Five years of Taliban rule leave Afghanistan facing hunger, repression and a lost generation

As Afghanistan’s hardline Islamist movement marks five years back in power, the anniversary has drawn renewed global attention to a crisis that had faded from view. The baby’s bottle contained no milk, only weak, diluted tea. Speaking from Kabul, the UN World Food Programme’s country director for Afghanistan recalled the plight of Farida, an Afghan mother struggling to nourish her child. “Normally you expect the child’s bottle to be full of milk,” John Aylieff told journalists convened by the…