News stories by Lal Aqa Sherin

KABUL, May 16 (IPS) - Western fears of a civil war in Afghanistan are growing ahead of the scheduled pullout of international troops in 2014. However, experts here say the situation on the ground is not comparable to either 1988, when the Soviets withdrew from the country, or the mujahideen's rise to power in 1992, which plunged the country into civil war.

In the last eight years Afghanistan's precious stones and artifacts have been pillaged at record levels. Thieves, both foreign and domestic, often steal the riches from under the noses of officials.