Flawless asphalt, empty homes: A 300-mile drive through Afghanistan

KANDAHAR: Highway 1 was once among the most dangerous, damaged arteries in Afghanistan. But on a recent 300-mile road trip between Afghanistan’s two largest cities, NYT journalists only encountered order and security — and not a single pothole. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they have worked to replace the violence that defined this highway, and the country, with strengthened security and administration. Once littered with bomb craters and trenches dug by trucks, the road is now smooth enough for travellers to nap while riding through the plains of Afghanistan’s east.On a recent evening, we watched a man training his pigeons as the sun set. Bus and truck drivers queued at gas stations before stopping for a bite of lamb kebab. Boys cycled past solar-panel-covered religious schools, some of them nested in former military outposts.This is the Afghanistan that the Taliban govt has rebuilt over the past 4 years, after the US’s withdrawal. It is what the Taliban want the world to see as they try to attract foreign investment and recognition. The Afghan economy grew by 4.3% last year, according to the World Bank, up from 2.5% in 2024. “All the heavy weapons and the money of the previous govt didn’t accomplish much,” said Iqbal Noori, the owner of a mobile phone shop in Kandahar.Highway 1 was once the show-piece of the US reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. But it also became a symbol of squandered billions in Western aid. In 2016, an audit by the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction found that 95% of the paved roads had been damaged or destroyed. Amid frequent fighting, the 300mile trip between Kabul and Kandahar could stretch to 18 hours. Travellers can now complete the journey in eight.In the evening, we stopped at a roadside stall where Nasibullah Khaksar sold dryfruits. Growing up next to Highway 1 meant a life of constant interruption. “The sight of a Taliban patrol was a sign that fighting would start soon,” he said. Now, Khaksar said, he can ride his motorcycle at night without fear, and he never locks his shop.However,women and girls were all but invisible on the journey save for a few glimpsed in the back of passing taxis and buses. The Taliban have effectively erased them from public life. The Afghan economy may be losing $1.4 billion every year because of it, according to World Bank estimates.The men we encountered at every stop shared concerns about their livelihoods. Truck drivers and fruit sellers, welders and butchers all said that better security was welcome but not enough. “The youth are jobless. We need factories,” said Noor Agha Rahmani, a carpenterin Ghazni province.KANDAHARAs we approached Kabul, military bases in ruins lined the route. So did rows of abandoned houses. The war is over, but in many places, those who remain said the silence of peace was paired with the quiet of neglect. “If you don’t know anyone in the higher ranks, you’re not getting anything,” said Gul Rahman Himayat, a former Taliban fighter.