Overview

• Taliban helicopters showered Kabul with colorful flower petals as supporters held gatherings in cities across Afghanistan to mark four years in power.
• Organizers canceled a planned military parade at Bagram Airfield and scaled back public events compared with last year’s high-profile celebrations.
• Supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada warned of divine punishment for those ungrateful for Islamic rule and ordered ministers to drop “acting” from their titles to affirm the government’s permanence.
• The anniversary followed July’s diplomatic milestone of Russia’s first official recognition of the Taliban administration and ICC arrest warrants for two senior leaders over crimes against humanity.
• Women and girls remain barred from education beyond sixth grade and most public roles while millions face acute food insecurity as the country endures one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.