Four years on: The new Taliban regime and its quest for global recognition

On August 15, 2025, the Taliban will complete four years since their dramatic return to power in Kabul—a development that upended two decades of international efforts and altered the geopolitical calculus across South and Central Asia.

- DR. ANCHITA BORTHAKUR

Marking this anniversary, the group stands not in complete isolation as it once did during its first stint in power (1996-2001), but at the center of evolving regional diplomacy and contested international legitimacy. The reestablishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, after a prolonged insurgency, has triggered new and complex regional alignments, particularly following the Russian Federation's formal recognition of the Taliban government in July this year.

FROM ISOLATION TO ENGAGEMENT: A SHIFTING REGIONAL LANDSCAPE Russia's recognition marked a major diplomatic win for the Taliban and underscored a broader regional shift. While Moscow remains the only state to have extended full formal recognition to the Taliban regime, most of Afghanistan's neighbors and regional powers are actively engaging with the group. On February 5, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced that the regime is in diplomatic contact with over 40 countries. By 2025, more than a dozen nations, including China, Iran, Pakistan, and Japan, had appointed ambassadors to Kabul.

China became the first country to formally accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador in December 2023, a move followed by others. Interestingly, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan removed the Taliban from their list of designated terrorist groups in late 2023 and 2024, respectively. Most significantly, Russia's Supreme Court annulled the Taliban's designation as a terrorist organization in April 2025—an action that laid the groundwork for full recognition.

Yet not all relationships have followed a positive trajectory. Taliban-Pakistan relations, once marked by ideological affinity and strategic alignment, have deteriorated sharply due to Islamabad's allegations that the Afghan Taliban regime is harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants—a claim the latter denies. This rift comes amid a surge in cross-border attacks and a deteriorating security scenario within Pakistan.