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Kabul will survive

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It is hard to pin a date on Kabul’s founding. Additionally, Kabul’s area and size have expanded and contracted numerous times. While today, geographically speaking, Kabul is a small province in central-eastern Afghanistan, in the Mughal Emperor Zaheer-ud-Din Babur’s day, Kabul stretched from the Hindukush mountains to the Indus River, and from Kashmir to Khurasan.

South of the Hindukush, for centuries the ancient city of Bagram, built on the banks of the Panjsher River, was the preeminent political, economic, cultural, and military center of the region. The rise to prominence of Kabul, around a millennium ago, was parallel to the decline of Bagram. Built on the banks of the Kabul River, Kabul lay from southwest to northeast, in the direction of the river.

Given Kabul’s location at a crossroads, the city was destined to achieve greatness. The overland commerce, as well as conquest, routes between India and China, and India and Persia ran through Kabul, which quickly became a major commercial center. The first time ever that India and China made contact with each other was through the overland route that ran over the Hindukush, and by extension through Kabul.

Kabul, a diverse commercial hub with pleasant climates

Babur—in his memoir, the Baburnama—says: ‘As the entrepot between Hindustan and Khurasan, this province [Kabul] is an excellent mercantile center. Merchants who go to Cathay and Anatolia do no greater business. Every year seven, eight, or ten thousand horses come to Kabul.’

Babur further adds that, ‘From Hindustan, caravans of ten, fifteen, twenty thousand pack animals bring slaves, textiles, rock, sugar, refined sugar, and spices. Many Kabul merchants would not be satisfied with a 300 to 400 percent profit. Goods from Khurasan, Iraq, Anatolia, and China can be found in Kabul, which is the principal depot for Hindustan.

Amongst the different ethnic groups that lived in Kabul, Babur names the following: Turks, Aymaques, Arabs, Pashais, Parachis, Tajiks, Barakis (Burkis), Afghans (also known as Pashtuns, Pakhtuns or Pathans), Hazaras, and Negudaris.

Moreover, on the languages and dialects spoken in Kabul, Babur observes that, ‘Eleven or twelve dialects are spoken in Kabul Province: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Mongolian, Hindi, Afghani [Pashto or Pakhto], Pashai, Parachi, Gabari, Baraki, and Lamghani [Laghmani]. It is not known if there are so many different peoples and languages in any other province.’

Kabul was home to a thriving Christian Armenian community. The Armenians of Kabul had their own church inside Old Kabul, and their own cemetery. Similarly, the Jews of Kabul had their own quarter and synagogue. Hindus, Sikhs, Armenians, and Jews were involved in commerce between Kabul and the surrounding regions.

Kabul’s magnificent climate also brought ‘so many different peoples’ together. Babur remarks, ‘The climate is excellent. In fact, no place in the world is known to have such a pleasing climate as Kabul… near are regions with both warm and cold climates. Within a day’s ride from Kabul it is possible to reach a place where snow never falls. But within two hours one can go where the snows never melt–except in the rare summer so severe that all snow disappears. Both tropical and cold-weather fruits are abundant in Kabul’s dependencies, and they are nearby.’

Kabul, Afghanistan’s cultural oasis

In the process of bringing so many different peoples together, Kabul has managed to develop its own unique vibrant culture and identity, which, although is different from the rest of Afghanistan at times, has had its influence over other cultures throughout Afghanistan.

Across Afghanistan the amount of love and affection for Kabul is boundless. It is not uncommon to see schools, hotels, restaurants, buses, shops, and other businesses named after Kabul. There is a Pashto saying, ‘Penza rupay por kra, zoy pa Kabul loy kra,’ meaning ‘Borrow five rupees, and raise your son in Kabul,’ in reference to Kabul’s better education, etiquette, and culture.

Kabul was home to Afghanistan’s first modern boys’ school, first modern girls’ school, first teachers’ training college, first university, first radio and television stations, first train, first museum, and first airport, among other things. In the 1940s, for the first time in Afghanistan’s history, Radio Kabul allowed female singers to sing, and broadcast their songs.

Twice over the past century—once in the 1920s and again in the 1950s—Kabul pioneered giving Afghan girls and women the right to education and work, and the right to not cover their faces, if they so wished. Although rural conservatives were uncomfortable with the above reforms, other Afghan cities such as Kandahar and Herat imitated Kabul.

The Afghan Royal Family during the Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah eras did not impose any social reforms from Kabul on the rest of the country. Instead, they allowed people outside Kabul to gradually see, understand, and adopt such reforms as girls’ education and removing of the veil, which Kabul had embraced.

Furthermore, Kabul has produced Afghanistan’s top singers such as Ustad Qasem Afghan and Ustad Fazl Ahmad Nainawaz. Kabul has also given birth to Afghanistan’s best contemporary poets such as the poet laureate Qari Abdullah and Sufi Ghulam Nabi Ashqari. In Kabul’s poetic circles, it is common to gather with one’s friends to recite and interpret poems of poets such as Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil Dehlavi and Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi/Balkhi.

As such, Kabul for centuries has played a role like that of Iran and India, which, while absorbing outsiders and adopting part of their culture, has given the outsiders an indigenous touch and identity. This was as true of early Muslim conquerors and more recently of the Mujahedin, as it was of settlers and immigrants from across the region.

For instance, within months of Ahmad Shah Durrani’s passing in 1772, his son and successor Timur Shah Durrani moved his Empire’s capital from Kandahar to Kabul. Among other reasons, Kabul’s liberal atmosphere and its moderate climate prompted Timur to relocate his capital.

Like Timur Shah, generation after generation of Afghans have flocked to Kabul. Some of those moving in from small towns and villages at first may not feel at ease in Kabul, which may be too liberal for them. But eventually most accept the change, and Kabul becomes their home.

Kabul’s women against foreign occupation

Kabul has led the way in resisting foreign occupation. During the first British invasion (1838-1841) the Afghan uprising, which led to the killing of the British envoy William H. Macnaghten and withdrawal of the British troops, began in Kabul in November 1841. During the withdrawal, an entire 16,500-man British army, consisting of both soldiers and camp followers, was almost entirely annihilated by Ghilzai tribesmen in the mountains and gorges of eastern Kabul.

Women attend a rally in Kabul in the late 1970s. | Imgur via Pinterest

Nearly four decades later, during the Second British invasion of Afghanistan (1878-1881), the Afghans burned down the British Residency at Kabul’s Bala Hisar and killed the British envoy Pierre L. Cavagnari, a second British envoy to be assassinated in Kabul in 38 years.

During both British invasions, Kabul’s girls and women took an active part in the struggle to evict the British. For instance, from rooftops, the women of Kabul would throw stones at, and pour hot water on, passing British soldiers in Kabul’s alleys and streets. Old Kabul’s homes and streets are filled with the tales of Kabul’s women’s struggle against British invaders.

Likewise, a century later, weeks into the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in late February 1980, the residents of Old Kabul, including girls and women, staged a popular uprising against the heavily armed Soviet troops. The uprising started at night with chants of Allah-o-Akbar—in defiance of Soviet-imposed communism—by residents of Kabul from their rooftops.

The next day, clashes between Soviet troops and Kabul residents followed in the streets. The uprising—during which hundreds of Kabul’s residents including teenage schoolgirls like Naheed, Amina, Salma, and Sultana, embraced martyrdom—was brutally suppressed by Soviet troops. While Kabul’s residents made the ultimate sacrifice for Afghanistan’s freedom, the torch of resistance was passed onto other Afghans who would make sure the Soviets left Afghanistan.

Concluding remarks

Even though Kabul and its brave girls and women are going through a dark period right now due to numerous restrictions imposed on them by Taliban fundamentalists, it is my sincere belief that Kabul and its girls and women will once again, sooner rather than later, emerge victorious from these dark and challenging times, and return to living a cheerful life once again.

The Taliban’s categorizing the girls and women of Kabul as impious and imposing restrictions on them is in line with the offensive descriptions of the girls and women of Kabul which former British colonial chroniclers have provided. It is interesting to see that the Taliban have found more common ground with the British than with fellow Afghans.

The Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada’s preferring to stay in Kandahar can be because he fears being “polluted,” absorbed, and made irrelevant by Kabul. That said, if the Taliban survive, Kabul will conquer them—just like it conquered the Mujahedin. In Kabul the Taliban will metamorphose into a more lenient movement, should they survive the test of time and sanity.

The writer is Arwin Rahi, a former adviser to the Parwan governor in Afghanistan. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

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South Korea plans $120B spend on eight US nuclear power plants

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1 week ago

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01/10/2026

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South Korea will spend $120 billion to construct eight nuclear power plants in the US under an agreement that provides for $350 billion in investments in exchange for lower tariffs.

The South Korean government also announced that Seoul and Washington will begin examining a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska comprising a large-scale pipeline to transport natural gas from the north of the state to the south, alongside the construction of an LNG terminal for exports overseas.

Seoul stated that a decision regarding the LNG project will be made following a commercial feasibility study. However, US President Donald Trump said that South Korea would invest $54 billion in the project, pointing to an apparent lack of full coordination between the two sides on the matter.

Trade and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in a statement: “This announcement opens a new horizon of cooperation where the two countries join forces to develop joint commercial ventures in strategic areas directly linked to economic security and future sectors such as artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and LNG.”

“We will adhere to the principle of prioritising national interests and investing solely in commercially viable projects,” Kim said.

Speaking at the White House, Trump characterised South Korea’s plans as “one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in American history”.

The announcement followed a meeting between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung roughly one year ago at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in South Korea, where they agreed on the creation of a $350 billion investment fund.

Under that agreement, $150 billion was allocated to the shipbuilding sector and $200 billion to other sectors. In return, the US announced it would reduce tariffs imposed on goods imported from South Korea from 25% to 15%.

Under the nuclear power project, South Korea’s state-controlled utility will build two plants in the US, while Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric will construct six plants.

According to the South Korean government, this will mark the first instance in which a foreign country builds its own nuclear power plants in the US.

South Korean firms are also evaluating the possibility of acquiring a stake in Westinghouse as part of negotiations over sharing profits generated by the project.

South Korea additionally announced that it will build a $22.3 billion natural gas-fired power plant in Texas with a capacity of 6,472 megawatts.

The facility will be designed to supply electricity directly to nearby data centres. The project’s first phase is targeted to begin commercial operations in 2029, with full-capacity operations slated for 2032.

Seoul also disclosed that it had agreed to allow the US to receive 50% of the profits generated by the projects until South Korea recoups all of its investments.

After South Korea fully recovers its total investment amount, 90% of the profits will go to the US.

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DeepSeek engineer warns AI will lead to communism or Cyberpunk

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3 weeks ago

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15/09/2026

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Shengyu Liu, a low-level hardware architecture and processor kernel optimisation specialist at China-based artificial intelligence organisation DeepSeek, has published an assessment addressing the existential crisis facing software developers and humanity amid the pace of AI advancement.

A senior engineer who personally coded the core attention mechanism kernels for the DeepSeek v4.1 model, Liu stated that the technology he developed with his own hands will very soon render his professional expertise redundant and has initiated the phasing out of human labour.

Arguing that AI will steer future societies either towards a communism in which productive forces are entirely emancipated or towards a dark Cyberpunk dystopia where resources are concentrated within mega tech monopolies, Liu highlighted the vital importance of the open-source software struggle for humanity.

Noting that the DeepSeek v4.1 model released a few days ago raised the capability ceiling for small-scale systems, Liu stressed that transformation across the sector is advancing at an inconceivable pace.

Recalling that the transition from initial chatbots with context lengths of only a few thousand semantic tokens to reasoning-capable contemporary models took just two years, the senior engineer observed that the emergence of autonomous agents executing complex instructions within test and execution environments spanned a period of merely one and a half years.

Stating that AI will attain the capacity for self-improvement and full integration into physically embodied systems within the next few years, Liu described the transformation this development has generated in his own field:

“AI is taking incredible strides in processor kernel design and authoring, the field for which I am responsible. Within the span of merely a year, it transformed from a modest assistant that merely scanned technical documentation, read code, and identified bugs into a master that independently reads GPU machine-language instructions and hardware-level instruction sequences directly. Using professional profiling tools, it inspects instruction latency stalls and optimises processor kernels autonomously. In the not-so-distant future, it will also acquire the ability to independently design instruction scheduling, weigh the performance of different plans, implement them, and bring them to perfection.”

Expressing pride in the success achieved by the DeepSeek v4.1 model as a concrete fruit of his own labour, Liu noted that he personally coded the system’s most critical attention mechanism components, stating that the model’s success serves as an endorsement of his craft, yet the superhuman nature of technological progress remains unstoppable.

“I want to lead my own revolution”

Liu considers it a certainty that within six months to a year, AI will generate processor kernels far superior to his own.

Pointing to the rapidly widening chasm between the human mind and machine capacity, the senior engineer said: “AI can think at 300 semantic tokens per second, write a line of code in half a second, and complete an entire block of code in 20 seconds. I cannot do this. AI can continually increase model depth, thinking intensity, external tool invocation frequency, and processing parallelism; I cannot achieve this.”

Emphasising that software engineers have been drawn into a race knowingly preparing their own demise, Liu explained why he works day and night on optimisation efforts that accelerate his own obsolescence:

“Throughout history, humanity has never hesitated when it comes to self-destruction. Knowing that the more flawless the kernels I write, the faster our new model’s training and inference speeds will be, the more its capabilities will multiply, and the earlier I will be sidelined, why do I continue to optimise with all my strength? On one level, this work is like a game to me; it brings me indescribable pleasure. When I discover a new method or see the performance curve of my code rise, the thrill I feel is no different from that of a record-breaking speed enthusiast. Moreover, I feel immense pride when I outperform the official code of hardware vendors.”

Pointing to the ruthless competition on the other side of the coin, Liu stated: “Yet the primary reason is this: even if I quit today or deliberately slowed the progress of our models, other companies would continue their work and eventually eliminate me anyway. Naturally, no one wishes to see their own profession overturned; however, if this revolution is inevitable, I want the force that unseats me to originate from my own hands. In a landscape where everyone is so focused on self-destruction, I, too, am forced to join this relentless arms race.”

“The din of machines crushes the joy of craft”

Preparing for the day when AI surpasses his level of expertise, Liu noted that he will not face unemployment, but will be forced to switch domains.

Stating that his judgement, cognitive capacity, and initiative will allow him to remain at the core table of the industry, the specialist engineer observed that this adaptation entails a heavy emotional toll.

Explaining that shifting fields means abandoning an area to which he is deeply devoted, Liu described his sense of dislocation:

“Switching domains means leaving behind the hardware kernel design, coding, and optimisation work to which I have dedicated years and an ardent passion, only to become a machine operator of AI agents. In the past, my personal curiosity, my area of expertise, and industry demand were in complete harmony. Now, AI has become far more adept than I am in the exact domain of my expertise. Industry demand has shifted away from the human writing high-performance kernel code toward an operator prompting AI to produce such code more rapidly. To bow to this industry demand, I must abandon the field I love and steer toward an unknown path.”

Illustrating the transformation through the metaphor of a traditional craft, Liu continued:

“Consider, for instance, being a master sweater knitter who achieves exquisite patterns and colour harmonies. The quality of the fabric you weave is so superior that wealthy patrons from surrounding villages seek you out, earning you a good living. What is more, sitting by the window sipping tea while looking out at mountains, streams, and animals brings you deep peace as you knit in silence. Then one day, a machine is invented; you feed it only wool and a pattern template, and it knits the sweater identically to your manual craft, only far faster. Realising your competitors will easily overtake you with this tool, you begin using it yourself. Thanks to your 20 years of accumulated experience, you remain faster than your competitors even while operating the machine. Yet the elegance of those hours spent listening to the rain and working stitch by stitch is crushed and extinguished under the mechanical din of the machine. That quiet by the window will be experienced for the final time this summer. I must leave my talent behind in yesterday and become an armoured-machine driver; my hands hold more gears now, but my heart has lost its rhythm.”

“AI in the hands of the unskilled spells disaster”

Looking beyond personal sorrow to societal and pedagogical risks, Liu focused on signs of decay within the education system.

Noting that the new generation of students tends to delegate coursework assignments to AI, the veteran engineer remarked that a student who spends a few cents to have AI produce top-grade code within minutes, rather than sweating for eight hours to obtain an imperfect result, will be stripped of foundational skills.

Emphasising that this shortcut will erode vital engineering abilities such as systems building, code architecture design, abstraction, and anticipating future requirements during development, Liu expressed deep concern:

“Will this foundational engineering mindset fade into history like the skill of writing machine language in past eras, or will it retain permanent value like the capacity to grasp entire computer architectures from software down to hardware? If this comprehension continues to hold value, the situation is dire indeed. Because when an individual with weak engineering fundamentals is equipped with AI, they will produce mountains of garbage code far faster than before. This will plant countless ticking time bombs deep within software systems, driving the world toward a far more precarious, ramshackle structure liable to collapse at any moment.”

Pointing out that raw authority and power will become decisive in the future world rather than technical expertise and intellect, the senior engineer stated that only time can answer these fundamental questions.

“A binary future: Communism or a dark corporate dystopia”

Observing that humanity has arrived at a crossroads with the advancement of AI, Shengyu Liu emphasised that future society will evolve toward one of two radical poles, which he termed communism and Cyberpunk:

“With the momentum of AI, future society will probably be cast toward one of two extremes: communism or Cyberpunk 2077. In the first option, productive forces are completely unshackled, domination over the means of production is broken, and human living standards make an unprecedented leap forward. In the second option, a small tech oligopoly consolidates all resources. While a privileged elite gains access to the most advanced AI and cutting-edge technologies, ascending almost to a state of mechanical divinity, the overwhelming majority of society is left with extremely weak and constrained AIs. Upward social mobility becomes impossible; to reach a higher class, one must possess the most powerful AI, yet access to that AI requires already having been born into that class. An unbreakable cycle of exploitation is thus established.”

Openly criticising the monopolistic and closed models adopted by Western tech companies, Liu posed a pointed question:

“In a scenario where the world’s most advanced AI remains permanently monopolised by a company like Anthropic, do you believe the future will evolve toward communism or a dark Cyberpunk dystopia? Go ahead and guess.”

Stating his conviction that top-tier AI must be delivered openly, transparently, and free of charge to all humanity, the DeepSeek engineer expressed a lack of trust that actors such as Anthropic or OpenAI would uphold this mission.

Likening the possibility of Anthropic alone controlling artificial general intelligence to the catastrophe of nuclear technology falling into the hands of fascist regimes during World War II, Liu concluded with his rationale for remaining at DeepSeek:

“That is precisely why I chose to remain at DeepSeek and why I am holding the line here. We build powerful, lightning-fast AIs offered for the common good of all humanity, and we release them as open source. This is the path to pulling the world back from the brink of that dark corporate dystopia and liberating productive forces for the benefit of the people.”

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Analysts warn new surge in Chinese exports threatens global markets

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4 weeks ago

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11/09/2026

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Financial Times writer Ryan Avent has written that a fresh, rapid surge in China’s trade surplus could signal a new wave of the “China shock”.

Economists define the “China shock” as a spike in Chinese exports to global markets that intensifies competition for manufacturers in advanced economies and curtails employment in certain sectors.

The term gained widespread currency after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, accelerating the inflow of inexpensive Chinese goods into the US and other nations.

The US was the country hit hardest by the initial shockwave. Between 1999 and 2011, more than 2 million jobs were lost because domestic producers were unable to withstand the competition.

Avent argued that the effects of the initial wave are still felt across the American economy because China failed to carry out the rebalancing that the world expected.

The share of net exports in China’s gross domestic product contracted during the 2007-2019 period, allowing Western nations to focus on national security and other matters.

Avent reported that the trade surplus is now escalating rapidly once again, posing a threat to the economies of wealthy nations.

The writer pointed to the stagnation of domestic demand following the collapse of the real estate market six years ago as one cause of this surplus. Another prominent factor is the Beijing government’s channelling of massive resources into manufacturing in pursuit of self-sufficiency.

Attention was also drawn to the role of the depreciating yuan. An appreciation of the currency could require China to alter its foreign exchange interventions, reduce purchases of foreign currency and assets, and sell those assets off. That scenario could trigger currency depreciation and rising interest rates in other countries.

The Wall Street Journal also reported in the spring of 2024 on economists’ concerns regarding a potential second wave.

Experts predicted that global markets would once again be flooded with inexpensive goods, stating that China was manufacturing far beyond domestic demand to overcome its economic troubles.

Moreover, it was stressed that China is now competing in high-technology fields such as automobiles, computer chips, and complex machinery manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Vasiliy Kashin, Director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) University in Moscow, told the Russian media outlet RBC that the US has imposed sanctions on the Chinese economy since the first shock period, adding that these measures would very likely tighten in the event of a fresh export wave.

According to assessments reported by the Financial Times, this new process could also shake China’s own economy. Alongside rising output, entry-level manufacturing plants across the country are turning toward automation and reducing personnel.

This trend could trigger a painful departure from labour-intensive production, leaving millions unemployed. Manufacturing activities in China that previously capitalised on cheap labour are shifting to other Southeast Asian countries.

The Beijing administration rejected allegations that its industrialisation steps pose risks to other countries. As reported by the Xinhua news agency, China’s Ministry of Commerce stressed that claims of a “China shock 2.0” are groundless. The ministry stated:

“The US and other Western countries have circulated the so-called ‘China shock 2.0’ narrative, asserting that China’s industrial development has shaken Western monopolies and narrowed growth space for Global South countries. This claim is unsupported by concrete data and is entirely unfounded.”

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