While a sever storm was blowing, Takhar province was devastated by an earthquake around early February 1998. The earthquake completely destroyed around 200 villages in the area. Even though it was heavily snowing people from nearby villages arrived with their spades and pickaxes.

Some of the villages which has been damaged are: Ghange, Kuzar, Khawaja Khair Abad, Ganda Cheshma, Bandeer, Geraiel, Rustaaq, Dasht-e-Chenar, Ail Shishnaan, Daboury, Abizaan, Baikhaa and Zahan.

Most of the help from aid organization goes to the pockets of Uzbek commanders of the area and does not reach the Tajik people who has received most of the blow of the earthquake. This has caused friction between the two groups.

On 19th May 98 at around 10 AM, when Taluqaan's residents were still mourning the death of their dear ones a loud explosion shook the city once again. The explosion was immediately followed jet fighter noise. This bombing killed around one hundred people and the number of injured was more than that. Around 50 shops were also flatten out. The center of bombing was Toot Baagh which is one of the most crowded spots of Taluqaan

Donkey carts were carrying torn up bodies that were missing limbs and parts, to hospitals and were followed by weeping residents who were looking for their loved ones.

Dead ones were buried in mass graves. Most of the families had received the effects of these disasters in some way or other. There was no house without mourning.

A grandfather had his only infant grandson to share the pain of loosing their whole family. One of hundreds of impoverished families in Badakhshan Province that the earthquake has taken all of their family and has left them exposed to the savagery of fundamentalists.

On 11th June 1998 Taliban forcefully interred Aziz Khan's house which resulted in shots being fired. Aziz Khan kills two Taliban members before himself being killed. When his wife saw the lifeless body of her husband, she charged on Taliban group with a hand grenade and immediately kills three Taliban members. Aziz Khan's old father is injured in the incident who is later killed by Taliban. Crazed in their rage they hang Aziz Khans blood soaked body and later accusing one of his close friend of cooperating with him and execute him in the Heart sport Stadium.

Shaheen 22, resident of Old City of Kabul who is also conductor in one of city buses for females, stopped by Taliban one day as his bus was heading toward Taimany from the center of the city. They question him and accuse him for being too "dressed up". They drag him out of the bus and beat him savagely. He is imprisoned for a week.

First day of Eid of Ramadaan, at 10:30 AM Tamanaa, seven-year-old daughter of Sayed-ul-Haq Engineer in Kabul airport, walks out of her house heading for the nearby shop in Esay-Awal-e-Khair Khana. A pick up full of Taliban while speeding down the street hits her and severely injures her. Taliban tied to flee from the scene of the accident but eventually their car was stopped by the local residents. They were made to take the girl with her two uncles to the hospital. But before they reach the hospital Tamanaa dies near a police station. With complete indifference, Taliban transfer her body to a taxi and told her uncles " now it is useless to take her to hospital, you go home as we have an important work to do".

On January 9th 1998 around 6 PM Mariam 18, was heading home with her brother and sister-in-law. A car with loud music stopped and three Taliban members got off it. Pretending that their relation seem suspicious they asked them to go to their office. They were forced into a pick up car. When Mariam and her sister-in-law started making noise they gagged and blindfolded them and took them to an unknown spot. They drag her brother and sister-in-law out of the car and viciously beat them up for being married! and then lock them up in separate cargo containers present in the area. One of the Taliban goes to Mariam and rapes her inside the car. Then the Talib wants to call his partners to come and repeat his heinous act, Mariam begs him that " you are my husband now, vowing by Quran that I will marry you, I beg you not to send any one else" the Talib replies: " if you tell anything to your brother, I will cut his head off".

Eleven nights later, Mariam, her brother and sister in law, gagged and blindfolded, left in front of their house. No one find a trace of the treacherous Talibs after that.

Every night Radio "voice of shariat" is broadcasting activities of the horror group 'Amro bel Mahroof'. The group is inviting their "noble and Muslim countryman" to Islam by frightening them from cable wiping, head shaving, closing their shops, arresting, imprisonment etc.

For example on April 16 following was broadcaster "mobile units of Amro bel mahroof have closed an ice cream shop for allowing women to eat ice cream. A doctor was imprisoned for talking to a woman. Our three noble country men were punished for shortening their beard".

A circular letterform the special office of "commander of the faithful" has reached all government offices, it advises that " Taliban from other provinces should not marry from Kabul, everyone should wed in their local area province". It also mentions that there is a " wisdom" in this but has not explained it. The wisdom of this edict of "supreme commander" appear to be a reaction to the stink of the behavior of his people who has wed their second, third and fourth wives and are burning to wed girls from Kabul. The "commander" appears to has found no way to stop their lewdness but by an edict. Naturally this will cause a wave of discontent in the lower ranks as the higher rank used all the privileges of money, power and women and now that it is their turn an edict has been ordered.

The Supreme commander also want to pretend that his followers are standing first in sacrifice and hardship and standing last when it comes to reaping the benefits.

The letter is not left in the office but the head of each office has the duty of memorizing the content of the letter and communicate it orally to others. The wisdom of this unusual way of communication is also privileged only to His Holiness the supreme commander of faithfuls. When the Talib's wife get sick

Taliban has banned the treatment of female patients by male doctors and so far many male doctors and female patients have been punished for infringements of this order.

But when the wife of the health minister Mulla Abbas Akhundzadda and another lady (sister in law of minister for planning) got sick and confined to bed in Ibn Sinaa Hospital, not only the male doctor of the hospital is brought to the bed of their wives but the male doctors from other hospitals.

Similarly a male doctor is forced to break the Taliban rule and visit the wife of one of Taliban superiors. After this the doctor start to visit female patient that he has refused before.

On 24th April 1998 a women accused of adultery and a youth accused of robbery were punished in Kabul Sport Stadium. Taliban radio invited Kabul's resident for the 'show' but less than expected showed up. The number of spectators were not more than 5000, bulk of which were made up of Pakistani and Afghani Taliban. In order to make their "show more ceremonious" they had dragged along about 200 of their women folk. More than 20% of the spectators comprised of children and youth of under 14.

The heads of Taliban started with speeches, at around 2:30 PM, about the benefits of enforcing shariat (Islamic law) which nobody listened to. At around 3 PM the charges on Meena daughter of Meer Aqaa resident of Jabul Saraaj was read who was later flogged a 100 times. The accused was wrapped in an old chadarry and was escorted by two tall chadarry wearing guards to the center of the ground.

One of the Taliban executioner stood at the left side of the accused and throw 50 lashes on her back and then moved to her right side and throw another 50 lashes on her back. The women's head, who appeared to have lost consciousness slid to the shoulder of the one of the guards. Finally she was thrown into a car and taken away.

The second accused was Zabi Ullah son of Noor Muhammad resident of Shakar Dara. On the crime of theft of medicine worth 35 million Afghani his hand had to be cut off. He was laid down on stadium ground. Four doctors who had covered their faces for not to be known started butchering him. A short while later his right hand was cut from the wrest and fell to the ground. A Talib who appeared to be intoxicated by the sight and smell of blood picked the cut hand by the small finger and while blood was dripping from it, he hold it to the spectators. He was holding the cut hand by his right hand and was cheerfully waving his left hand while shouting in Urdu "ye haat dheko" (look at this hand). The spectacle of Pakistani Talib lasted about 5 minutes. The youth whose hand has been severed was thrown into an ambulance and taken away. You could see the hatred, pain and rage in the eyes of the people.