A year after the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s great leap backwards

He wanted to wear Afghanistan’s colors high at any cost: atop K2, the world’s second-highest mountain on the border between Pakistan and China. At the end of spring, Aliakbar Saghi, harassed by the Taliban, left Kabul under a cloud of smoke on this cross surrounded by mountains. In July he died without oxygen but in clean air. His body was fixed there by an Iranian fellow climber responsible for hoisting it to the top of Afghanistan next to the Iranian flag.

“Wish me well!” (“Congratulate me!”), A young mountaineer had written to Picaro, just before going to the hills. Today his message has disappeared. The encrypted messaging app is scheduled to delete conversations after a few hours. During the first meeting with Le Figaro Last February in the Afghan capital, thirty escaped through a toilet window, under torture.