The Smuggler

London Review of Books, Jul. 5, 2016

The Dari word qachaqbar means ‘the one with illicit goods’, but when I hear it in Kabul I don’t think of drugs or arms but people.

Afghans, the Refugees’ Refugees

The New York Times, May. 30, 2016

Whether the situation in Afghanistan today still formally counts as war, and whether you call them migrants or refugees, the men and women who are leaving Afghanistan are driven away by insecurity, as they have been for years.

Death from the sky

The Intercept, Apr. 28, 2016

Searching for Ground Truth in the Kunduz Hospital Bombing

The fortune-teller of Kabul

Guardian Longread, Sep. 1, 2015

For centuries mystics have channelled hopes and fears of Afghans. With the nation in turmoil, their services are as popular as ever. But can they survive the latest crackdown by religious hardliners?

Foreign Policy Interrupted Q&A

Foreign Policy Interrupted, Nov. 8, 2014

“Afghanistan feels like unset clay right now. It’s a wonderful feeling, a sense of taking the measure of things, and finding them to be possible.”