The UK publication this month of a book of translated Taliban poetry has been denounced as enemy propaganda by a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan.
The publishers have been accused of “giving voice to terrorists”, but the book’s editors argue that its 235 poems, including love poems, verses exulting in the Afghan landscape and patriotic ballads, provide a unique insight into the human side of the Taliban.
Alex Strick van Linschoten, one of the two editors of Poetry of the Taliban, which will be released on 17 May, said: “The poetry shows that the Taliban are people just like we are, with feeling, concerns, anxieties like ours.”