The Taliban is back in power in Afghanistan, and one of the biggest differences this time compared to 1996 — when the Taliban first seized Kabul — is the attitude toward it from its northerly neighbors.
The reaction by the Central Asian states, and Russia, then was nearly the opposite of how they responded in mid-August of this year when the Taliban again took control of Kabul — and nearly all of Afghanistan — after foreign forces ended their two-decade operation and withdrew.
The truce that now exists between most of the Central Asian countries and the Taliban benefits both, but it is fragile.
Central Asia And The Taliban: The Difference Between A Restive Border And A Quiet One (rferl.org)
