Date: July 28, 2023

Two years after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban’s hold on the country remains tenuous. Internal tensions within the Taliban, especially between the Haqqani network and the Kandahar leadership, threaten to destabilize their control. Despite this fragility, the international community has been slow to support an effective opposition to Taliban rule, which could prevent Afghanistan from descending into chaos.

The Vienna Process has held multiple conferences and established a working group to form a “single national umbrella organization” against the Taliban. This effort, backed by private foundations and without government involvement, aims to create a coherent opposition platform. This report was published in Chatham House.