THE Sixteenth Report of the United Nations Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team offers the most authoritative international assessment so far of Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Far from portraying a coherent or resilient governing system, the report reveals a political order defined by extreme centralization, rigid ideological control, weak institutions and unresolved internal contradictions. Together, these characteristics raise serious doubts about the regime’s long-term effectiveness and its capacity to deliver sustainable governance, stability or economic recovery.

At the apex of the Taliban system stands Hibatullah Akhundzada, who exercises undisputed authority as Ameer-ul-Momneen. Unlike conventional heads of state, Akhundzada does not operate through formal institutions or collective decision-making structures. The report makes clear that he is not a symbolic figurehead but the ultimate arbiter of policy, ruling primarily through religious decrees. Physically isolated in Kandahar—now the regime’s real political capital—he does not engage in debate, consultation or public accountability. Governance, therefore, is not merely centralized; it is personalized to an extraordinary degree.

This concentration of power permeates the entire administrative system. Akhundzada appoints loyalists across ministries and provincial structures, while Councils of Ulama have been established in every province to report directly to Kandahar. These councils function less as mechanisms of representation and more as instruments of ideological surveillance. Policy disagreement is discouraged, and dissent—whether bureaucratic, political or religious—is managed through dismissal, detention, coercion or exile. The result is an environment in which conformity........

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