The Emperor Babur described Paghman as 'one of the most desirable places in Kabul' in the 16th century. During King Amanullah (1919-1929), it was made summer capital and many beautiful public buildings and palaces were built under his auspices, with the assistance of European gardeners, architects and sculptors. Paghman was a favorite place for many people and it was a picnic venue for Afghans and tourists.

But in the past decades of war, like other riches of Afghanistan, Paghman also lost its beauty and was changed into the stronghold of a fundamentalist criminal warlord Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf. From 1992-96, in the inter-fundamentalists fighting many of the buildings in Paghman were destroyed. People of Paghman are still deeply suffering under the inhuman rule of Sayyaf and his brutal gunmen.

Here we present a collection of photos taken in the past and compare it with the photos taken in 2004 by RAWA.