More than ten years back, on November 13, 2001, the Taliban government was overthrown in Kabul. No doubt, life has changed for better since then. When you walk around in Kabul, this is now a bustling lively city with women on the streets, people able to go to hospitals, schools open where girls can go to as well as boys and it feels very different from how things were 10 years ago.

Kabul with estimated four million residents is a center of economic, social and political activities. With invasion of Afghanistan by US and backed by its allies, improvements are visible in almost all fields of life – education, health, infrastructure, economy, women rights, civil society, media and many more.

But these improvements have unfortunately taken place in capital Kabul and some other major cities of Afghanistan like Mazar e Sharif, Herat and Jalalabad. In a major portion of Afghanistan’s 365 districts life is almost the same as it used to be under the Taliban. Fear of Taliban prevails. Women have to wear burqa, refrain from getting engaged into social or educational activities.

Also, no significant development can be seen in a major portion of Afghan land, if we move beyond capital Kabul. Lack of electricity, basic health services, clean water, education and employment opportunities still persist as before in Kabul and can be felt more in other 33 provinces.

When it comes to security, Kabul enjoys comparatively better security. However, in many of other provinces of Afghanistan, the only thing that has gone increasing in the last ten years is the insecurity in the life of people. Taliban have maintained varying control and influence over more than 90 percent of Afghanistan’s districts.

Suicide and roadside bombing, targeted killings, abduction and violation of human rights continue while government, in spite of having international financial support, falls week to curb them.

Although Kabul hardly looks a capital city due to the serious issues facing it, for many it is still a better and more secure place to live than any other province of Afghanistan. The focus that Kabul gains from government and international community should also be given to other 33 provinces of Afghanistan. Development and construction process should go on equally in all the provinces of Afghanistan. Afghanistan should not be limited to Kabul only.