While the United Nations still recognizes the Islamic Republic as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, this toppled regime controls no portion of the country today, nor does it operate in exile; it effectively no longer exists.

The US–Taliban deal, signed on 29 February 2020 in Qatar, was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

[11] Following the September 11 attacks, the United States and several allies invaded Afghanistan, overthrowing the Taliban's first government (which had limited recognition) in support of the opposition Northern Alliance.

After the 2003 loya jirga, a unitary presidential Islamic republic was proclaimed under a new constitution, and Karzai was elected for a full term as president.

[12] During the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2021, the Taliban launched a massive military offensive in May 2021, allowing them to take control of the country over the following three and a half months.

The institutions of the republic effectively collapsed on 15 August 2021, when the Taliban forces entered Kabul and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

[24][25] Taliban forces meanwhile began regrouping inside Pakistan, while more coalition troops entered Afghanistan to help the rebuilding process.

Afghanistan remained one of the poorest countries in the world because of reliance on subsistence agriculture, a lack of foreign investment, government corruption, and the Taliban insurgency.

[28][29] Meanwhile, Karzai attempted to unite the peoples of the country,[30] and the Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, adopting a constitution in 2004 with the name Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

[33] In September 2014 Ashraf Ghani became president after the 2014 presidential election where for the first time in Afghanistan's history power was democratically transferred.

[34][35][36][37][38] On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government.

[39][40] Thousands of NATO troops remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces[41] and continue their fight against the Taliban.

"[43] A report titled Body Count concluded that 106,000–170,000 civilians have been killed as a result of the fighting in Afghanistan at the hands of all parties to the conflict.

[44][45][46] On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May.

It was based in the Panjshir Valley, and used the city of Bazarak as a temporary capital, as it was one of the few areas of Afghanistan that was still under control of the Islamic Republic.

[76] Several other groups, such as the Ahmad Khan Samangani Front[77] and the Afghanistan Islamic National & Liberation Movement have also conducted attacks against the Taliban.

[81] Corruption was endemic even in the upper echelons of governance: in August 2010 it was revealed that the leadership of the New Kabul Bank and a handful of political elites, including cabinet ministers, had embezzled close to $1 billion through fraudulent loan schemes.

Reportedly 7 members were already agreed upon: Hekmatyar, Karzai, Abdullah, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Mohammad Yaqoob, Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, and Hanif Atmar.

However, the 2009 presidential election was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout, and widespread electoral fraud, ending in Karzai's reelection.

[91] Among the elected officials were a large mix of former mujahideen, Islamic fundamentalists, warlords, tribal nationalists, former communists, reformists, urban professionals, royalists and several former Taliban associates.

[107] Relations with Pakistan were often tense for various reasons such as the Durand Line border issue and alleged Pakistani involvement in Afghan insurgent groups.

Afghanistan also had diplomatic relations with neighboring China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as with regional states such as Bangladesh, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Russia, South Korea, and the UAE.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was established in 2002 to help the country recover from decades of war.

On 1 December 2021, the nine-nation Credentials Committee of the General Assembly voted to defer a decision to allow the Taliban to represent Afghanistan at the UN.

[111] Freedom of expression and the press were permitted and promoted in the 2004 constitution, so long as it did not threaten national or religious integrity or did not defame individuals.

In the majority of cases, the perpetrators of these crimes were the families of the victim, and a 2009 proposal for a law against the violence of women could eventually only be passed through a presidential decree.

[120] With the implementation of Sharia law, offenders could be punished by death;[121][122] however, an ancient tradition involving male homosexual acts between youngsters and older men (typically wealthy or elite people) called bacha bazi persisted.

[129] In spite of the turbulent political situation and military conflict which defined the years of the republic an expansion in access to certain utilities and services also took place during this era.

[138] However, former Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak had stated in 2013 that the construction of 8,000 schools was still required for the remaining children who were deprived of formal learning.

[143] As of 2016, Afghanistan produced 1,400 megawatts of power, but still imported the majority of the electricity it consumed via transmission lines from Iran and the Central Asian states.