My return to lawless country plagued with violence

KABUL: I had returned to Afghanistan for the first time since the age of four, having lived since then in Russia and England. When I landed at Kabul International Airport, there were no passport checks, and people just scrambled for their luggage at the baggage carousel.

On my journey from the airport to Kabul, the traffic slowed and police were everywhere. A building was riddled with bullet holes. Police were waving cars on in an attempt to discourage curious drivers from slowing down to stare. I later realised that I had witnessed the aftermath of a Taliban bomb attack.

A university student who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals said: “Kabulies [as people from Kabul are known] are used to hearing gunfire and being near a Taliban attack. They just get out of the area of the attack as quickly as possible because they fear a follow-up attack.”