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Taliban officials defend restrictions and detail governance five years after taking power in Afghanistan

Former insurgent commanders now running government posts enforce strict social controls amid internal unease and economic hardship.

Updated Aug 24, 2026 · 05:18 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • Five years after returning to power, Taliban figures occupying regional and national offices continue enforcing strict interpretations of Sharia law, maintaining sweeping bans on female education and employment.
  • Taliban officials, including government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid—who revealed his real name as Tahir Shah Seddiqi—defended curbs on media and civil society while acknowledging that internal administrative rules, such as a smartphone ban, have slowed operations.
  • Persistent poverty affects the population broadly, with United Nations data indicating that three out of four Afghans cannot meet their basic needs.

Key facts

  • The Taliban continue to ban women from secondary schools, universities, most jobs, public parks, and unaccompanied travel five years after returning to power in 2021.[BBC News]
  • Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid publicly disclosed for the first time that his real name is Tahir Shah Seddiqi while defending media controls and restrictions on women as required under Sharia law.[BBC News]
  • Northern military commander and former governor Abdullah Sarhadi acknowledged personally destroying the ancient Bamiyan Buddha statues during the Taliban's first rule and noted that a recent ban on smartphones for officials has slowed administrative communication.[BBC News]
  • Habibullah Badr, a former suicide attack coordinator who later served as deputy head of national prisons, was publicly asked at a tribal event by a charity leader to reopen girls' schools before the speaker's microphone was cut off.[BBC News]
  • United Nations data cited in the reporting indicates that three out of four people across Afghanistan cannot provide for their basic needs amid high unemployment and poverty.[BBC News]

What remains uncertain

  • Whether the Taliban leadership will permit female education to resume remains unresolved, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stating only that the issue remains under internal discussions to find a Sharia-based solution.[BBC News]

Sources