KABUL, Nov 18: Kabul Television was ready to go back on air on Sunday and break a five-year silence ordered by the Taliban.

At the Afghan capital’s television station, half-destroyed by war and empty since 1996, engineers fiddled with cables, circuit boards and decrepit equipment in preparation for a three-hour live broadcast scheduled for 6:00 pm.

“We have different programmes scheduled for tonight,” said Kabul TV’s Director Humayon Rawi. “We have an interview, a round table discussion, music and news in Pashto and Dari.”

The station’s presenters, including female news anchor Lida Azimi, returned to work after five years of unemployment.

“I feel so happy,” said Azimi, wearing a white headscarf and glasses. “Life is now enjoyable for me. When the Taliban were in Afghanistan I was at home all the time, I didn’t work at all.”

A few wealthy residents took the risk of watching foreign television channels via satellite dishes, but most people hid their television sets in cupboards.—Reuters