Since the Taliban took power, does the West have any influence?
tags:UN officials believe their presence in Afghanistan makes a difference, however limited. They point to progress on issues such as the treatment of prisoners, their detailed discussions on the harsh implementation of the morality code known as the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, as well as efforts to improve humanitarian access.
"Engagement is slow, progress is incremental, and reversals are frequent," is the UN's sober summary of the past five years of on-off dialogue.
But it still insists it needs to stay the course.
"A stalled process is better than no process," emphasises Georgette Gagnon, a deputy special representative of the secretary-general for Afghanistan, who is now the acting head of the UN mission in Kabul.
The UN has been criticised for not pushing back enough against the Taliban, including for holding forums such as the so-called Doha Process, in which a Taliban delegation travelled to the Qatari capital in 2024 to discuss a range of issues, on condition that no Afghan women's representatives were at the table. UN officials insist all issues were discussed, and that subsequent meetings included their participation.
A new process called Mosaic approaches negotiations in a more structured format, on six core issues. On one side there are human rights including women's rights, inclusive governance, and counterterrorism. On the other, there are Taliban demands – sanctions relief, unfreezing assets, diplomatic representation.
"Confidence and reciprocity are beginning to take shape to open the door to engagement on the most difficult issues," says Gagnon whom we meet inside the UN's vast, heavily fortified compound. She calls them "small steps on the long road".
She insists it has to be done through a collective effort, not only through discussions by individual governments. "Pressure has not worked so far, threats have not worked; our best chance lies in consistent and common messaging and action."
In dusty provincial capitals and farmers' fields, where international and Afghan aid agencies wrestle with ways to work on the ground, the conversations continue day in day out.
It's there that edicts handed down by the reclusive emir are translated into what are known as workarounds. These workarounds can mean women are able to work in some agency sectors from home, or in different rooms, on different floors, or even in different buildings to men.
"Everything in Afghanistan is relationships, and day-to-day that can help make things easier," says Chris Kinder, the chairman of Afghanaid, a British charity which has been working in Afghanistan for more than 40 years. He emphasises that most of these conversations on access and implementation are conducted by experienced Afghan staff.
My own visits to provincial cities and towns in recent years have underscored how some local Taliban officials try to find pragmatic solutions. But others remain deeply suspicious of any foreign assistance.
Local agreements were described by another charity as "verbal and fragile".
Kinder rejects criticism that aid agencies have had to compromise on principles to keep their projects in place.
"The Taliban have their red lines and we, and our donors, have ours. We discuss approaches so both sides understand where they are coming from."
Here too, many aid officials call for a more unified approach.