Jolyon Leslie lives in Kabul. A new edition of Afghanistan: The Mirage of Peace, written with Chris Johnson, is due in September.
The presence of the international community in Kabul is heralded by the intrusive squawk of car horns. Unmarked vehicles, with darkened glass and blazing lights, force their way through the chaos of taxis, handcarts and bicycles. Armed and masked gunmen hang out of the back, waving away other vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians who dare to get too close. The convoys stir up fear – you can...
Afghanistan first emerged as a defined territory under the reign of Ahmad Shah Abdali, who was chosen as its leader by an assembly of Pashtun elders in 1747. Using a mixture of conquest and diplomacy, Ahmad Shah succeeded in extending his writ from Kandahar to Kabul and territory west of the Indus. He occupied Delhi in 1756, but military victories did not translate into political control, and...
Read anywhere with the London Review of Books app, available now from the App Store for Apple devices, Google Play for Android devices and Amazon for your Kindle Fire.
For highlights from the latest issue, our archive and the blog, as well as news, events and exclusive promotions.