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The town fell, but a single unpaid payday opened the gates
Mazar-i-Sharif was delivered, then betrayed: an unpaid payday and a defection opened its gates. What really happened that August morning?
The town fell, but a single unpaid payday opened the gates
In this episode, we trace the chain of decisions, deals and debts that led to Mazar-i-Sharif changing hands in 1997-98. We follow a defection, a broken agreement and months of unpaid soldiers to ask how a city was handed over when its defenders should have known better.
Person: Rasul Pahlawan
Person: Abdul Malik Pahlawan
Person: Abdul Rashid Dostum
Date: 25 June 1996
Event: Five months of unpaid…
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