Four five years, the Taliban's claim to legitimacy was that they had ended Afghanistan's decades-long war and brought a semblance of peace and order to the Afghan people. But that claim is now being challenged. 

A series of attacks in Badakhshan province has for the first time since the group returned to power in 2021, posed a sustained military challenge to its authority. While the Taliban still controls the country, the recent violence raises an important question: Can the Taliban continue to hold Afghanistan if armed resistance gathers momentum?

The latest flashpoint is Badakhshan, a strategically important province bordering Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. On July 28, Zabihullah Amiri, the Taliban's Director of Information and Culture in Badakhshan, was assassinated by two motorcycle-borne attackers while travelling from Baharak to Faizabad. One attacker was killed by his bodyguards while the other was captured. The killing came after nearly a week of intense fighting between Taliban forces and the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) in Zebak district.

Since July 23, the AFF, which comprises of former members of the Afghan National Security Forces, has claimed to have captured Taliban outposts, seized heavy weapons, shot down two drones and inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban forces. Another group, the Sepah-e-Mihan briefly overran government offices in Yaftal-e-Payin district before withdrawing. Lastly, the Ahmed Massoud-led-National Resistance Front (NRF) has also stepped up attacks in the province. 

While many battlefield claims remain independently unverified, the Taliban itself has acknowledged that fighting is underway. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid however dismissed reports of opposition gains as "media propaganda" and insisted the movement would make "twice as many sacrifices" to defend the country. Taliban military chief Fasihuddin Fitrat also denied that Taliban positions had collapsed, maintaining that forces remained firmly deployed in the border areas.

Yet the significance of these developments lies less in who controls individual villages and more in what they reveal. For the first time in five years, Taliban forces have faced prolonged engagements, targeted assassinations of senior officials and coordinated attacks by multiple resistance groups in the same province. Badakhshan's mountainous terrain, porous borders and valuable mineral resources make it an ideal environment for a long-term insurgency.

For now, the Taliban remains firmly in control of Afghanistan's major cities, security institutions and state machinery, and there is no immediate threat to its rule. However, if resistance groups continue to coordinate, exploit local grievances and sustain military pressure in provinces like Badakhshan, the Taliban may find itself confronting the kind of insurgency it once used to seize power. Whether this marks the beginning of a broader resistance or remains a localized challenge will determine the future stability of Taliban rule.

Deepak Bhadana

Over the past decade, Deepak Bhadana has built expertise in multimedia storytelling, with a focus on military conflicts, insurgencies, international relations, the defence industry, and occasionally, wildlife and environmental issues.