today at one — labour spells out its plans to tackle the soaring cost of energy this winter. they want to freeze the energy price cap in england, gather to take celebrate the takeover of the country. lam

i am live. a profound and for many painful changes over the last year. i am alive in the spiritual heartland of the taliban where there power still resides. we will have guests in kabul and

the united welcome to this special programme — the fall of kabul: one year on. 12 months ago the taliban took control of the the capital of afghanistan — kabul. the western—backed government collapsed — and the world watched in disbelief. it came in the weeks leading up to the 15th of august the taliban advanced rapidly across the country, seizing province after province as afghanistan's military collapsed. their victory, the chaotic evacuation of afghans and foreigners — the images of desperate afghans clinging to a us military plane taking off from kabul airport — was a moment of reckoning for the west. in the next hour we'll look at what was promised by taliban leaders 12 months ago — and the state of afghanistan now. first — lets look back at these pictures from a year

ago which shocked the world. many western—backed afghan government leaders had already fled, while thousands of afghan citizens and foreigners — fearing taliban rule — scrambled to find room on flights out of the country. in the months after the taliban took power — all aspects of life in the country started to slide towards collapse. there were food shortages, energy supply problems and with the approaching winter — a looming i returned to afghanistan in late 2021 — and saw for myself the impact — especially on the youngest of victims — childtren. when i visited paedeatric wards at a hospital in kabul — there i saw badly malnourished children — with their mothers who had little hope for the future. here's what i saw.

everywhere you look in this ward, there's a mother praying and it feels like that's all they have now. every baby and child in here is in a critical state, and we just don't know if they're going to make it. one thing i witnessed going back to afghanistan at the end of 2021 was the growing threat of the islamic state in afghanistan. the rise of a regional affiliate — known as iskp — was having a major impact on many people's lives. they were exploiting the poverty and hunger to try and recruit people to challenge the taliban's authority. we've been called here by the taliban police who wanted to

show us an isis sleeper cell that they recently attacked. so what happened here? do you have reports of who they were and what their background is? an investigation

is on -- an investigation is on is on. one of the most striking changes in afghanistan since the taliban returned to power has been the reversal of the basic rights of women and girls. girls have been banned from secondary schools. many women are no longer working and advised to stay in their homes. afghan women who once held positions of authority across afghan society, have all but disappeared. in the last few days we have seen women taking to the streets of kabul to protest — a demonstration that lasted no more than 10 minutes before the taliban starting firing shots to disperse them. last month i was in afghanistan, and heard from a group of women about how they felt.

today has also been a day of celebration for the taliban and their supporters. the taliban have declared a national holiday to mark one year since they seized power.

the movement's black and white flags are flying in the main square in the capital and pick—up trucks full of fighters are patrolling the streets. in some areas the taliban takeover has been welcomed as marking the end of years of fighting between the taliban and the former afghan security forces, backed by international troops. over the past year myself and my colleagues afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani and our chief international correspondent lyse doucet have been following the story — theyjoin me from kabul and kandahar. course you have covered every twist and turn in afghanistan for more than three decades. ijust want and turn in afghanistan for more than three decades. i just want your assessment of being back in kabul now a year after the taliban takeover. i welcome amongst afghans of the attacks by the taliban and

the american led military campaign which terrorised many villagers here across the country but who would not welcome a time of peace? it is very difficult to call this a time of peace because it is a very uneasy time for so many afghans. i have to say as you mentioned there have been so many twists and turns in this more than a0 years long war but i don't think i have ever seen such a dark tunnel at the end of this particular time. afghans had dared to hope they could believe the taliban promises is the taliban advance towards the capital. the taliban, as you will remember, said in the qatari capital doha that women would be able to choose any job and she's the life partner and would have rightsjust job and she's the life partner and would have rights just like job and she's the life partner and would have rightsjust like boys but what we have seen across the country and we were able to travel over the central highlands and we have been meeting people here in kabul, no

matter if they are highly educated or illiterate farmers they all said they want their girls to be educated just like the boys. we had a fascinating discussion in the central highlands where tribal elders told us that saudi arabia, pakistan and iran are progressing and their islamic states were telling the leaders of the islamic emirate that they were progressing and wanted to see changes in our society. in the next few minutes we will show that peace to our audience. you are in kandahar. we were talking about the flights and celebrations in —— flags and celebrations in —— flags and celebrations in —— flags and celebrations in kabul but we are seeing similar and kandahar. there

were taliban _ seeing similar and kandahar. there were taliban driving _ seeing similar and kandahar. there were taliban driving up _ seeing similar and kandahar. there were taliban driving up and - seeing similar and kandahar. ti” were taliban driving up and down the main road in the city centre waving flags and the taliban see this as a celebration of their victory, their struggle against the us led international presence in afghanistan as well as the afghan government and see it as a kind of independent state but many afghans, even those in the south of the country generally seen as much more conservative where there are large elements of society much more supportive of the taliban, there are many people here deeply despondent about the future and worried about the trajectory of the country is going on. there are nuances to the situation here and i was in helmand province and speaking to people terribly affected by the war unable to carry out the most basic parts of that daily life, for example going

into their fields and now they felt a sense of relief because the war was over and there was peace for them. everyone here, whether in cities are the villages or even back in kabul the north of the country, they are terribly affected by the economic crisis which unites afghans but there are people in the south of the country particularly in more rural areas who are supportive of the taliban and glad they have taken control of the country. there are also critics. i spoke to one man who faces the risk of arrest we also critics. i spoke to one man who faces the risk of arres— faces the risk of arrest we have 'ust lost faces the risk of arrest we have just lost secunder _ faces the risk of arrest we have just lost secunder in _ faces the risk of arrest we have just lost secunder in kandahar. j faces the risk of arrest we have - just lost secunder in kandahar. we will also speak speaking to lyse a little later in the programme.

on the day kabul fell to the taliban i was on air while it was happening — and hearing from many in the capital who were telling me they were extremely worried about what their future would look like under the rule of hardline militants. i took a call from the taliban spokesperson suhail shaheen — who gave these assurances to the afghan people. there is a lot of chaos and confusion in kabul at the moment. can you just help us understand what the taliban plan to do at present and next? erm, yes, there should not be any confusion. in kabul. we assure the people, particularly in the city of kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe. there will be no revenge on anyone. the city and the power should be handed over to the islamic emirate of afghanistan.

and then in future, we will have an afghan—inclusive islamic government in which all afghans will have participation. i also asked him whether women's rights would be respected. this was his response. the policy is that women can have access to education and to work, and of course, they will observe the hijab. that is it. i also asked mr shahin about whether people who had worked for the afghan government before the takeover would face retaliation. in the next few days we want a

peaceful transfer and people can resume their normal activities and all those working with the kabul administration of the foreign forces, there will be no revenge. that was in august 2021. seven months later — on the 23rd of march — female students arrived for the start of their school year to find they their classrooms were shut — with taliban guards at the gates. five months since then girls over the age of 12 are still barred from school. today, they've been without education for a year. my colleague yogita limaye asked the taliban spokesperson in kabul, zabinullah mujahid, whether that will change. translation: primary schools and universities are open - for girls. in some provinces, secondary school students from grade six to 12 can go to school. but we have problems in other places. we are trying our best to solve them and to bring things back to normal. what problems, though?

because classes were always segregated for boys and girls, even before the 15th of august. so what problem is there in opening the schools? translation: our religious scholars have issues - with the safety of girls travelling to and from schools. we cannot only make decisions based on the situation in kabul. we also have to consider villages and districts, where people don't want girls to go to school. it appears there is disagreement within your government on the issue of schools. where is the opposition coming from, specifically? education in our country is decided by the people and a body of religious scholars. there have been some problems that have been brought up by those religious scholars.

the government is trying to avoid any sort of disagreement with them in order to maintain unity. we will talk to some guests in a moment. let's speak to tooba lutfi — an afghan activist in kabul. we have been talking a lot about all the changes in kabul in the last 12 months but as an afghan woman living there how his life changed? definitely every woman's life is chained since the taliban takeover. —— has changed. i was the one who

was walking as an individual and i was walking as an individual and i was free, i was going everywhere, i was free, i was going everywhere, i was teaching, i was a trainer. then when the taliban came i was trying to come to kabul. then on the way we had problems like an accident, we could see the war and we could see firing their and when we entered kabul everything was changed and before us we could see the taliban in front of us and they were trying

to use the weapons while they were in traffic. i could see fear on the face of everyone and nobody could imagine that this day will happen and unfortunately we explain that. 12 months on, what is the situation for women like you? are you able to go out of your home and do you have to cover yourface? go out of your home and do you have to cover your face? tell us a little bit about your life.— to cover your face? tell us a little bit about your life. yes, we have to cover our face _ bit about your life. yes, we have to cover our face and _ bit about your life. yes, we have to cover our face and we _ bit about your life. yes, we have to cover our face and we should - bit about your life. yes, we have to cover our face and we should not i bit about your life. yes, we have to | cover our face and we should not go alone outside and we can't work, we arejobless, and we alone outside and we can't work, we are jobless, and we cannot wear either red or white and we do not have any rights stop there is not a

process of government that is good or bad and the protesters are being detained and there are a lot of problems facing a woman but it is notjust women problems facing a woman but it is not just women that are facing these problems. men are being disappeared and being tortured and killed and many other things. these days the evidence of disappearing children, especially boys in some places where these are. ., ., i. , especially boys in some places where these are. ., ., , ., these are. you are yourself an activist, these are. you are yourself an activist. you — these are. you are yourself an activist, you are _ these are. you are yourself an activist, you are often - these are. you are yourself an i activist, you are often protesting in different ways and campaigning. are you scared for your safety and

your future?— are you scared for your safety and our future? , . m, ., , your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and — your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and the _ your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and the best _ your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and the best thing _ your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and the best thing we - your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and the best thing we can - your future? yes. i am scared of my safety and the best thing we can do | safety and the best thing we can do kabul in our afghanistan is changing our places. i don't know about tomorrow or afterwards. thank you so much forjoining _ tomorrow or afterwards. thank you so much forjoining us _ tomorrow or afterwards. thank you so much forjoining us here _ tomorrow or afterwards. thank you so much forjoining us here from - tomorrow or afterwards. thank you so much forjoining us here from kabul . much forjoining us here from kabul and sharing your thoughts. i know it is not easy but thank you. when the us withdrew from afghanistan last year critics said the us woudn�*t able to operate counter—terrorism effectively. two weeks ago though, the us carried out a drone strike in kabul — killing the leader of al qaeda, ayman al zawahiri. he was a big prize for the us — and washington said he had been living in afghanistan with the taliban's well, here's taliban spokesman zabinullah mujahid again, on what it means for

taliban—american relations. translation: our agreement with the us is still intact. - we did not use afghan soil against any country. i don't think this will affect our relationship with the world and the us. it has been at least ten days since that attack. you still don't know whether the head of al-qaeda was in kabul or not? the investigation process is time—consuming, because it is sensitive and has many aspects. we don't have enough evidence from the scene. what is the current relationship between the taliban and al-qaeda? we were unaware of his presence here, because there is no relationship. if some people personally had a relationship with him, we would find out. al-qaeda doesn't have any members here, as they left afghanistan long ago. just to clarify, the taliban has no ties with al-qaeda? no, we don't have any ties with al-qaeda.

there have been reports and speculation that actually it was numbers of the taliban who helped the us identify ayman al—zawahiri's location. how do you respond to that? there is no truth to that. general hr mcmaster, former us national security advisor under president trump and author of �*battlegrounds: the fight to defend the free world' we were hearing the taliban have no connection are links to al-qaeda, do you believe in? the remark of course not. it's time for us to stop listening to these wires who —— liners inflicted so much —— liars who have inflicted is amazing how

much we are deluding ourselves about afghanistan one year on. i mean for you, i want you to deflect because you, i want you to deflect because you served in afghanistan, i noticed some where you care about and often think about and as national security adviser you try to shift and change the policy towards the country. one year after the takeover, it must be hard for you to absorb 20 years of international efforts and $1 trillion spent on the taliban are backin trillion spent on the taliban are back in power? it trillion spent on the taliban are back in power?— trillion spent on the taliban are back in power? it is not because reall we back in power? it is not because really we were _ back in power? it is not because really we were inept _ back in power? it is not because really we were inept across - back in power? it is not because l really we were inept across those back in power? it is not because - really we were inept across those 20 years so it was not a 20 year war, it was a one year war fought 20 times over and a series of inconsistent and fundamentally flawed strategies. what is astounding to me is even after we have seen the return of the taliban and the horrors they have inflicted again on the afghan people we are

still deluding ourselves that is no relationship with al-qaeda. really? women are going to be in a much more benign form of shari'aa. it is extraordinary how much we delude ourselves about the taliban. one year after the fall of kabul, why kabul did fall? it happened because we deluded ourselves and delivered a blow after psychological blow to the afghan security forces. after fabry 2022 the disastrous withdrawal in august of last year we were essentially partnering with the taliban against the afghan government and security forces. the

afr han government and security forces. the afghan government was corrupt and inept and had a whole host of its own problems.— inept and had a whole host of its own problems. inept and had a whole host of its own roblems. ~ ., ., , own problems. who do you prefer? do ou refer own problems. who do you prefer? do you prefer the — own problems. who do you prefer? do you prefer the taliban _ own problems. who do you prefer? do you prefer the taliban government? i you prefer the taliban government? of you prefer the taliban government? of course afghanistan had not become denmark but it did not need to be denmark, it needed to be on a path toward reform over time with sustained commitment, conditionality of assistance, all sorts of mechanisms we could have used for reform in afghanistan. look at what you have now. the current head of the taliban government, he encouraged his teenage son to commit mass murder by suicide. and we delude ourselves to think that is going to be better? you delude ourselves to think that is going to be better?— delude ourselves to think that is going to be better? you do have american intelligence _ going to be better? you do have american intelligence at - going to be better? you do have american intelligence at the - going to be better? you do have - american intelligence at the weekend saying at the weekend that under the

taliban al-qaeda is not regrouping, do you believe the intelligence? {iii do you believe the intelligence? of course not. look at the united nations reports and previous reports with our intelligence said al-qaeda is not very active in afghanistan. there is really no presence. do you remember the raid in december 2015 when we uncovered the largest al-qaeda training camp we have ever encountered run kabul by the taliban? we had no idea it was there. it is ridiculous to assume they are not completely intertwined because we have all sorts of evidence to the contrary. these are groups that are intertwined and share expertise and this year funding. the minister of interior in afghanistan was the main bridge between al-qaeda and the taliban. we

keep romanticising the taliban as some sort of semi—virtuous rural movement. this is a transnational terrorist organisation interconnected with others and a creature of support from pakistan's isi. it creature of support from pakistan's isi. , ., ., , 151. it is now generally in power, how do you _ 151. it is now generally in power, how do you propose _ 151. it is now generally in power, how do you propose that - 151. it is now generally in power, how do you propose that the - 151. it is now generally in power, i how do you propose that the united states deal with the taliban? i don't think you do, i think nicely that government and try everything he can to get assistance to the afghan people and give zero support and legitimacy to a terrorist organisation running the country. we are in a dangerous situation for the we want to believe it or not, they are issuing passports to terrorists and i think we want to go back to a yearfrom today i and i think we want to go back to a year from today i look at the images of the unit that took over kabul airport, that was an al-qaeda

brigade within the taliban. we have to wake up and realise the reality of the situation we are dealing with. ., ., , ., of the situation we are dealing with. ., ., i. , of the situation we are dealing with. ., ., , , ., ., with. how do you see the situation unfoldin: with. how do you see the situation unfolding over— with. how do you see the situation unfolding over the _ with. how do you see the situation unfolding over the next _ with. how do you see the situation unfolding over the next two - with. how do you see the situation | unfolding over the next two years? the taliban cannot govern. they will not be able to govern effectively and there will be an ongoing humanitarian crisis which will become a security crisis associated with refugees leaving the country and really making what this terrorist ecosystem that exist along the afghanistan pakistan border. there will be attacks beyond that area that i think compel us to become more active militarily to disrupt terrorist organisations that already exist there. we already talk about the connection between taliban and the al-qaeda but there are over 20 terrorist organisations residing in the terrace system between afghanistan and pakistan.

as we've been reporting — the humanitarian situation is dire for millions of afghans. human rights watch has been documenting abuses under the taliban in the past year. in its most recent report it says the taliban have broken multiple pledges to respect human rights and women's rights, suppressed media and arbitrarily detained, tortured, and executed its critics. heather barr is the associate director of the women's rights division at human rights watch. thank you forjoining us on the programme. you and i have been speaking for a year about this, almost on a regular basis. we were just listening to general mcmaster and to a women's rights activist. this is quite a grim assessment of the situation on the ground? that is riuht. what the situation on the ground? that is right. what was _ the situation on the ground? that is right. what was described _ the situation on the ground? that is right. what was described matches | right. what was described matches our research. i think she said, we have no rights. that is a fair description of the situation for

afghan women today. general mcmaster and i, we