A veteran photojournalist has returned from Afghanistan after visiting the war-torn country for the first time in 15-years.

Theo Liasi, 45, first went to Afghanistan in 1994 and witnessed the nation recovering from the grips of a civil war that almost flattened the entire country.

The city of Kabul was practically rubble with children and wild animals playing in the shells of former buildings.

Now the country’s main city, Kabul is a bustling centre with people walking the streets in suits, visiting cafes and cinemas, dodging the immense traffic that now fills its roads.

Once rockets were blasted into the city on a daily basis by the warring mujahadeen and before them the Russian Army. Now the city is crammed full of western aid agencies, government buildings and non-governmental organisations.

Mr Liasi said: “My return to Kabul after 15 years was something of a culture shock. "Where I had once seen nothing but bombed out streets, void of all human activity, I now found smog and traffic jams to rival any thriving city in a developing country.

“You can buy everything from Marmite to a Porsche Cayenne in Kabul, something I was not prepared for. Nor was I prepared for the air-raid sirens giving you just 30 seconds to decide to run or stay put.

“Kabul has changed beyond all recognition and to best describe it, would be to describe it akin to Belfast during the troubled times: armed police and soldiers milling around but with life carrying on as normal.

“It's an enthralling city, full of noise and mayhem with an air of tension but with wonderful ordinary people, generous to a fault. Plans are afoot to return.”

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