Maitre had been to Afghanistan many times, but never to Bamiyan. From a hill, he admired the Buddhas, the wheat fields at their feet, and the Hindu Kush mountains behind them. The valley teemed ...

In this picture taken on March 3, 2021 a policeman patrols at the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, in Bamiyan province.

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — The Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in early 2001 shocked the world and highlighted their hard-line regime, toppled soon after in a U.S.-led invasion.

In Afghanistan, Taliban officials are calling for the preservation of the country's pre-Islamic heritage two decades after the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. But skepticism remains about the ...

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — The Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in early 2001 shocked the world and highlighted their hard-line regime, toppled soon after in a U.S.-led invasion.