Ashraf Ghani in the context of "Logar Province"

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed after the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan that had toppled the partially recognized Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, on 15 August 2021, the country was recaptured by the Taliban, which marked the end of the 2001–2021 war, the longest war in US history. This led to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, led by President Ashraf Ghani, and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate under the control of the Taliban, today the ruling government of Afghanistan. While the United Nations still recognizes the Islamic Republic as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, this toppled government controls no portion of the country. 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). Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency, leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

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. Afterwards, a transitional government was formed under the leadership of Hamid Karzai. 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. Meanwhile, the US-led international coalition helped maintain internal security, gradually transferring the burden of defense to the Afghan Armed Forces after 2013–14.

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a United States-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.

The insurgency had spread to some degree over the border to neighboring Pakistan, in particular Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban conducted warfare against Afghan National Security Forces and their NATO allies, as well as against civilian targets. Regional countries, particularly Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia, were often accused of funding and supporting the insurgent groups.

The 2021 Taliban offensive was a military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan that had begun following the United States invasion of the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism. The offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders to the Taliban from the village level upwards that started following the February 2020 US–Taliban deal.

The offensive began on 1 May 2021, coinciding with the withdrawal of the United States's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, and those belonging to other international allies. Large numbers of armed civilians, including women, volunteered with the Afghan Army in defense, while some former warlords, notably Ismail Khan, were also recruited. Despite this, the Taliban managed to make significant territorial gains in the countryside, increasing the number of districts it controlled from 73 to 223 in the first three months of the offensive. On 6 August, the Taliban launched an assault on the provincial capitals, with most of the towns surrendering without a fight, culminating with victories in weeks-long battles of major cities Herat, Kandahar and Lashkargah on 13 August. On 15 August, President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and the Taliban captured the Afghan capital Kabul with only sporadic resistance; thus, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's government fell, resulting in the de facto takeover of the country and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The speed of the Taliban's takeover came as a surprise to many, including the governments of the United States and their allies, Russia and the Taliban themselves.

On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan, and marked a total victory for the Taliban. This led to the overthrowing of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under President Ashraf Ghani and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban.

The United States–Taliban deal, signed on 29 February 2020, is considered one of the most critical factors that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency.

The Salma Dam, officially named Afghan-India Friendship Dam, is an embankment dam located on the Hari River in Chishti Sharif District of Herat Province in western Afghanistan. It has a hydroelectric power station that produces 42 MW of electricity in addition to providing irrigation for 750 km (290 sq mi) of farmland.

The Salma Dam was opened on 4 June 2016 by former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community. As of July 2025, only one member state of the United Nations, Russia, has extended diplomatic recognition to the new regime, even though many states maintain nominal relations with Afghanistan.

The Taliban previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and received limited diplomatic recognition, with the United Nations and most countries continuing to recognize the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover, gradually taking over the Islamic Republic's foreign diplomatic missions. Ousted president Ashraf Ghani has largely remained silent since the takeover, and has not formed a government-in-exile. Ghani's vice president Amrullah Saleh declared himself caretaker president and relocated to Panjshir Province after the Taliban takeover with the support of the National Resistance Front (NRF). However, he fled Afghanistan after the Taliban quickly captured the province. Although the NRF continues to wage a guerrilla insurgency, it has failed to take any territory and neither Saleh nor the NRF have received any international support, leaving the Taliban as the only viable claimant to Afghanistan's government.

34°31′25″N 69°10′44″E / 34.52361°N 69.17889°E / 34.52361; 69.17889

The Arg (Pashto: ارګ; Dari: ارگ; lit. 'citadel') is the presidential palace of Afghanistan, located in Kabul. Since the 2021 abolition of the Afghan presidency by the Taliban, it has served as the meeting place of the Cabinet of Afghanistan. The palace sits on a 34-hectare (83-acre) site in District 2, between Deh Afghanan and the affluent neighbourhood of Wazir Akbar Khan; it has historically been used by many Afghan heads of state, from Abdur Rahman Khan (who laid its foundation) to Ashraf Ghani.

Kamal Khan Dam (Dari: بند کمال خان; Pashto: کمال خان بند) is a gravity dam on the Helmand River in Chahar Burjak District of Nimruz Province in south-western Afghanistan. It is located about 95 km (59 mi) to the southeast of Zaranj. Work on the dam officially began in 1974, but after the 1978 Saur Revolution the project was abandoned. The work resumed in 2017 during the Presidency of Ashraf Ghani.

The hydroelectric plant produces up to 9 MW of electric power in addition to providing irrigation to about 175,000 ha (430,000 acres) of agricultural land. Its reservoir has the capacity to store up to 52 million cubic meters of fresh water.