... at least 25,000 civilians were killed in rocket and artillery attacks on the city. One third of Kabul was reduced to rubble. There was no law or order, and, according to Human Rights Watch, Ahmad Shah Masood's faction and others, engaged in rape, summary executions, arbitrary arrest, and torture. The "Lion of Panjshir" had a voracious appetite. Describing pre-Taliban conditions, an Amnesty International report in 1995 wrote: "Women and girls all over Afghanistan live in constant fear of being raped by armed guards. For years, armed guards have been allowed to torture them in this way without fear of reprimand from their leaders. In fact, rape is apparently condoned by most leaders as a means of terrorizing conquered populations and or rewarding soldiers." It was exactly in response to this lawlessness that the Taliban appeared. The Taliban were originally students from local madrassas who were asked by desperate villagers to clean up ...

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