Grapes on the Shamoli Plain - Afghanistan

I crossed Afghanistan's Shamoli Plain in 1997 to ascertain the viability of an agricultural rehabilitation programme. The area had once been famous for its vineyards and exports of grapes and raisins to neighbouring countries.

As one of the most fertile areas of Afghanistan in close proximity to Kabul, the Plain was cursed with anti-personnel mines from an earlier conflict. It was considered one of the most heavily mined area in Afghanistan.

Vineyards were abundant, but clearly untended for some years.  

Given the lack of foliage early in the year, it was evident that many landowners were collecting munitions and stacking them in the corner of their fields There were no indication of their condition or evidence of the danger they posed. 

Many fields were mined

Occasionally one could see the regular edges of dark metallic objects protruding from the mud. Some fields had been sprayed with butterfly mines whilst in others stick mines stood at odd angles. They were clearly deteriorating and far from secure. Bounding mines when detonated had the unpleasant habit of shooting into the air before lethally showering the surrounding area with shards of metal. Children and livestock were regular victims.  

All fieldwork was undertaken from the top of dykes and well walked pathways.

Later on in the year - 1997 - the tide began to turn against the Taliban, and they were to inflict appalling suffering on the principally Tajik population of this area before destroying irrigation channels, poisoning wells and destroying what crops they could find.

Today in 2025 we have  a Taliban regime reducing women to servitude and penury whilst promoting the country as a tourist resort.  Judge for yourself.

The Taliban and the Great Comet - Kabul

I returned to Afghanistan in 1997 to assess the viability of an agricultural rehabilitation programme on the Shamoli Plain north of Kabul. This was before the Taliban laid waste to this fertile plain and its people.

Until then the Taliban had been on a roll. They had taken Kabul the previous autumn when Ahmad Shah Massoud made a tactical withdrawal and they had been pushing into areas beyond their traditional tribal influence.

Kabul was what you would expect of a city that had been repeatedly shelled by various factions and a real shock to those who could remember its attractions in better times. Many of the buildings had hidden mines and throughout the day you could hear regular explosions, intended or otherwise.  It was also April and freezing cold.

I made a visit to the city administration by way of introduction and received the usual warmth of Afghan hospitality. Pictures were brought out to show close shaven men in smart suits, before the new regime had required a change to traditional dress and long beards.

For those out of favour with the new order, the stadium would now double as a place of execution and amputation in between football matches. Checkpoints were established by religious police around town to check on among other things the length of beards.

Before I left Kabul I visited two disused embassies. The Russian Embassy had been comprehensively trashed, whilst the remains of the American Embassy had become a meeting place for some of the NGO workers in town.

Outside the remains of a heavily mined Embassy

That was the  night I was to spend on the roof of the remains of the embassy in sub zero temperatures watching the traverse of the Hale-Bopp comet across a crystal clear unpolluted night sky.