Stories from Afghanistan and India
For five days after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban insurgency, Mariam (not her real name) didn’t leave her house. As a professional athlete, this was very unusual. However, 23-year-old Mariam is also one of the city’s up and […]
On the eve of Eid Al Adha, as Afghanistan was preparing to celebrate the feast of sacrifice, Fida Mohammad’s Afghan’s life was instead turned upside down and struck by tragedy. His sons, Sher Mohammad, 34, and Mahmoud Khan, 37, were […]
Afghan businessman Mohammad Zahir never thought he would leave his home of 20 years in Mazar-i-Sharif, but when the Taliban appeared at the gates of the main city in Balkh province in June, he decided it was time to go. Now, he […]
The Taliban captured Afghan provincial capitals Sar-e-Pul and Kunduz on Sunday, although some fighting was reported to be continuing. This comes after the insurgents seized control of the capitals of Jowzjan and Nimruz provinces in the previous two days. The […]
Two provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban within 24 hours, local officials confirmed to The National. Government-aligned forces retreated from Sheberghan in Jowzjan province in the north on Saturday. This came a day after Zaranj, the capital of the south-western Nimruz province […]
Thirty-nine-year old Gulpari was forced to make some hard decisions when the Taliban was closing in on her village in the north of Afghanistan six weeks ago. Recalling the terrifying nights her family spent fearing for their lives, she said […]
Taliban insurgents on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack on the residence of Afghanistan’s acting defence minister in Kabul. A car bomb exploded near the residence of Gen Bismillah Mohammadi in the Shirpur area of Kabul on Tuesday. The explosion took place […]
LAST MONTH, Ajmal Omari found himself stuck in a taxi, waiting at one of the many Taliban checkpoints that have proliferated across Afghanistan over the past year. Omari, a 34-year-old journalist, was traveling with his father, who was weak and breathless […]
As the Taliban and government battle for control of Afghanistan, residents of areas seized recently by the insurgents are already experiencing life under the repressive regime toppled two decades ago. Emboldened by the withdrawal of US and Nato troops, the Taliban launched […]
Kabul, Afghanistan – When 30-year-old Ali Atayee enrolled for his first computer lessons as an Afghan refugee child growing up in Iran, he knew then this is what he would like to pursue as a career in his adult life. When […]