Kabul: Ezanullah, one of the thousands of young Taliban fighters from the countryside who rose to the Afghan capital for the weekend, had never seen such a thing.
Kabul paved roads are coated with towering apartment blocks, glass office buildings, and shopping centers.
Luxury furniture inside the Interior Ministry is like “something I think in a dream,” said the 22-year-old fighters from the east of the country’s country.
He said he planned to ask his commander whether he could stay.
“I don’t want to leave,” he said.
The meeting highlights how much Kabul and other Afghan cities have changed in 20 years since the Taliban, which mainly came from strong rural areas, the last ruled the country.
All Afghan generations have been under modernized and supported by the government with development assistance.
Many who fear that profit will be reversed now that the Taliban returned to power and the last US forces were on their way out.
Thousands of people have flocked to the airport trying to escape, most of them men are not accompanied by the family.
A younger Afghan does not have memory of the rules of Taliban but fear will return will mean loss of freedom.
The militants imposed a harsh interpretation of the Islamic Law from 1996 to 2001 when the US-led invasion drove them from power.
The Taliban, most praise from Conservative Rural Afghanistan, has indicated moderation in recent days – offering amnesty to those who fight, invite women to return to work and promise to recover normal life after decades.
But many Afghans, especially women, remain very skeptical of group intentions.
Ezanullah was surprised when two women said Halo to him on the road.
“They said we were afraid of you and thought you were terrible,” he said.
“But I tell them that you are like my sister, and we will let you go to school and continue your education and give you security.” “Just keep your headscarf,” he added, referring to the Islamic headscarf that covered the hair but not a face.
Whether the Taliban truly changed, their country now ruled was a light year in front of which they arrested in 1996 after four years of civil war after the withdrawal of Soviets and the collapse of the 1992 pro-communist government.
Then the city was in the ruins, destroyed by the commander The lateral war with the US, most Afghans traveled on the streets of Kabul on a bicycle or in the Beat-up yellow taxi.
There was only one computer throughout the country, and it belonged to Mullah Mohammed Omar, a leader covered with Taliban, who did not know how to turn it on.
Under the rules of Taliban, television and music are prohibited.
Women are forbidden to attend school or work outside the home and have to wear Burqa which includes all whenever they appear in public.
Today this country is home to four cellular companies and several satellite TV stations with a female anchor, one of them interviewed a Taliban official on Monday.
Taliban fighters themselves carry smartphones and can be seen taking selfies when they are amazed in the capital they have rolled to almost 20 years of war.
Videos that are circulating online seem to show bearded taliban fighters laughing and riding horses in amusement parks and in the indoor gym.
Some things get worse because the last Taliban is in power.
The city has been in the grip of a crime wave for many years, one of the many fears will get worse after prison and Armi the government emptied during the increase in Taliban.
One of the few benefits of hard Islamic rules is the elimination of virtual crime – suspected thieves have their hands cut; Other criminals are executed in public.
The Taliban has promised to restore law and order, but it can take time and may lead them to use brutal steps.
The city population has been shocked to 5 million over the past two decades.
Taliban, who did not have the main presence in Kabul since 2001, has gone to register names and collect weapons in the past few days.
Meanwhile, many Afghans were afraid of looting when the Taliban were more than militants themselves, said Saad Mohseni, the owner of the popular Tolo TV network, who chose to live in the capital after the Taliban takeover.
“The Taliban pretends to be very dangerous because they are just criminals,” he said.