Afghanistan hosts first intl soccer match in 10 yrs

Riot police overseeing stadium

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a large and porous border riddled with insurgents and smuggling activity, and have a history of strained relations that sometimes led to clashes.

Not only do they not see eye to eye on their border - there have been several cross-border shelling incidents in recent years - Pakistan's role in the 12-year war in Afghanistan has been ambiguous.

Afghanistan has often accused Pakistan of making public pronouncements about wanting to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, but privately allowing elements of its intelligence community to support the insurgency.

A sniper keeps watch on a roof of a building during a friendly soccer match between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Kabul, Aug 20, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

The lines of riot police at the entrances to the stadium were nervous but orderly; they had been preparing for this day for a week, according to one of them.

"Security has to be very tight because it is such an important game," he said.

And while the game was celebrated as a chance to promote Afghanistan's future, the ghosts of the past were never far away.

"If this were football match in Kabul during Taliban rule, halftime would have meant Namaz (prayers) or (you would receive) public punishment," tweeted one Afghan.

Other reminders were also present. The match was played less than a kilometer away from Ghazi Stadium, which today is used by the national football team to train.

During the brief rule of the Taliban, however, it was used for public executions and mutilations of people who had transgressed the Taliban's strict laws.

Once the match was finished the Afghan team ensured the Afghan crowd knew just how pleased they were to have beaten Pakistan - dancing in circles and waving large Afghan flags.

"I'm so proud that Afghanistan beat Pakistan; Pakistan has always looked down on us," Afghan head coach Mohammad Yousuf Kargar told local television.

A second game between the two nations is scheduled for December in the northeastern Pakistani city of Lahore. 

Players compete during a friendly soccer match between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Kabul, Aug 20, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]