Former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul on the morning of August 15. For almost a day, the capital city was lawless. I witnessed people stealing military vehicles, others looting police stations and ministries, and my friends going into hiding or scrambling to the airport to get to safety. The Taliban eventually marched into the city the next morning.
I remember my drive that morning by the largest flag of Afghanistan on the Wazir Akbar Khan hill. That was the last time I saw the flag flutter in Kabul’s sky. Though the dark and solemn figures of the Taliban fighters were new to me, I wanted to believe that reconciliation was possible with the group. Though it is impossible to narrate a whole year in this piece, I want to give the reader a glimpse of what some of us have been through.
The first few days of the takeover were tense. The Taliban narrative, of viewing the larger urban population as allies of the West, was reflected in their harsh behaviour with the citizens at checkpoints. The fighters went through people’s mobile phones – although that was more often the case for people using public transport than those travelling in their private cars – had physical altercations and made random arrests.
One Taliban officer threatened to tear my western clothes if he ever saw me in them again, and another wanted to go through my mobile phone. But those were two incidents among hundreds of interactions. I do recognise that my personal car and driver ensured that I got treated better than most. Yet, those who saw the worst of the Taliban would tell you that the conduct at checkpoints has improved significantly. The new, formalised police apparatus conducts itself professionally and respectfully. There are certain checkpoints run by the Taliban intelligence, who are much tougher to deal with.
After the initial exodus, many have eventually visited Afghanistan throughout the past year. My only advice to them has been to not generalise their experiences. The existence of what the journalist and author Anand Gopal called "the other Afghan woman" – the rural conservative woman – in one his articles should not mean that other experiences are dismissed. If even one Afghan woman is deprived of her rights, then the system is failing and warrants criticism.
The absence of a national backlash to the Taliban’s policies since its takeover is an indication that the larger rural population is unaffected by them, for two main reasons.
Firstly, the culture within the villages of Afghanistan is self-regulating, and the Taliban have never had – or maybe never wanted to have – a formal, enforcing presence there. Secondly, the dominant view of the role of women there is largely in line with that of the Taliban. This does not include the ban on schools, since that is an extreme case that the majority of the rural population would disagree with as well.
The changes that the Taliban imposed on the urban population meant that a smaller percentage of Afghanistan’s population was completely stripped off their worlds. This was a generation of men, and more importantly women, that had learnt to dream of a different life for themselves through the years. A generation that had only heard stories of the Taliban rule and seen little chance of living that reality. This population is the brains of the country, and the success or failure of Afghanistan would depend on whether the Taliban can accommodate them and convince them to not leave the country.
There are stories of three people I know that are my starkest and darkest memories of the year.
Mawlawi Gul Jan was a shopkeeper and sole bread earner for his household in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar. I commissioned him to survey the areas for families by the border of Pakistan so that we could help with food aid. The Taliban intelligence picked Gul Jan during his survey and detained him. Despite multiple reassurances from us regarding our work and assurances given by the Taliban of his release, Gul Jan was kept in custody for more than 40 days. We had to provide his family aid during that time.
Then there was Imad Dawran, a soft-spoken poet who is a family friend. His gentle exterior was in complete contrast with the burning fire of rebellion within him. He decided to stay in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal on August 15, but refused to be silent despite witnessing the fates of others that had been vocal. After a post on social media criticising the Taliban, he was picked up and taken to an unknown location. He was kept in detention for almost two months. His scarred back and broken ribs told the story of how intolerant the group was towards any form of dissent. A gentle poet now struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and is barely a fraction of his old self.
Lastly, Mawlawi Izzatullah Mohib, a friend and a father of five who lived in Jalalabad. He was abducted in October last year and accused of being an IS-K member. After three days in detention, his family received a message that said: “This is the fate that awaits all who rebel against the Emirate. We have thrown his body by the side of [sic] road." Mohib was never given a chance to defend himself before he was beheaded by the group.
Given such realities, why do I still believe that reconciliation is possible? The end of the active conflict has presented an opportunity where people like myself, who could not travel beyond the major cities, can now access the most remote rural areas. This is where we can finally change the larger thinking of the population. Unless the lives of the rural population change, we will keep producing radical groups as part of our endless cycle – of basic needs not being met, and this producing violent men.
The checkpoints represent how the state sees its citizenry and the improvement signifies the ability of groups, even as hardline as the Taliban, to eventually learn to accommodate people and their differences.
The three stories I listed are gross human rights abuses – abuses that Afghanistan has witnessed under Nato and the Republic alike, but this time there is no foreign influence and the onus is on us Afghans to push back and make things better. Most would call me an idealist for thinking anything could improve. But I think the work myself and people who share my view have done in the past year, in the aid sector, on media networks and in dialogue sessions with the Taliban, are hope-inducing.
The Taliban will have to adjust to the new Afghanistan and we must adjust to the Taliban; a synthesis of our visions has to take place. It will take time but we have to start the process. As long as we can keep the war drums muted, justice will prevail, justice must prevail.
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
Company%20profile
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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SHAITTAN
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