One year after the Taliban took over Afghanistan as the US was pulling its troops out, life has become harder for the Afghans as aid cuts and sanctions ravage the economy.
Asian Insider looks at life there and the policies of US and India on the geostrategically important country.
Life harder in Afghanistan as poverty worsens, but for some, Taliban's return to power is welcome
Life may have become harder in Afghanistan in the one year under the Taliban as poverty worsens, but for some, its return to power is welcome.
Ms Sosan Rahmati, for one, is glad the endemic corruption of the previous government is being dealt with by the Taliban.
"Something had to change," said Ms Rahmati, an educational TV instructor and resident of Kabul. "Corruption had reached its peak. It was everywhere you turned."
A year after Taliban's return, some women fight for lost freedoms
Monesa Mubarez is not going to give up the rights she and other Afghan women won during 20 years of Western-backed rule easily.
Before the hardline Taliban movement swept back to power a year ago, the 31-year-old served as a director of policy monitoring at the finance ministry.
She was one of many women, mostly in big cities, who won freedoms that a former generation could not have dreamt of under the Taliban's previous rule in the late 1990s.
US' Afghanistan 'problem' remains despite pullout
One year after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, there is little peace dividend.
Rather, there remains the aftermath of an unsettled war, and the continued threat of terrorists finding harbour in Afghanistan - as apparent in the presence of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the middle of Kabul.
That, and a continuing humanitarian crisis and dismal human rights, presents an ongoing and volatile conundrum for the United States.
India moves cautiously on establishing relations with Taliban leadership
India has cautiously responded to an outreach by the Taliban, re-establishing diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in a limited way two months ago in what was a major policy shift for the country.
But the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan in a US drone strike last month and reports of his possible links to the Haqqani Network - the militant group that is part of the Taliban government - have underscored concerns about the Taliban's continuing links with terror groups.
In spite of this, India - which had long refused to deal with the Taliban - is now keen to have some channel of communication with the group as any instability in Afghanistan could impact its security, particularly in Kashmir.
Key moments of Taliban takeover and rule over Afghanistan
The Taliban took control of Kabul on Aug 15, 2021, completing a lightning takeover of Afghanistan in a campaign that started in May.
Here is a look back at some of the key moments since the Taliban came to power.
