Former Taliban fighter pens memoir to challenge US war narrative
Ex-combatants turn to literature, challenging Western accounts and sharing battlefield memories from a two-decade conflict
KABUL, Afghanistan (MNTV) — In a striking shift from rifle to pen, former Taliban fighters are beginning to publish memoirs recounting their experiences during the 20-year war in Afghanistan — offering a different perspective on a conflict long dominated by Western narratives.
One of the most prominent examples is Khalid Zadran, now the spokesman for Kabul’s police force under the Taliban-led Afghan government.
Zadran is also the author of “15 Minutes,” a nearly 600-page memoir written in Pashto, which details his journey from childhood in the eastern province of Khost to the front lines of a war he describes as both personal and political.
In interviews with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Zadran said his goal is to correct what he sees as misrepresentations of the war by foreign authors and media. “No matter what foreigners have written… they have largely ignored the reality of what happened to us and why we were forced to fight,” he said.
Zadran’s memoir includes vivid accounts of battles in Paktia, Paktika, and across the Durand Line, as well as personal memories shaped by drone strikes, destruction, and the daily violence of occupation. The book’s title, “15 Minutes,” refers to a U.S. drone strike he narrowly survived — an event that marked him deeply.
“I witnessed horrific stories every day — mangled bodies on the roadside,” he writes, describing scenes that fueled his desire to join the Taliban in what he frames as a fight for national liberation.
The book’s first print run of 2,000 copies in Pashto quickly sold out, and a second edition is already underway. A Dari-language translation is also being prepared, as interest grows among readers across the country.
Zadran’s background adds another layer to the memoir’s significance. Once a member of the Haqqani network — a faction long labeled as one of the most formidable insurgent groups in Afghanistan — he now occupies an official role in the country’s security apparatus.
His memoir is part of a broader trend among former combatants in Afghanistan who are now documenting their personal histories, attempting to reframe the war not just as a geopolitical saga, but as a lived experience of occupation, resistance, and survival.
For observers and historians alike, these memoirs may become crucial primary sources in understanding how the Taliban-led generation sees itself — and how it wants to be seen.
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