Pakistan & Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN

I traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to do photography in 1984 after receiving an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. I previously traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 1963 and 1970.

Waiting for a bus

Bahrain, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan 1970



Two women, baby and small boy

Usho, Swat Valley 1970

Being with Afghans and the people of northern Pakistan is much like, I imagine, being in the wild-west.  My goal was to capture the essence of the people and the frontier; to capture their humanity and pride.  It was not always easy. There were many restrictions which I found very frustrating. Yet I loved the people on both sides of the border. They always showed me kindness and respect.

The first stop on this journey was Peshawar, a dusty frontier town in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan. Peshawar is just 18 miles from the Khyber Pass and beyond is the border with Afghanistan. The two countries share much. They share tribal affiliation and many languages, attitudes and beliefs. From Peshawar I was sent to Chitral in the mountains of the Hindu Kush. There I met the mujahideen from the group Jamiat-i-Islami, one of eleven groups who were fighting the Soviets. They greeted me with some suspicion but always with kindness and consideration. We drove from the headquarters in Chitral by Russian jeep into the mountains to their overnight camp. Much of my time in Peshawar was spent waiting to be taken “inside”, meaning inside Afghanistan. While I was waiting I visited many Afghan refugee camps. 

My favorite place to visit was Andersher Bazaar. Here many Afghan as well as Pakistani shops sold old tribal jewelry. I became friends with a seller who was also in the ICRC in Peshawar. This became my contact to visit the various hospitals and the Doctors without Borders who were going regularly to the border of Afghanistan to collect the wounded.

Jamiat-i-Islami mujahideen camp

North of Chitral, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan 1984



Mujahid carrying naan

Mujahideen camp, Chitral, Pakistan 1984

I returned to Peshawar in 1988 and again waited for two months to be taken “inside”. Each time I was assured that it would be too dangerous. At this time I took a side trip to Darra Adam Khel where they make weapons of every sort, all made by hand or repaired by hand. The dealers would step outside their shop door and fire off whatever gun they chose to demonstrate.

Boy with antiaircraft weapon at gun shop

Darra Adam Khel, Pakistan 1988

In 1992, after the Soviets left Afghanistan, I returned and was able to travel into Afghanistan with my friends from the Jamiat-i-Islami. Again we traveled in a Russian jeep. This time I had a body guard. We drove over the Khyber Pass and passed through the border into Afghanistan - with no visa and no stopping. (Except to take a photo, I was not allowed to leave the jeep). It was a very exciting moment. It was only because of my mujahideen companions that I was able to get through this border. We arrived in Jalalabad just in time to see an execution, but again I was not allowed to leave the jeep.(not even covered in a burqa). I was taken to a secret hideout somewhere along the road from Jalalabad. We spent our nights in empty buildings that showed signs of war. Food was scarce and we often had only bread and melon.



me and the Russian tank 1992

Road to Kabul

Between the Khyber Pass and Kabul 1992

I was able to fly into Kabul and travel into central Afghanistan in 2003. I stayed briefly with the family of one of the mujahid I met in 1984. Afghanistan had changed little from my first visit in 1963. 

Street Photographer

Paghwan, Afghanistan 2003

Billboard of Ahmed Shah Massoud, a much loved hero of Afghanistan killed by Al Qaeda on September 10 2001.

Kabul 2003

Chadari is a full body and head covering for women. This garment has been worn by Afghan and some Pakistani women since the seventeenth century. The practice was strictly enforced when the Taliban came into power in 1994.

Burqa-chadari

Paghman, Afghanistan 2003

Sisters, refugee camp

Kabul, Afghanistan 2003

In 2007 I traveled to Pakistan and into Swat valley, a place I had first visited in 1970. The only sign of change was that there were very few women on the streets. This area has always been very strict in the traditional sense and now the exclusion of women seemed far more absolute.

Truck Painter

Pakistan 2007

The situation in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan is one of the greatest tragedies of our time. The profound indifference of many countries threatens the stability of this part of the world.