Indian photographer Aaquib Khan traveled to Kabul last year and found a country that defied his stereotype of a downtrodden and dangerous nation without hope. His photos from that trip help show the varied daily lives of Afghans — and the huge problems they still face.
Afghanistan is mourning the loss of its vice president, Marshal Qasim Fahim, who died over the weekend. He was an ethnic Tajik and he battled the Taliban for years before helping the US oust the Islamic militants from power. Fahim was seen as one of three key powers in Afghanistan — along with President Hamid Karzai and the Americans. And his death leaves a political void.