RFE/RL Gandhara March 10, 2021 Twenty years after the Taliban blew up two famous Buddha statues, Afghans commemorated the tragic loss of their historical and cultural heritage on March 9 at a ceremony in the central Bamiyan valley. In a nighttime display, one of the Buddha statues came back to life as a three-dimensional projection
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday said that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was not the cause of the civil war; instead, he said, there wasn’t a plan for the country in the Soviet exit plan. Afghan leaders, said Ghani, believe this lack of planning led the country into a civil war.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 5, 2021 Frud Bezhan Daud Khattak Families, traders, and guerrilla fighters have for generations moved freely across the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The disputed 2,670-kilometer frontier traverses some of the world’s most forbidding terrain, snaking through desolate deserts and towering mountains more than 4,000 meters high. Drawn by
1TV: French authorities have decided to plaque in Paris in honour of Afghanistan’s national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud. The Paris Council voted unanimously to place a plaque in Paris 8 in tribute to Commander Massoud, Deputy Mayor of Paris, Arnaud Ngatcha, said on Twitter. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Afghan artifacts, including the Bactrian gold collection, will be sent abroad for display, said acting minister of information and culture, Mohammad Tahir Zuhair on Thursday. This comes as Mir Rahman Rahmani, the Afghan parliament speaker. on Wednesday warned that the ancient Bactrian gold, the most precious reserve of the country, would not be
Ariana: The Presidential Palace (ARG) on Wednesday called for calm and for MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) to act and speak responsibly about national issues after they called for the country’s treasure, the Bactrian Hoard, to be sent abroad for safekeeping. The total collection is estimated to be worth around $13
Ariana: President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday renamed the Herat Airport after Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, a Sufi who lived in the 11th century in Herat province. Ansari was also known as Pir-i Herat “Sage of Herat” and he is famous for his poetry and his book Munajat Namah (the prayers letter). Click here to read more
Tolo News: Minaret of Jam in Ghor province has been listed among cultural heritage sites of the Islamic world by the The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, referred to as (ICESCO). The Minaret of Jam’s isolated location may have prevented the monument from intentional destruction for nearly 900 years. The minaret is believed
Ariana: Habibullah Rafi, a well-known Afghan writer and member of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, said he has discovered a 400-year-old book on the history of Pashtuns. He said the 600-page book was found in Germany with the cooperation of Afghans in that country. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Afghans this week marked the 41st anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, calling it a “dark day” in the modern history of the country that led to devastating wars in Afghanistan. Afghan politicians said that a lack of national consensus and the unending interference of outsiders prolonged the war in the country