What the Return of the Taliban Means for Afghanistan 

Twenty years after being dislodged from power by a U.S. invasion, the Taliban again took charge of Afghanistan in August, prompting the U.S. and its allies to expedite their planned exit from the country. The strict Islamic fundamentalists — whose previous five-year rule was characterized by the oppression of women and minorities, and the harboring of international terrorists — pledged to do things somewhat differently this time. Those vows met with skepticism among the world’s governments and multilateral institutions, which withheld recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate authority in Afghanistan, blocked access to billions of dollars in Afghan assets held overseas and severed the development assistance that had long propped up the economy.

No. Humanitarian assistance continued to flow. In fact, commitments to provide it — by the U.S., wealthy European countries and China — increased after the Taliban takeover, motivated in part by the desire to avert a mass exodus of Afghan refugees. However, the need was great. Before the suspension of non-humanitarian aid, foreign donors had financed about 75% of public spending. With the supply of money tight, many local companies closed, banks limited withdrawals, and workers were left unpaid. The Taliban dismissed the Afghan police and military forces, previously huge employers, altogether. United Nations officials warned that by mid-2022 as much as 97% of the country’s 39 million people could be living in poverty, up from about 72% in 2020. Even before the regime change, the supply of food was an issue, as Afghanistan has been afflicted by drought and relies heavily on imports. In September and October, nearly half the population lacked regular access to sufficient safe and nutritious food, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.