, and laid the foundation for an economy based on our own resources.”
