Education in Afghanistan has been severely eroded by more than two decades of war and five years of Taliban rule, during which girls over 8 were barred from school and boys were mostly taught about Islam.

The Aimaq are largely illiterate Sunni Muslims, yet the veneration of deceased Muslim holy men is significant. Many are in Afghanistan and Iran. Tribalism dominates so much that local customs and concepts of honour and shame are more important than Islamic or state law. Disputes tend to be settled by tribal rather than by government authorities.

Eastern Nuristan, a hiding place for the Taliban and al-Qaeda, is subject to frequent attacks, both on locals and on foreigners seeking to work among the Muslims of Afghanistan. The challenge is great, but our God is much greater.

In Balkh today there is no known Christian witness. Pray for the people of Mazari Sharif, especially the Hazara, who continue to live with the consequences of trauma of the late 1990's.

Herat’s strategic border location in western Afghanistan plays a key role in drugs and guns trafficking. Afghanistan is a major drug trafficking country and is the world’s largest exporter of hashish, and the second major supplier of opium and heroin.