It is now almost two months since the Taliban’s rapid capture of Afghanistan.
The economy remains sluggish, especially since over 80% of the government’s budget comes from aid, essentially frozen. Further, the Taliban still doesn’t have access to the country’s reserves, whilst a request to speak at the UN was also denied.
Security has improved, and the Taliban has announced an interim government, comprising mainly the Taliban.
UK special envoy Simon Gass recently met with senior Taliban officials, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Barada, a sign that things may change; however, the UK continues to refuse to recognise the new Afghan government yet wants cooperation on militancy. Gass’s visit was significant as it was in Afghanistan and with the Taliban directly, instead of Qatar, which has been the case with the Dutch and Germans.