KABUL (Dispatches) -- Five years after seizing control of Kabul, the Taliban face growing challenges to their rule, particularly in the resource-rich northeastern province of Badakhshan, where a resurgence of anti-Taliban armed groups is testing the militant government’s grip on power.
When Taliban fighters entered the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, 2021, many feared economic collapse and diplomatic isolation. Today, while the regime has survived, it confronts a persistent low-level insurgency that experts say could develop into a serious problem.
Badakhshan, a mountainous province bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan, was a bastion of resistance to the Taliban during the 1990s. It is again becoming a thorn in the group’s side. 
In recent weeks, the province has witnessed a string of attacks. On July 28, Zabihullah Amiri, the local Taliban information chief, was gunned down by two men on motorbikes in an attack claimed by the terrorist Daesh-K group. 
Days earlier, a new opposition group, Sipahiyan-e Mihan, briefly seized control of the Yaftal-e Payeen district.
Other groups, including the National Resistance Front and Afghanistan Freedom Front, have also claimed attacks in the province. Local residents report severe security crackdowns in response. 
“There are checkpoints and searches everywhere,” a resident of Yaftal-e Payeen told Radio Azadi. “The Taliban inspect people’s phones. They come and search people’s homes without giving a reason.”
Experts point to multiple factors fueling the unrest. Badakhshan is rich in gold, silver and semiprecious stones, and the Taliban’s efforts to centralize mining revenues have sparked local resentment. 
The 2022 ban on opium production, a livelihood for impoverished farmers, has also triggered anger. Additionally, the Taliban’s marginalization of the province’s sizable Ismaili community and growing ethnic tensions between Pashtun and Tajik factions have created fertile ground for opposition.
However, analysts caution that while the insurgency is concerning, it does not yet threaten Taliban rule nationally. 
“The anti-Taliban groups don’t have the power to seize and hold areas,” said London-based analyst Sami Yousafzai. Callahan agreed, predicting a “contained but continuing insurgency.”
Meanwhile, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has cemented his authority, resisting internal pressure to lift bans on women and girls. Over 15 countries maintain diplomatic missions, though Russia’s recent recognition of the Taliban has drawn criticism from the West.
With more than half of Afghanistan’s population reliant on aid and the U.S. holding the country’s assets, the real test of the Taliban’s governance -- whether it can make Afghanistan a better place to live -- lies ahead.