UN report highlights Taliban's autocratic rule and resistance to reform.

The Taliban has criticized a UN Security Council report that called the Afghan government "highly exclusionary" and "repressive." The report also stated that the Taliban governance structures remain "highly exclusionary, Pashtun-centred and repressive" towards all forms of opposition. The Taliban officials have denied there was a rift among its leadership. The Taliban has expanded its curbs on media freedom and women's rights since taking over the country in August 2021, with high schools for girls remaining shut. The Taliban has sought to exclude all foreign organizations from the education sector, a move that would be another "horrendous step backward" for Afghan people.