Pakistani forces kill Afghan Taliban fighters in border escalation
Pakistan’s security forces report ongoing cross-border fire in latest fighting with Afghanistan.
![A member of Taliban security forces uses a metal detector amid the rubble of a house that was damaged in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani airstrike in Gurbuz district of Khost province, Afghanistan, September 24, 2026 [Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-09-24T092006Z_1498853770_RC2KPNA6I1N1_RTRMADP_3_AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN-1790305246.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![Members of the Taliban attend a rally to mark five years in power, outside the former U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2026. [Mohammad Yunus Yawar/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-08-15T113231Z_2045240706_RC2TYMA9JXPO_RTRMADP_3_AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN-ANNIVERSARY-1787268670.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
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A Taliban fighter holds a yellow canister meant to represent a homemade explosive in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, as he rides in a vehicle with children during celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the group’s return to power. [Atif Aryan/AFP]
Taliban security personnel dance while holding a launcher for rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons during celebrations at Ahmad Shah Massoud Square in Kabul, Afghanistan. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
A flower seller arranges bouquets before celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power. [Nava Jamshidi/AP Photo]
Four girls hold Taliban flags in Kabul on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the US withdrawal. [Nava Jamshidi/AP Photo]
Roller skaters perform stunts near the Eidgah mosque in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
A Taliban security officer holds a marigold and a gun at a sports event during the anniversary celebrations. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
A portrait of Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani is displayed on a car in Kabul during the celebrations. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Children collect flowers dropped from a military helicopter during an athletes’ parade. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Dancing to loud patriotic music and taking selfies, supporters of the Taliban rallied in central Kabul. [Nava Jamshidi/AP Photo]
People pack into cars and spill out of windows, sunroofs and the back of pick-up trucks, waving the white flag of the Taliban government. [Atif Aryan/AFP]
A burqa-clad woman in Mazar-i-Sharif sells Taliban flags. [Atif Aryan/AFP]
Taliban officials watch athletes perform near the Eidgah mosque in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Afghan men near the Eidgah mosque in Kabul watch cyclists perform. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Young Afghans hold a bloodstained effigy of US President Donald Trump during the anniversary celebrations in Herat. [Mohsen Karimi/AFP]
Hundreds of Afghans gather just metres from the former embassy of the United States, whose drawdown of troops resulted in the chaotic exit of foreign forces in 2021. [Siddiqullah Alizai/AP Photo]
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From: NewsFeed
Afghans mark five years of Taliban rule
Afghans have gathered in Kabul to mark five years since the Taliban returned to power.
Published On 15 Aug 2026
What the Taliban achieved and failed to achieve in five years
The Taliban government brought security and stability but is facing increasing alienation of the general population.
UN urges support for Afghan women’s aid five years into Taliban rule
More than half of women’s organisations operating in Afghanistan could cease operations within next year: UN Women.
![An Afghan burqa-clad woman walks past a mural commemorating the fifth anniversary marking the Taliban's return to power, in Afghanistan's Ghazni province on August 13, 2026. [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/afp_6a7f9c08405d-1786747912.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
UNESCO says 2.4 million Afghan girls denied access to further education
UNESCO says the figure could reach four million by 2030 unless Taliban reverses policy.
After Afghanistan fires drones into Pakistan, what’s next?
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been locked in an on-off cycle of cross-border strikes, leaving their ties in tatters.
Pakistan says it intercepted four drones fired from Afghanistan
Afghan defence ministry says it carried out ‘air strikes’ in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Why Pakistan’s Afghan air strikes aren’t stopping armed attacks
Analysts warn military pressure alone cannot contain a threat from armed groups that has reached Pakistan’s cities.
EU to hold migration meeting with Taliban officials in Brussels
The meeting is expected to focus on the deportation of Afghan nationals who do not have a right to stay in Europe.
Two roadside bombs kill at least seven in northwestern Pakistan
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.
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