If only - Lyse Doucet talks to poet, former ambassador and former Mujahideen fighter, Massoud Khalili. Now 74, he’s lived through many of the pivotal moments of 43 years of war in Afghanistan. He and Lyse reflect on the missed opportunities an

9. The power couple

Oct 27th, 2021 26m 49s

An eyewitness account from the presidential palace as the Taliban encircle Kabul. He was the president’s chief of staff, she was the ambassador in Washington. Both were appointed by President Ghani: Matin Bek, the son of a warlord, and Adela Ra

8. The musicians

Oct 20th, 2021 26m 50s

Keeping music alive under the Taliban - 21-year-old pianist, composer and conductor Arson Fahim and cellist Meena have both had to leave Afghanistan to continue studying and performing the music they love. Arson created the music for this serie

7. The doctor

Oct 13th, 2021 26m 50s

Living with the Taliban - the female doctor who celebrated the Taliban takeover in Kabul. Gynaecologist, ex MP, former refugee, Dr Roshanak Wardak welcomes the end of years of war which she says the Taliban's return to power has brought. War is

6. The journalist

Oct 6th, 2021 26m 50s

Holding the Taliban to account - Afghanistan’s top TV journalist was offered an interview with Taliban leaders within hours of them taking Kabul. But the editor of Afghanistan’s most popular private TV network, TOLO News, was already out of the

5. The advocate

Sep 29th, 2021 26m 50s

Forced to flee the Taliban - human rights advocate, former government advisor, feminist, Shaharzad Akbar, who knows the transformative power of education, now a refugee again. Shaharzad Akbar was the first Afghan woman to do post graduate studi

4. The negotiator

Sep 22nd, 2021 26m 49s

The woman face to face with the Taliban - peacemaker, women’s rights advocate and negotiator, Fatima Gailani is the nearest Afghanistan has to aristocracy. Now in her late 60s, she was the female face of Afghan resistance to the Soviet occupati

3. The president

Sep 15th, 2021 26m 50s

Networker, survivor - Afghanistan's former leader Hamid Karzai, famous for his traditional cloak and sheepskin hat, is back in the news. While others fled Kabul in mid-August when the Taliban swept in, Karzai stayed. He sat with them to help ne

2. The Talib

Sep 8th, 2021 26m 48s

Founding member, ambassador, prisoner – in the Taliban’s inner circle at the very start. Abdul Salam Zaeef rose to prominence in the Taliban government that ruled Afghanistan until Western forces overthrew it following 9/11. Handed over to the

1. The envoy

Sep 1st, 2021 26m 51s

Talking to the Taliban – the US diplomat who negotiated the American pull-out. Zalmay Khalilzad has been the Afghanistan point man for three American presidents. Born in Afghanistan, for the last 20 years he’s played a pivotal role in US policy

Prelude

Aug 27th, 2021 6m 48s

The fate of a nation has changed. The BBC’s chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, has followed every twist and turn of the Afghanistan story. She explores how the last 20 years have shaped Afghans, their dreams for a new future, and t

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