The U.S. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has warned in a new report that terrorism and extremism under Taliban rule continue to pose a serious threat to the security of neighboring countries and regional stability.
According to the Global Conflict Tracker report published by the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations on July 6, 2026, the Taliban continue to exercise extensive control over Afghanistan through the enforcement of a strict interpretation of Sharia law.
The report states that terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, continue to use Afghanistan as a base for recruitment, training, and the deployment of fighters. According to the think tank, the continued presence and activities of these groups have heightened security concerns across the region.
The Center for Preventive Action also said that restrictions on Afghan women and girls remain firmly in place. According to the report, these include the ban on girls’ secondary education, restrictions on women’s travel without a male guardian (mahram), and the requirement for women to cover their faces in public.
The report also examines the strained relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It says that following Pakistan’s airstrikes on Taliban positions, Islamabad entered a new phase of confrontation with the Taliban authorities, describing the escalation as one of the most serious confrontations between the two sides since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
According to the report, Pakistan says the strikes were carried out in response to the activities of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Pakistani officials claim uses Afghan territory to launch attacks. The report also notes that 2025 was Pakistan’s deadliest year in more than a decade, with conflict-related fatalities rising by 74 percent to more than 3,400.
The think tank added that clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan intensified in February and March 2026. According to the report, Pakistan carried out extensive airstrikes in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika, and on March 16, a Pakistani airstrike on a hospital in Kabul killed at least 269 civilians, according to the figures cited in the report.
The report further states that China has sought to mediate tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, but those efforts have so far failed to produce a formal agreement between the two sides.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
