“When they [the Taliban] captured Kabul [Afghanistan] in September 1996, to be initially welcomed as liberators, many Kabulis and the world turned away in disgust after the Taliban tortured and then [on September 28, 1996] publicly hanged former President [Mohammad] Najibullah, the ex-communist strongman who for four years had been living in a UN compound under UN protection.”
– Ahmed Rashid, Taliban, Page 5