Fridae

As the Taliban has been ousted in its former southern stronghold in Kandahar, The [London] Times has reported that men with their ashna (or beloveds), young boys they have groomed for sex have become visible.

According to the article, the Pashtuns, which is one of the major ethic group of Afghanistan, have been notorious for their homosexuality for centuries, particularly their fondness for naive young boys, usually around 15 to 16 years old.

The Pashtuns who are usually upper class married men with families commonly shower young boys living in poverty with expensive gifts they cannot refuse. Before the Taliban arrived in 1994, men were seen with their ashna in public places.

The Times called the city ?the homosexual capital of south Asia?.

?Such is the Pashtun obsession with sodomy ? locals tell you that birds fly over the city using only one wing, the other covering their posterior.?

The article also said that the rape of young boys by warlords was one of the key factors in Mullah Omar mobilising the Taliban.

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When the Taliban declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan in 1996, men accused of sodomy faced the punishment of having a wall toppled on to them, usually resulting in death.

The three men who were sentenced to death for sodomy in February 1998 were taken to the base of a huge mud and brick wall, which was pushed over by tank. Two of them died, but one managed to survive.

The reporter reported seeing the men with their boys in recent days on the streets: ?usually a heavily bearded man, seated next to, or walking with, a clean-shaven, fresh faced youth?.

Although they refused to talk to journalists, there appears to be no shame or secrecy about them.

?They are just emerging again,? one of the soldiers loyal to Kandahar?s new governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, told The Times newspaper.

?The fighters too now have the boys in their barracks. This was brought to the attention of Gul Agha, who ordered the boys to be expelled, but it continues. The boys live with the fighters very openly. In a short time, and certainly within a year, it will be like pre-Taleban: they will be everywhere.?