An Afghan artist paints an image of Afghan singer Ahmad Zahir during the Sound C…

An Afghan artist paints an image of Afghan singer Ahmad Zahir during the Sound Central Festival at the French Cultural Centre in Kabul. afp
Sporting a black quiff and sideburns, Ahmad Zahir sang of love and heartbreak in liberal 1970s Kabul – a city now plagued by war and suffering, but where the popularity of “Afghanistan’s Elvis” remains undimmed 40 years after his death.

Zahir – the son of a former prime minister with a penchant for brandy and his red Mercedes – rose to fame in an era when the capital hummed with Western tourists and women strolled through the streets in high heels.

“Everybody loved him,” 73-year-old Safiullah Sobat, a long-time friend of Zahir, said.

“At nighttime girls… More

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