Western policies, esp. those of the U. S., keep the Taleban strong, adding recruits from their Pashtun tribes in the Northern provinces of Pakistan and from Afganistan.
The U. S. and allies are trying to prop up a minority regime in Kabul, and they will fail. The Taleban, and the people of the region, are completely misunderstood in the West.
The Taleban will advance, retreat, reform and re-advance as necessary in support of their views and with the backing of their Pashtun people.

In the news today, announcements from Pakistan indicate that sharia law will be permitted to the Pashtun in the northern provinces. A form of power-sharing in Pakistan may be possible, and offers some hope of truce. The provinces should be left as independent entities, but pressures from Scind and other groups in Pakistan push the government into an antagonistic stance.

We find the Pashtun culture repressive, but the Pashtun majority is still rooted in their culture handed down from biblical times. Only gradual change over 2-3 more generations will bring them more in line with our democratic, Western, liberal societal views.