Kyrgyzstan follows regional trend, takes Taliban off terrorist list

FILE - A photo of Osh, the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, taken on Sept. 1, 2023. This week, Kyrgyzstan removed Afghanistan's Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations. (Navbahor Imamova/VOA)

Shunned by the West for over three years, Afghanistan's Taliban scored a diplomatic victory of sorts this week when the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan quietly removed the group from its list of banned terrorist organizations.