Afghan aid: Why the peace talks condition suits the Taliban

The Taliban representatives are discussing humanitarian aid in Oslo, their first official talks in Europe since they seized power. Their arrival prompted protests.

Since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have been trying to project a more moderate image to the rest of the world. They claim to have changed, in a bid to obtain financial aid and international recognition. However, this stance does not seem to match reality on the ground, where Sharia law is progressively edging its way into Afghans' everyday lives. Yet some business owners and women are trying to oppose the new rules. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin.

Moscow and regional allies want to send a message of unity to the Islamist insurgents with the so-called Collective Security Treaty Organisation. DW's Juri Rescheto reports from Tajikistan where anti-terrorism drills have been taking place at the border.

Posts circulating on social media since mid-January claim that the Taliban is destroying mobile phones in Afghanistan. Where did this video come from?We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Speaking to DW, former Afghan MP Mariam Solaimankhil blamed Pakistan, particularly its spy agencies, for the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan. She also stressed that "people around the former president Ghani" brought the country down.

When Taliban fighters took over Afghanistan it spelled disaster for female judges, who faced threats of violent retribution. But 150 women and their families managed to escape. DW's Matthew Moore met with two of them who are now in Germany.

The Taliban has said they want to allow girls to continue attending school. That does not mean, however, an education in the Western sense of the word.

Is tying humanitarian assistance to human rights the right course for Afghanistan? Aid agencies are this week imploring the West and in particular the US Treasury to allow money transfers to flow unhindered and to unblock desperately needed funds.

The Taliban promised to bring peace – but now that they are the government of Afghanistan, the war against the 'Islamic State' group is just beginning. There has been a series of attacks by 'IS' and bloody reprisals by the Taliban.

We focus on the plight of women in Afghanistan six months after the Taliban retook the country. For those women and girls left behind, many have found their lives shrunk to the four walls of their homes, either due to losing their jobs or being unable to continue their education. This as a number of women's rights activists have gone missing in recent weeks as the Taliban continue to seek international recognition.

The Pul-e-Sukhta bridge in Kabul is synonymous with hard drug use. After many NGOs and charities fled Afghanistan, drug addicts have been largely left on their own. And the number of users is swelling, residents say.

Six months after the Taliban retook Afghanistan, FRANCE 24 spoke to former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who remains in the country. Karzai strongly criticised the Biden administration's recent decision to unfreeze Afghan assets but divide the funds between aid to Afghanistan and victims of the 9/11 attacks, saying the funds "belong to the Afghan people". He also said he believed the Taliban would eventually allow girls to return to school, since doing so is "absolutely necessary for the well-being" of Afghanistan.