Afghanistan expects tourists too soon

KABUL, JANUARY 7: Afghanistan will in a few months become a trendy new tourism destination for intrepid travellers, predicts Karzai Government’s Tourism Minister Abdul Rahman.

‘‘The country is now open to tourism for the first time in 23 years,’’ Rahman told AFP in an interview. ‘‘Many people will be curious to see it first-hand, especially since it has been on television so much lately.’’

He said he expected a tourist influx from Europe, Muslim countries and the United States ‘‘in three or four months’’. American citizens, in particular, would be keen to see place like the Tora Bora hills, where alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was holed up in December with his Al Queda followers, Rahman said.

But there are a few snags. Apart from the lack of security, most Afghan cities have been badly damaged by more than two decades of fighting linked to the 1979-1989 Soviet invasion of the country, the subsequent civil war and, since 1996, warfare between Opposition forces and Omar’s now-ousted Taliban regime.

Infrastructure barely exists, all centers suffer frequent power outages and the Afghan version of ‘‘luxury hotel’’ falls far short of intern tional standards.

And then there’s the threat of landmines — all 10 million of them scattered across the country. (Agencies)