The Times (UK): Some were wounded and came to rely on their captors, others feared what would happen to them back in Russia. Their lives now are very different to how they thought they would turn out when Soviet tanks rolled in to Afghanistan 39 years ago. Click here to read more (external link).
TASS: A former Soviet pilot, who went missing in Afghanistan in 1987 and was tracked down fairly recently, may return to Russia within the next twelve months, a source at the Boyevoye Bratstvo [Combat Brotherhood] veterans charity international fund told TASS on Friday. Initial information suggests the pilot’s name is Alexander Mironov. Click here to
Press TV May 28, 2018 Pakistan’s military Monday took the unprecedented step of preventing a former spy chief from leaving the country, after he ignited a storm by co-authoring a book that touches on Pakistan’s alleged roles in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Retired Lieutenant General Asad Durrani, who headed Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 1990 to 1992,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: The Kabul in William Podlich’s photographs is an almost unrecognizable place — a bustling capital of nattily attired men and women, many wearing Western dress; modern cars; and green parks. A place where women — Afghans and foreigners — could freely walk the streets. Click here to view more photos (external
Tolo News: Speaking at an Afghanistan Law and Political Studies Organization gathering in Kabul on Thursday, Qanooni said: “CIA’s site office in Islamabad was coordinating with (Pakistan’s) ISI; this office recommended to the US that any alternative to the Taliban must be a Pashtun-oriented alternative and that the United Front shouldn’t be an alternative to
The Telegraph (UK): As inconceivable as it is today, war-torn Afghanistan was once an essential stop on the backpacker route (dubbed the “hippie trail” or “overland”) across Asia, notable for its gorgeous capital – dubbed the “Paris of the East” – and the ease in which travellers could score a little marijuana. Click here to read
VOA Dari news report on the recently opened King Babur’s Kabul Exhibition at the historic Gardens of Babur Related Rare Kabul exhibition brings taste of Mughal art back home
Press TV March 20, 2018 Nowruz (New Day), the name of the Iranian New Year, is a traditional festival that marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. A 3,000-year-old Iranian tradition for people of all faiths, Nowruz is celebrated by the world’s Persian-speaking community and other ethno-linguistic groups across Western Asia, Central Asia,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 14, 2018 An online campaign in Afghanistan calling for the boycott of the ancient festival of Norouz has prompted a backlash among many Afghans, who have vented their exasperation at the growing influence of fundamentalist Islamic ideology in the war-torn country. Heralding the arrival of spring, the pre-Islamic Persian new
VOA News / March 13, 2018: On March 11, 2001, Taliban insurgents destroyed two Buddha statues that stood 180 and 124 feet tall in Afghanistan’s central Bamiyan province. Activists commemorated the 17th anniversary of the loss by holding art and cultural events under the feet of one of the tallest Buddha statues known as Salsal.