Michael Hughes: Today’s headlines about the ongoing U.S. exit from Afghanistan eerily resemble those published more than 30 years ago vis-à-vis the Soviet withdrawal, especially with respect to the infighting among the anti-government elements who had the most to gain by the expulsion of a foreign invader. The Peshawar 7 mujahideen factions never really operated
FP: With Afghanistan again facing a political crisis, Mohammed Najibullah’s tarnished memory is being rehabilitated by some. But the crimes of the last Soviet-supported president, who was killed by the Taliban, are hardly forgotten. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 19, 2020 The son of Ahmad Shah Masud, the revered anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban commander, says he and several members of his family have tested positive for the coronavirus. In a May 19 post on Twitter and Facebook, Ahmad Masud said his COVID-19 symptoms were not “so serious,” while warning that
Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 26, 2020 When most of Afghanistan was under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, the fundamentalist regime drafted a new constitution. The document was never officially ratified, and it was unclear how much of it was ever implemented before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the extremist Islamic
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 5, 2020 By Frud Bezhan KABUL — Ahmad Zia was sitting behind his wooden registration table when a suicide bombing ripped through Kabul’s Maiwand Wrestling Club, where scores of athletes were in the middle of a training session. The blast flung Zia, the club administrator, off his chair and into
Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 23, 2020 In the mid-1990s, U.S. oil company Unocal attempted to secure a gas-pipeline deal with the Taliban, which had seized control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, after a devastating civil war. It was the United States’ first attempt to forge a partnership with the fundamentalist Taliban regime,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 19, 2020 By Freshta Jalalzai Five years ago — on March 19, 2015 — a 27-year-old Afghan woman was beaten and burned alive in the very heart of Kabul by a mob of angry men. Hundreds of people watched the killing of Farkhunda Malikzada, a student of the Koran and Islamic
Tolo News: Afghans across the country on Saturday marked the 31st anniversary of former Soviet Union troops withdrawal from the country. Meetings and gatherings were held in various parts of the country where the speakers paid homage to the “bravery” of those who fought against the then Soviet forces and forced them to end the
Al Jazeera: The narrow road that leads to the Yu Aw synagogue in the ancient city of Herat in western Afghanistan is lined with traditional mud homes that, despite their rough exterior, are fine examples of centuries-old architectural dexterity. Ghulam Sakhi, the caretaker of some of the heritage sites, leads the way, taking short quick
The Art Newspaper: The recovery of an ancient limestone temple sculpture stolen from the National Museum of Afghanistan almost 30 years ago sends out a “powerful message” that related pieces looted at the same time can now be tracked down, says St John Simpson, assistant keeper of the Middle East department at the British Museum.