In this photograph taken on October 27, 2017 an Afghan woman collects saffron flowers after picking them in a field on the outskirt of Herat For years, Afghanistan has tried to give farmers alternatives such as fruit crops and saffron to wean them away from poppy farming – the lifeblood of the Taliban insurgency. International donors have splurged billions of dollars on counter- narcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, including efforts to encourage farmers to switch to other cash crops such as saffron. But those efforts have shown little results. (Photo by Hoshang Hashimi/AFP Photo)

In this November 3, 2015 file photo, Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammed Rasool, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, in Farah province, Afghanistan. Despite US President Donald Trump’s pronouncement that there would be no talks with the Taliban following a series of deadly attacks in Kabul, officials say talks continue, but neither side trusts the other and neither believes the other negotiates independently. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

Afghanistan, published by Taschen later July, is a retrospective portfolio of the Magnum photographer Steve McCurry’s most striking images of the country, from 1979 to 2016. Here: Kunar province, 1980. Armed mujahideen carry animal skins to use as inflatable buoys to cross rapids. (Photo by Steve McCurry/Taschen/Magnum Photos/The Guardian)

Afghan children wait as their mothers receive treatment at a USAID-funded health center on September 7, 2011 in Farza, Afghanistan. Almost 10 years after the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. government funds some of 500 Afghan health facilities nationwide, most run by non-governmental organizations contracted by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman walks past in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, December 26, 2022. Recent Taliban rulings on Afghan women include bans on university education and working for NGOs, sparking protests in major cities. Security in the capital Kabul has intensified in recent days, with more checkpoints, armed vehicles, and Taliban special forces on the streets. Authorities have not given a reason for the tougher security. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Afghan boys stand on a snow-covered street on the TV mountain in Kabul, Afghanistan on January 25, 2023. (Photo by Ali Khara/Reuters)

Former Mujahideen hold weapons to support Afghan forces in their fight against Taliban, on the outskirts of Herat province, Afghanistan on July 10, 2021. (Photo by Jalil Ahmad/Reuters)

People travel in a taxi carrying sheep on a luggage carrier and in the car boot in Kandahar October 30, 2021. (Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo)