By Bilal Sarwary
BBC News, Kabul
It’s a sunny summer morning at a busy bus station in Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.
The bus linking the city with the Afghan capital of Kabul is about to depart.
In his husky voice, Lal Mohammad, the driver, makes the final announcement.
“The bus will leave in five minutes. Those who wish to go to Kabul get on now,” he says authoritatively.
Jalalabad is renowned throughout Afghanistan for its fertile soil and the chaotic nature of its traffic.
“It takes forever in this city. Look at the lousy traffic police,” Mohammad vents his frustration as he struggles to cope with the scorching summer heat.
The nauseating smell of diesel fumes mixed with human sweat is overpowering as Mohammad takes a turn and stops the vehicle in the middle of the road.
Quick search
It’s Darunta, the last gate of Jalalabad.
A police officer boards the bus here and politely asks the passengers to disembark.
His men then undertake a quick search. The luggage hull, seats, floor and even the bonnet are scanned for weapons and opium.
Mohammad soon gets the nod from the officer to proceed.
As the bus roars out of Jalalabad towards Kabul, Mohammad switches on his radio.
“The election commission says it is investigating all the allegations of vote rigging and ballot stuffing in the 20 August presidential elections,” says the newsreader.
“Let us hope that they will resolve this issue peacefully,” says my co-passenger Ahmad Khan, a resident from Mohammand Dara district on the border with Pakistan.
“We need to have the results soon, so the new president could appoint ministers and governors,” said Ali, a doctor from Jalalabad.
The chit-chat soon takes the form of a heated debate centred around President Hamid Karzai’s perceived failures and achievements.
‘Good person’
“Karzai is a good president, speaks foreign languages but he has failed because of his people,” said Haji Sayedo Khan.
“He is of course a good person but he made empty promises,” said Qadir Khan from Achin. “Don’t grow poppy and I will build roads for you, remove corruption and we will not search your house, etc.”
As we drive on the Jalalabad-Kabul road, posters could be seen on the walls urging Afghans to report insurgents and “destructive elements”.
Like any other part of this country, security on this road remains a major concern.
“I have been driving for a long time,” said Mohammad.
"When this road was asphalted, I was so happy that I couldn’t sleep that night. It would take two hours instead of six to drive to Kabul; I kept thinking the whole night.
“But see what the Taliban and criminals are now doing - attacking fuel tankers and robbing passengers.”
“We need security before anything else,” says Ajmal Wasify, a local trader. “If we have security on this road, people will trust the government and the services it provides.”
As the scenic Hindu Kush mountains appear in the distance, Mohammad switches on Pashto music, and one by one, the passengers are serenaded into a state of silent awe.
Suspicion
The spell is broken when the bus comes to a sudden halt on a narrow road flanked by towering peaks and jutting shards of rock.
Nearby, soldiers from the Afghan National Army are keeping a close eye on the road from within their Humvees.
Their faces show an intense suspicion - a result of months of relentless violence.
Only recently, several Isaf tankers and fuel-transportation convoys were attacked by armed Taliban fighters in this valley.
A soldier boards the bus, ordering the passengers to disembark immediately - this is the last in a series of security checkpoints along the route.
“Our army is serious and not corrupt, they just do their job,” says Mohammad as he guns the engine and begins steering the bus towards its final destination.
“Corruption destroys a country like cancer destroys a body,” an elderly passenger shouts from the back.
“We want the next president and government not to let this cancer destroy our country and our bodies,” announces Bahadur Khan from the eastern Kunar province.
Khan is on his way to Kabul to settle the case of his son who was killed by a local commander in Sarkano district.
“The killer of my son works for the government. I don’t know how Karzai still appoints people like him.”