Thanks to peace, two unexpected words are echoing across Afghanistan's capital: Luxury housing

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In a town that has been through it all and is clawing its way back, a man named Omidullah is looking to hit paydirt.

The Kabul real estate agent is selling a nine-bedroom, nine-bath, white-and-gold villa in the Afghan capital. On the roof's gable, glittering Arabic script tempts buyers and brokers with the word “mashallah” — "God has willed it.”

The villa is listed at $450,000, a startling number in a country where more than half of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive, most Afghans don’t have bank accounts, and mortgages are rare. Yet the offers are coming in.

“It’s a myth that Afghans don’t have money,” Omidullah said. “We have very big businessmen who have big businesses abroad. There are houses here worth millions of dollars.”

In Kabul, a curious thing is happening to fuel the high-end real estate market. Peace, it seems, is driving up property prices.

People who spent years living and working abroad are returning home, keen to take advantage of the country’s much-improved security and stability after decades of war, destruction and infrastructure decay. They include Afghans escaping deportation campaigns in Iran and Pakistan who are taking their cash with them.

Mortgages are rare because banks don’t have the deposits to facilitate lending. Afghans buy in cash or use the “geerawi option” — when someone provides a fixed sum to a landlord in return for living on his property and staying there until the landlord returns the money.

People were afraid to invest in Kabul before the Taliban takeover, according to another real estate agent, Ghulam Mohammed Haqdoost. But the country’s rulers have created better conditions for the property market in more ways than one.

The city is less violent since the Taliban transitioned from insurgency to authority and foreign forces withdrew, although armored vehicles, checkpoints and militarized compounds remain common sights.

The Taliban, sticklers for an intricate bureaucracy, have pledged to stamp out corruption and regulate legal and commercial matters. That means no more dealing with warlords or bribing local officials for land purchases or construction projects.

Haqdoost is happy with how easily and quickly things are getting done under the new administration.

“House prices have risen by almost 40%,” he said. “In the last three years, we have sold almost 400 properties. It wasn’t like that before.”

Business is good for Haqdoost, who employs 200 people in administration, including women who deal exclusively with female customers, and then some 1,000 in the construction arm of his company.

He said most customers bring their wives along to viewings. That's because it’s women who call the shots when it comes to real estate purchases — even in a nation that critics say oppresses and disempowers women. “The power and authority of the house is in the hands of the women," Haqdoost said. "They decide whether to buy the house or not.”

Omidullah and Haqdoost said their clients want a garden, gym, sauna, swimming pool, guest quarters and at least one kitchen. Hospitality is a major part of Afghan culture and this tradition is built into housing. Afghans typically accommodate and host visiting friends or family in their homes, rather than in hotels or restaurants.

Haqdoost’s client base is mostly overseas, and their international tastes are influencing interiors. They want novelties like dining tables and beds. In Afghanistan, it’s the norm for people to sleep and eat on the floor. It’s also the diaspora seeking out purpose-built apartment blocks offering amenities like central heating, double-pane windows and elevators.

To make the city more attractive and livable, the municipal authority is busy building and repairing roads, installing streetlights, planting trees and removing trash. It’s also developing plans to promote affordable housing and encourage home ownership.

It needs to. Kabul’s population was around 500,000 at the start of the millennium. Now it is more than 5 million. Some neighborhoods remain congested and noisy as a result, despite the municipality’s best beautification efforts.

Those who can afford it head just outside the city. There, on the edge of Qargha Reservoir, sit some of Kabul’s most elaborate and expensive homes.

One resembles an ornate mosque. Another evokes a Bond villain’s lair with its stark design and protrusion from the hills. Locals say it belongs to a wealthy Turkish magnate who comes and goes. They don’t give his name.

This cluster of landscaped gardens and decorative terraces looks out onto the lake, one of the capital’s best-loved beauty spots. Since the Taliban came to power, it’s mostly a men-only area. Women stop for breaks with their families, but they tend not to linger because Vice and Virtue Ministry officials staff one of the checkpoints that encircle the body of water.

Arash Asad is trying to sell his uncle’s property, which sits on around 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) of land. It has unobstructed views across the reservoir and to the Paghman Mountains at the foot of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. The asking price: $800,000.

There are outbuildings to one side and a living area in the center of the plot topped off with a bright blue roof. The property is mostly rows of flowers and cherry trees. There are some cranes. The birds are included.

“Gardens are very important to Afghans," Asad said. "Many of them come from villages. When they move to cities, they want to have that reminder of their past because it stays with them.” Inside the glass-walled living area sits his uncle, gazing out at the water.

Asad's family would prefer to have the property turned into a business rather than sell it. But the real estate broker fields numerous calls and messages during the 30-minute drive from central Kabul. Pictures of the property on social media have sparked a lot of interest.

“People think this country has no jobs and no economy,” Asad said. Outside the car, the sun dips over the reservoir and cars full of men head to the lakeside. “But Afghans have made their money, illegally or legally, over the years. You wouldn’t believe it.”

A general view of a luxury house is seen in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

Laborers work to build a luxury market in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A man walks inside a luxury house in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A man works inside a luxury house in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

The main hall of a luxury house is seen in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A man waters flowers outside a luxury house in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A general view of a luxury house is seen in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

Engineers talk about the design of a luxury house at their office in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A general view of a luxury house is seen in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

Men walk through a luxury house in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A man walks through a luxury house in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A man washes his hands inside a luxury house in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A general view of a luxury house is seen in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

A general view of a luxury house is seen in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

Straws might seem insignificant, inspiring jokes about the plastic vs. paper debate, but the plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis over the past decade.

On Monday, President Donald Trump waded into the issue when he signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work” and don’t last very long. Trump said he thinks “it’s OK” to continue using plastic straws, although they've have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life.

In 2015, video of a marine biologist pulling a plastic straw out of a turtle’s nose sparked outrage worldwide and countries and cities started banning them, starting with the Pacific Island nation Vanuatu and Seattle in 2018.

Here’s what to know about the larger fight over single-use plastics in the United States:

More than 390 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States, most for 30 minutes or less, according to advocacy group Turtle Island Restoration Network.

Plastic straws are usually thrown away after one use, going on to litter beaches and waterways and potentially killing marine animals that mistake them for food.

The straws are not recyclable because they are so small. They take at least 200 years to decompose, the network said.

They break down into incredibly tiny bits of plastic smaller than a fraction of a grain of rice. These microplastics have been found in a wide range of body tissues. Though research is still limited overall, there are growing concerns that microplastics in the body could potentially be linked to heart disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and other problems.

Trump's executive order claims that paper straws use chemicals that may carry risks to human health are more expensive to produce than plastic straws. Researchers from the University of Antwerp found forever chemicals known as PFAS to be present in paper, bamboo, glass and plastic straws, but not stainless steel ones, according to a 2023 study.

The advocacy group Beyond Plastics said that while plastics are often cheaper than paper products, the cheapest option is to skip the straw.

Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator who now heads up Beyond Plastics, said she hopes that people react to the executive order by committing to using fewer plastic straws and that local and state governments do, too.

“It’s easy to just kind of almost poke fun of this, ignore it,” she said Tuesday. “But this is a moment that we as individuals and state and local policymakers can make a statement that they disagree with this executive order and are committed to using less plastic straws. It’s not that hard to do.”

Several states and cities have banned plastic straws and some restaurants no longer automatically give them to customers.

President Joe Biden administration’s had committed to phasing out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.

The move was a way for the federal government to formally acknowledge the severity of the plastic pollution crisis and the scale of the response required to effectively confront it.

Erin Simon, an expert on plastics and packaging at the World Wildlife Fund, said at the time that it sent a message around the world: If we can make change happen at scale, so can you.

The declaration came in July, just a few months before negotiators met in South Korea to try to finish crafting a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution. Negotiators didn’t reach an agreement late last year, but talks resume this year.

Under the Biden administration, the United States at first adopted a position viewed as favoring industry, stating that countries should largely develop their own plans instead of abiding by global rules. China, the United States and Germany are the biggest players in the global plastics trade.

The United States changed its position heading into South Korea. The delegation said it would support having an article in the treaty that addresses supply, or plastic production. More than 100 countries want an ambitious treaty that limits plastic production while tackling cleanup and recycling.

U.S. manufacturers have asked Trump to remain at the negotiating table but revert to the old position that focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse.

The environment is littered with single-use plastic food and beverage containers — water bottles, takeout containers, coffee lids, straws and shopping bags.

Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the United Nations.

In 2023, Ocean Conservancy volunteers collected more than 61,000 plastic straws and stirrers polluting beaches and waterways in the United States. There were even more cigarette butts, plastic bottles, bottle caps and food wrappers, the nonprofit said.

Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Negotiators at the United Nations climate talks known as COP28 agreed in 2023 the world must transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels and triple the use of renewable energy.

As pressure to reduce fossil fuels has increased globally, oil and gas companies have been looking more to the plastics side of their business as a market that could grow. Trump strongly supports and gets support from the oil and gas industry.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Plastic straws, left, sit next to paper straws on display for sale in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A plastic straw is displayed in a glass of milk, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A box of plastic straws is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Plastic straws are displayed in a glass, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)