Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have celebrated three years in power with a military parade paying homage to their homemade bombs used in war, fighter aircraft and goose-stepping security forces.
The Taliban's armed forces towed Soviet-era tanks and artillery pieces through the former US air base in Bagram, where Chinese and Iranian diplomats were among hundreds who gathered for the parade and speeches.
The former Bagram base once served as the linchpin for US-led operations against the Taliban for two decades.
A swarm of motorbikes strapped with yellow jerry cans, often used to carry homemade bombs during the fight against international forces, rumbled past assembled officials.
There were also US-made armoured personnel carriers, the black-and-white flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - the Taliban government's formal name for the country - fluttering above them.
Helicopters and fighter aircraft flew over the base, where Taliban fighters were once imprisoned, about 40km north of the capital Kabul.
Taliban forces seized the city on 15 August 2021, after the US-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile.
The anniversary is marked a day earlier on the Afghan calendar.
Their government remains unrecognised by any other state, with restrictions on women - who bear the brunt of policies the United Nations has called "gender apartheid" - remaining a key sticking point.
"Three years have passed since the dreams of girls have been buried," said Madina, a 20-year-old former university student in Kabul.
"It's a bitter feeling that every year, the celebration of this day reminds us of the efforts, memories, and goals we had for our future."
Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who had been scheduled to appear at Bagram, praised the Taliban authorities' victory over "Western occupiers" in a statement read by his chief of staff.
The Taliban government has "the responsibility to maintain Islamic rule, protect property, people's lives and the respect of our nation", he said.
"On this date, Allah granted the Mujahid nation of Afghanistan a decisive victory over an international arrogant and occupying force."
Security has been a priority for Taliban authorities as they consolidated their power over the past three years, implementing laws based on their strict interpretation of Islam.
However, attacks by the so-called Islamic State group remain a threat and extra security was deployed in Kabul and in the Taliban's spiritual home - the southern city of Kandahar - ahead of the "day of victory".
A convoy of military vehicles and arms also paraded near Kandahar.
Helicopters flew over the Ghazi stadium in Kabul, where hundreds of men gathered to watch speeches and an exhibition of athletics and performances of Taliban anthems.
Rugby player Samiullah Akmal praised the day's events, saying it was "better than other years".
"As a young man, I see Afghanistan's future is bright ... we are independent and the people surrounding us are our own."
The stadium was full of people from surrounding provinces, according to Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs Noorullah Noori, who added that there was a feeling of "unity".
"Whether people are members of Islamic Emirate or not ... they should be grateful for this blessing from God, they should stand behind the Islamic Emirate."
The black-and-white standard decorated streets and trucks full of smiling men that choked Kabul streets.
Happy young boys carried a large flag in the Green Zone, once a secure enclave of foreign embassies, saying "We're ready to do a suicide attack!"
While many Afghans expressed relief at the end of 40 years of successive conflicts, the economy remains stagnant and the population mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
"The past three years have been some of the worst of our lives," said 26-year-old Zalmai, who works for a non-profit and only gave his last name.
"I don't know what security the Taliban are talking about, people are hungry, the youth don't have jobs ... both girls and boys are facing uncertain future," he said.
A joint statement from international non-governmental groups warned of the growing aid funding gap to the country, with 23.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Women have been squeezed from public life - banned from many jobs as well as parks and gyms - and barred from secondary and higher education.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reiterated calls for pressure on the Taliban government to lift restrictions on women, who have been removed from public life and banned from secondary and higher education.
"The third anniversary of the Taliban's takeover is a grim reminder of Afghanistan's human rights crisis, but it should also be a call for action," Afghanistan researcher for HRW Fereshta Abbasi said.
'Large-scale systematic exclusion' under Taliban - Tánaiste
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said that, under the Taliban's regime, women and girls are "especially suffering; forced to a life behind closed doors, losing their basic rights to education, employment, freedom of movement and access to services".
In a statement, he said he is "appalled by this large-scale systematic exclusion and deprivation of women and girls’ human rights that may amount to crimes against humanity, including gender persecution.
"Ireland condemns it in the strongest terms," Mr Martin added.
"Under the Taliban’s control, we have witnessed extrajudicial killings, public executions, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions become everyday threats for the people of Afghanistan."
Mr Martin said that others are suffering under the Taliban’s rule, including ethnic and religious minorities such as the Hazara people, and other vulnerable groups, including LGBTQI+ people, have been facing "horrendous human rights abuses under the current regime".
An ongoing humanitarian crisis remains one of the worst in the world, the Tánaiste added.
He reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment and support to the people of Afghanistan.
"Ireland will continue to work with our trusted partners on the ground in Afghanistan and within the region to alleviate suffering and provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people."
