as capital 43, 132, 223
capture of 195, 203
football stadium 245–9, 246
jail 18, 200, 269, 272
lawlessness 12–13, 89–90
mosques 255, 256, 258
Mullah Omar in 24, 254–7
Soviets in 57, 125
under Taliban 14–15, 80, 81, 144, 198, 230, 254–9, 280
tomb of Ahmad Shah 38
US special forces in 279
Kandahar desert 37, 51
Karachi 102, 286
Karamzade, Zena 160–3, 164–7, 166
Karmal, Barbrak 130, 131
Karzai, Abdul Ahad 43, 79
Karzai, Aziz 238–9
Karzai, Hamid 10, 46, 52, 79, 107, 119, 192, 237, 282
appearance 42
background 42–3
heads interim government 179, 209, 236–40, 275, 323
marriage 82
in mujaheddin government 80
NLF spokesman 44
personality 42
and Taliban 82, 282
visits Mullahs Front 45, 47–8, 56–7, 239
Karzai, Jamil 9–10, 29, 313
Karzai, Shah Wali 238
Kashmir 286, 289
Kazakhstan 89
Kennedy, John F. 115, 116
KHAD 53, 311, 324
Khadijah 88
Khafash, Naser 167–72, 170
Khalilullah, Mr (of Kabul Museum) 230, 233
Khalis, Yunus 48, 59, 89, 101
Khan, Ismael 3, 175, 182, 195, 202–3
appearance 196
author’s meeting with 142, 194–9
Governor of Herat 12, 145, 166, 197–9, 201–4
leads anti-Soviet uprising 151
Taliban prisoner 199–200
warlord 188, 196–7, 204, 323
Khan, Mirwais 200, 202
Khan, Saleh Mohammed 60
Khanabad 40
Khayal (poet), see Abdullah
Khojak Pass 48, 251
Khost 197
Khunderab 51, 84
Khyber Pass 3, 66, 67, 225
Khyber Rifles 123
Kipling, Rudyard 127
Kim 37
kite-flying 88, 187, 283
Kohat 103, 104
Koh-i-Noor diamond 38, 39, 41, 224
Koran 26, 32, 52, 60, 84, 88, 97, 99, 100
Kunduz 40, 280
Kurram 103
Lalik, Haji 252
Latif, Haji 13, 264, 267
Lee, Christopher 102
Levi, Peter 145
Literary Circle, Herat 153–5, 160, 162, 163, 166
Loghar province 80
London 4, 135–6
loya jirga 129
McFarlane, Bud 295
Maconachie, Richard 127
madrassas 14, 52, 84–5, 89–91, 97–102, 105, 176, 199, 279–80, 290
Mahmud, ruler of Khurasan 168fn
Maiwand 227
Malajat 58, 59
Malik (Karzai’s assistant) 83
Malik, Gen. Abdul 199–200
Mao Tse Tung 115
Marri, see Siddiqui, Fatema
Martin, Frank 47, 227, 319
Marzia (Kabul teacher) 308–9
Mashad, Iran 142–3, 203
Mashal, Mohammed Sayed 152
Masjid-i-Juma mosque, Herat 189–90
Maslakh camp, Herat 181
Massood, Tawfiq 313–14, 318–20, 323
Masoodi, Umar-akhan 229–36
Massoud, Ahmad Shah 12, 20, 76, 80, 121, 179, 196, 198, 219, 298
Mazar-i-Sharif 5, 14, 125, 196, 268, 275, 282
under Dostum 12
Hazara population 19, 20–1
under Taliban 20–1, 81, 91, 280
Mehmud, Shah 128
Merv 174
Mir, Haji 195
Mir Wais, Prince 136
Mirzad, Shah ix, 315
Moghul Empire 39, 40, 97, 153, 223
Mohammed, Nida 246–8
Mohammed, Pir 317, 318
Mohammed, Safa 55
Mohammed, Sultan 99
Mohammed Juki, Prince 176
Mohammedi, Maulvi Mohammed Nabbi 58–9, 89, 101
Mojadiddi, Prof. Sibghatullah 44
Mojadiddi, Zia 119
Mongols 19
Mostapha Zahir, Prince 114–15, 119–20, 132, 137, 214, 270
Mowafaq hotel, Herat 146, 147–50, 192, 202, 281
MTV 266
mujaheddin 3, 10, 30, 36, 44, 48–9, 56–60, 99, 197, 204
battle for Jalalabad 65–6, 68–72
camps 51–4, 57
government 80
Haqqania-educated 89
infighting 132
ISI backing 287, 290
Kabul taken by 30, 132
in Taliban 80
US support 286–8
Mullahs’ Front 45, 47, 51, 56, 58, 59–60, 64, 80, 81, 279
Mullasia 204
Murad Beg, Emir of Bokhara 38, 41
Musharraf, Gen. Pervez 85, 92, 95, 98, 103
Muslim Brotherhood 291
Muslim League 103
Mustafa Hotel, Kabul 212, 213, 313, 318
Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan xxiii, 123, 125, 126–8, 145
Nadir Shah, King of Persia 39–40
Nadir Shah, Prince 136, 214
Naem (ambulance medic) 67, 69
Najibullah, Mohammed 132, 193, 197, 200, 214, 240
Nangarhar 95
Nasir, Mohammed 245, 248–9
National Liberation Front 44
Nawabi, Sonita 302, 306, 310
Nawa’i, Ali Sher 153
Nazzak (Abdullah’s cousin) 264–74
Nehru, Jawaharlal 115
New Lourdes hotel, Quetta 46
Newby, Eric 145
Niazi, Mullah Manon 21
Nicholas I, Tsar 151
Nimruz province 198
Noorzai tribe 13
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) 93, 102
Northern Alliance 231
Abullah’s files on 268, 269
defeats Taliban 28, 115, 139, 144
hatred of Pashtuns 179
leaders of 121, 196, 237, 238
opposed to monarchy 132, 133, 275
Obaidullah, Mullah 280–1
Olgiata, Rome 121, 133, 137
Omar, Mullah Mohammed 13–14, 16, 18, 87, 154, 203, 280
appearance 25
background 24
declares himself Amir ul Momineen 25, 38fn, 171
and fall of Taliban 254, 271, 284
and Haqqania 84, 85, 91, 101
house of 26–7, 255, 271
in Kandahar 24, 254
onslaught on culture 231
reclusiveness 24–5, 254
simple-minded illiterate 26
Orakzai 103
Paghman 228–9, 229
Pakistan 5, 42, 45, 59, 72, 79, 128
Afghan refugees in 5, 10, 22–4, 43, 83–4, 96, 279
border with Afghanistan 94, 290
ISI role in 285–6, 289
madrassas 84, 89, 91, 97, 102, 199
nuclear programme 103, 293
political parties 91
relations with Afghanistan 65, 132, 286–7, 290
relations with US 85, 284, 286–7
support for Taliban 14, 28, 233, 268, 279, 304
as Taliban refuge 277–9
Paktia 9, 186, 275, 281
Paris 127
Paropamisus Mountains 141
Pasani, Maulvi 59
Pashtun, Engineer 270, 271
Pashtuns 2, 12, 13, 217
and British 92, 93–4, 123
and Hazaras 19
and monarchy 38–9, 40–1, 126;
Pashtunistan issue 94, 132, 290
Pashtunwali 102–4, 253
taste for warfare 38, 40, 102, 186, 187
women 36, 82, 105
Pathans, see Pashtuns
Pentagon 6, 270
Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan 130, 131
Persia 40, 174, 181, 184
Persian art and culture 154
Persian-speakers 12, 19; see also Iran
Peshawar 2, 3, 36, 42, 43, 44, 59, 65, 66, 126, 197, 224, 314
Peshawar University 10
Peter the Great, Tsar 19
Pinstech 103
Polo, Marco 3
Popolzai tribe 43, 56, 60, 79, 230, 239, 254, 260
Pottinger, Lt Eldred 184
Pul-i-Charki prison 53
Punjab 41fn
Qadir, Haji ix
Qanuni, Mr 238
Quartimiglia, Italy 117
Quetta 9–10, 13, 28, 36, 46–7, 59, 79–80, 270, 277
anti-American riots 83
refugees 22, 43, 259
Satellite Town 79, 133
Quli, Raza 39
Rabbani, Burhanuddin 13, 197, 239, 269, 323
heads Northern Alliance 237
Jamiat Islami party of 204
as President of Afghanistan 12, 179, 237–8, 301
Rabbani, Mullah Mohammed 56, 58, 80, 81
Radio Afghanistan 139
Radio Shariat 108
Rahiyab, Prof. Mohammed Nasir 158–60, 163
Rahman, Maulana Hasan 101
Ranjit Singh, Maharaja 41fn, 224fn
Ratmullah (Abdullah’s son) 262, 274, 284
Ratmullah (sub-commander) 48, 50, 57, 61–3, 62, 81
Rawalpindi 284, 292, 293, 295
Rawalpindi, Treaty of 125
Razeghi, Leyla 161, 163–7, 166
Razzak, Abdul 47, 48, 49, 58
as Taliban minister 80, 81, 279
training camp of 51–5, 54, 84
Reagan, Ronald 286
Rehman, Fazlur 91, 101
Roberts, Gen. Sir Frederick 226–7
Rome 115–22, 131
Rosaman, Asmar 22
Royal Air Force 124
Rukh, Shah 153, 173, 184
Russia 128, 130
Afghan war 11, 23, 36, 51, 55–6, 63, 151–2, 175, 176, 188, 196–8, 228–9, 285
British rivalries with 225
collapse of Soviet Union 44
Indian ambitions 19, 94, 151, 174
invasions of Afghanistan 3, 30, 131
Red Army 3, 65, 151, 188
Soviet-Afghan relations 125
treatment of Afghan prisoners 53
withdrawal from Afghanistan 44, 65, 80, 89, 219, 290
Sadat, Anwar 118
Safed Koh 5
Sahadi, Maulana Abdullah 278–84
Sajjad, Imam 171
Saleih, Noor Mohammed 101
Samangan province 269, 270
Samarkhel 69, 70
Sanghisar 14, 25, 271
Santos de Almeida, José Paulo 121
Saqqao, Bacha 126–7
Saudi Arabia 45, 101, 287
Sayyaf (warlord) 229, 323
September 11th 5–6, 32, 79, 82, 91–2, 121, 293
Serena Hotel, Quetta 9, 84
Shah, Gen. Nadir, see Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan
Shah Jahan, Moghul Emperor 39, 153fn
Shah Mehmud, King xxii, 224
Shah Mehmud, Prince 136
Shah Shuja, King xxii, 41fn, 224–5
Shah Wali Shah, Prince 136–7
Shams, Dr 95
Sharif, Nawaz 95
Sharon, Ariel 92, 293
Sher Ali (ambulance medic) 69
Shia Muslims 18–19, 20, 21, 152, 169
Shindand 198
Shomali Plains 107, 319
Siddiqui, Fatema (Marri) 321
author’s meeting with 320–3
author’s search for 297–314, 318–19
diary 179–80, 209–10, 243–4, 275–6, 323
letters 29–33, 75–7, 83, 84, 107–9, 139–40, 297–8
Siddiqui, Fatema (of Microrayon) 301–2
Siddiqui, Latifa 322
Siddiqui, Maulana Adil 85
Sikhs 41, 224
Silk Gorge 81
Simonich, Count 184
Siraji (singer) 15
Soraya, General 306–7, 310
Soraya, Queen 125
Soviet Union, see Russia
Spin Boldak 13, 48, 91, 280
Spinghar Mountains 67
Sufi Saheb desert 256
Sunday Telegraph 85
Sunni Muslims 19
Sutcliffe, Justin x, 85–6, 93, 141, 144, 183
Swift, Jonathan 284
Tajiks 12, 20, 40, 126–7, 142, 218
Taliban 5, 6, 36, 79
cultural onslaught 22, 87, 134, 154–5, 161–2, 164, 230–3, 234, 239–42, 283
education under 30–1, 100–1, 156–64, 283
fall of 28, 120, 132, 133, 139, 144, 185, 195–6, 203, 244, 273, 294
foreigners in 27–8, 32, 76, 128
and Haqqania 84, 87, 89, 91
in hiding 278
ignorance in 26, 155, 159, 199
Islam of 26, 88, 102, 104
law and order under 12, 14, 250
leaders 26–7
life under 15–18, 30–2, 76, 81, 162–5, 185, 248–9, 283
massacres carried out by 22–3
Ministry of Culture 162
Ministry of Vice and Virtue 230, 255
Moral Police 81, 147, 170–1, 254
origins of 36, 52, 80, 89–90
public attitudes towards 12, 165, 199, 253–4, 268, 280, 294
punishments and executions 18, 169, 172, 245–8, 250, 252–3, 272–3, 282
recruitment 10–11, 14, 279–80
resistance to 268–71, 303, 314
terrorists in 82
territorial gains 132, 198, 280
trauma of 105
treatment of Afghans 18, 20–3, 152, 199
treatment of Shias 18–22, 152, 169
Tamerlane 3, 151, 153, 190
Taraki, Nur Mohammed 130, 131, 197, 267
Tarin Kot 24
Timur, see Tamerlane
Timur Shah, King xxii, 223, 308
Timurid Empire 153, 155, 168, 173, 175, 184
Titanic (movie) 165
Tito, Marshal 115
Tora Bora 203
Torkham 66, 67, 81
Toryali (interpreter) 303, 305–6, 310, 311
Tribal Areas 94
Turabi, Mullah Nuruddin 279
Turkey 125
Turki bin Abdul, Saudi Prince 287
Turkmen 40, 218
Turkmenistan 120
Udikhel 311
Umar, Caliph 25
UNESCO 234
Unicef 160, 181, 301
United Nations 130, 133, 134, 258, 290
United States 32, 69, 72
attitude to Afghan king 130
bombing 75, 76–7, 83, 107–8, 116, 133, 154, 188, 201, 212, 254, 255, 259, 271, 304
food parcel drops 148–9, 207
and ISI 44–5, 286–7, 294
objectives of 92, 293
Special Forces 279
State Department 55, 133
support for mujaheddin 53, 188, 286–7, 295
terrorist attacks on 5, 32, 75
Uruzgan 24, 27, 83, 238
Uzbekistan 20, 89
Uzbeks 12, 19fn, 40, 153, 174, 184, 196–7, 218
Vendrell, Francesc 133
Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy 126, 239
Victoria, Queen 239
Vorontsov, Yuli 72, 219
Wais (Kabul hotel-owner) 212–15, 220, 313–14
Wajiha (singer) 216
Wali, Gen. Abdul 81, 115, 116, 120, 133, 137, 271
Wali, Princess Homaira 111–19, 112, 120–2, 131, 133
Wardak 20
Wardak, Rahim 70, 72
Wasei, Abdul 60, 61, 63, 64, 81
Wates, Oliver and Rosie 292
Waziri tribe 94
Wilson, Charlie 72
women: burqas 30–1, 89, 163, 167, 180, 297
Hazara 20
liberation of 60
under monarchy 117, 129–30
Muslim 88–
9
Pashtun 36, 82, 105
under Russians 30
under Taliban 15, 16, 18, 30–2, 81, 85, 105, 156–60, 162–4, 283
Women’s League 243, 306
World Trade Center 5, 79, 82, 91, 121, 201, 281–2, 304
World War I 125, 129
World War II 129
Yaqub (taxi-driver) 221
Yar Mohammed xxiii, 184
Zabul 59
Zahir Shah, King xxiii, 95, 111, 116, 117, 239, 270
abdication 130–1, 136
assassination attempt 121–2
Constitution of 129–30
coup against 111–15, 130, 136
exile in Rome 115–17, 122–3, 131, 133, 137
London visit 135, 135
reign of 123, 128–30
return of 132–3, 137, 179, 280, 292
succession to 136–7
support for 81, 107, 134, 267, 268, 280
and Taliban 133–4, 270
youth 127
Zahra, Bibi 262–5, 272
Zambia 144
Zardari, Asif 95
Zia ul-Haq, Gen. Mohammed 72, 87, 286, 289
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It was a gold-inscribed invitation landing on my mat on a dark rainy November morning in Birmingham that first took me to Pakistan and thence to Central Asia and I will always be grateful to Benazir Bhutto for inviting me to her wedding and opening up an entrancing new world to me.
This book would not have been possible were it not for the tremendous generosity of Afghans throughout Afghanistan and the countless mujaheddin who back in the late 1980s put up with having a young English girl travelling with them.
In particular I would like to thank my friends Hamid Karzai, Hamid Gilani, Ahmed Wali Karzai and Jamil Karzai, all of whom did their best to make me feel like part of their families as well as the late Abdul Haq, who teased me mercilessly, but was one of the most courageous people I have ever met. He firmly believed that Afghans needed to sort out their own problems rather than outsiders and was to pay for his convictions with the tragic deaths of his wife and son, murdered in Peshawar, then the loss of his own life, captured in Jalalabad and hanged while trying to raise a force against the Taliban in October 2001. In July 2002, his elder brother Haji Qadir was gunned down in Kabul, less than a week after becoming Vice President.
In Kabul, I am grateful to Mr Shah Mirzad of Shah Books for managing to keep so many wonderful books on Afghan history hidden from the Taliban and for permission to reproduce one of his postcards, and to Dr Eric Laroche of UNICEF for sharing his thoughts on a society he knows and loves.
In Pakistan, Dr Umar Farooq has always been a loyal friend as have Nusrat Javed, Bashir Riaz and Husain Haqqani. I would like to thank Ijaz-ul Haq for spending so much time explaining his father General Zia’s vision for Afghanistan and Iftikhar Gilani for giving me some insight into the Pashtuns. There are many other people who cannot be named because of the risks they have taken in speaking to me.
I would also like to thank Dominic Lawson, editor of The Sunday Telegraph, and Con Coughlin, executive editor, for their encouragement and for allowing me time off to write. Some of the material in the book has already appeared in the paper. I would like to thank too Robin Pauley, former Asia editor of the Financial Times and Jurek Martin, former foreign editor, for their encouragement when I was first starting out.
The Sewing Circles of Herat Page 31