Let her out, Mr President.

She’s hidden. She’s concealed. She’s Afghanistan’s first lady. She’s Zenat Karzai.
But where exactly is she? Hidden in a house which has been cordoned off by four security check points, two body searches and a secret code. It could be the security situation that has prevented Zenat Karzai from coming out to the public, but she’s [...]

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International military shooting at civilians

An innocent civilian was on the way to his brother’s wedding when he was mistakenly shot dead because he failed to slow down at some check-point. Coalition forces controlling the area or those working for them thought he was a talib…
This happens nearly ALL the time. While i dont agree with it at all, Afghans [...]

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the ‘D’ word

Danishgah, danishkada, daanishmand, daanishjoyan…
Say these words on Afghan TV and you’re busted.
Three Afghan journalists working for government-owned media have been fined five days salary for using words from the wrong language (Persian).
and for not “observing cultural and Islamic principles”.
Abdul Basir Babai had been reprimanded for using three words from Persian, as used in Iran, instead [...]

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5 Star Serena Hotel- attacked.

The 177-room Serena is a newly built luxury hotel frequently used by foreign embassies for meetings, parties and dinners. The nicest hotel in the city, visiting Westerners often stay, eat and work out there. Located in downtown Kabul, it is near the presidential palace, although separated by fences, blast walls and checkpoints. It is also [...]

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Taliban Afg, Karzai Afg…which one do you want?

The corrupt government, huge amounts of aid misused by a particular section of people, and the presence of foreign forces have all together contributed to the doubling of the miseries of the common Afghan.
Prices of basic items have soared up and are still on the rise, ratio of unemployment is going higher and higher, [...]

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Contemporary Afg: Bitter reality.

A  man in his thirties suddenly threw himself on a busy road in Kabul and yelled, “kill me and drive over me.”
“They can’t feed us; the easier way is to kill me and my children. Oh people, for God’s sake, come and kill us,” shouted the apparently exhausted man lamenting the government’s failure to [...]

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“My husband cut off my ears and nose and broke my teeth”

Doctors at a hospital in Qalat, capital of Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan, are treating a brutally tortured woman whose husband cut off both her ears and nose, broke her teeth and shaved her head only three months after their marriage. The victim, 16-year-old Nazia, is also suffering from psychiatric distress due to her experience, [...]

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Ya Allah, khayr.

The third suicide attack in eight days. I wrote the following (not sure what you can call it). It’s not a poem, although sounds like it.
It’s 7am. In most households, alarm clocks haven’t sounded yet.
BOOM! Alarm?
No, look out the window, exhaling short fast breaths, the glass window fogging.
A man sits disorientated, dazed. Painted in [...]

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Introducing- Shrinks and Afg Juvies

GOOD NEWS!! I’m a keen supporter of specialised treatment in juvenile offending. Having experience in that field, i have seen it’s impact on juveniles. The first rehabilitation centre for juvenile offenders (aged 12-18) has been launched in Kabul. Compliments to Italy who funded $490 000US for its construction. I remember seeing a deserted rehabilitation centre [...]

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Kabul crime busters

There are two people whom I just admire in Kabul. Crime buster Ali Shah Paktiawal and attorney general Abdul Jabbar Sabit (an old friend of dads).
Abdul Jabbar Sabit, the attorney general, stated: “The Afghan Army will not be able to defend the country for 10 years, so the international force has to be here [...]

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