
Afghanistan: Taliban no longer on terror list; Russia first to recognize its regime
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The wheel of history has turned the full circle.
The Taliban—meaning the “Islamist students’ organization”—was born in the early 1990s primarily against the Soviet Union, with support from the US and Pakistan. After losing thousands of Russian soldiers in the nine-year-long war, the then USSR exited Afghanistan in February 1989, ending its proxy communist rule. This withdrawal, part of an agreement reached in Geneva and followed the signing of the Geneva Accords in April 1988, marked the end of the Soviet-Afghan War.
By 1996, the Taliban gained control of most of the landlocked mountainous country, often cited as the graveyard of empires, and implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Their rule ended with a US-led invasion in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. After two decades of insurgency, the Pakistan-based Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 as US forces withdrew.
In April 2025, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations and has now returned to the geopolitical sweepstakes in South Asia. Why, even China is keeping the Taliban in good humor and keen to enrol Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which leads it into the Arabian Sea via the Gwadar port in Baluchistan.
On Thursday, Russia became the first country in the world to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, sparking outrage from opposition figures, the media reported.
The decision marks a major milestone for the Taliban almost four years after they swept into Kabul and took power again.
Welcoming the Russian move, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said he hoped it would serve as an example to other countries, which have been reluctant to recognize a regime which implements a strict version of Sharia law along with severe restrictions on women and girls.
Others have decried the move, with former Afghan politician Fawzia Koofi saying “any move by any country to normalise relations with the Taliban will not bring peace but it will only legitimise impunity…such steps risk endangering not just the people of Afghanistan, but global security.”
Meanwhile, the Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network said Russia has legitimised “a regime that is authoritarian, anti-women, and actively dismantling basic civil rights.”
The Taliban-run government has previously said it respects women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law.
But since 2021, girls over the age of 12 have been prevented from getting an education, and women from many jobs. There have also been restrictions on how far a woman can travel without a male chaperone, and decrees on them raising their voices in public.
Muttaqi said Moscow’s recognition was “a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect, and constructive engagement,” as he described Moscow’s decision as “courageous.”
Russia’s foreign ministry said it saw the potential for “commercial and economic” co-operation in “energy, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure,” and that it would continue to help Kabul to fight against the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
Russia was one of very few countries that did not close down their embassy in Afghanistan in 2021 – as the Taliban swept across Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troop. It was also the first to sign an international economic deal with the Taliban in 2022, where they agreed to supply oil, gas and wheat to Afghanistan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also referred to the Taliban as an “ally” in fighting terrorism in July 2024. The Taliban representatives had visited Moscow for talks as early as 2018.
However, the two countries have a complex history. The Soviet Union – which included Russia – invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and fought a nine-year war that cost them 15,000 personnel.
Their decision to install a Soviet-backed communist government in Kabul turned the Soviets into an international pariah, and eventually led to their withdrawal in February 1989.
In its statement, the Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network noted it had not forgotten “Russia’s role in the destruction of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion.”
“Today, its political interference and direct support for the Taliban represent a continuation of those same destructive strategies, now under the banner of diplomacy,” it said.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) placed strict sanctions on Afghanistan in 2021, and froze approximately USD 9 billion (£6.6bn) in assets.
The UN has said the rules impacting women amount to “gender apartheid,” while also reporting public floggings and brutal attacks on former government officials.
Most countries closed their embassies after 2021. However, China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Pakistan have all designated ambassadors to Kabul.