Luxury goods highlight Afghan wealth gap

The suits, the $14 shirts and the $8 ties also symbolize a growing wealth gap in Afghanistan, where 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line on less than $2 a day. Many of Afghanistan's wealthy few are citizens who returned from abroad after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban in 2001, eager to invest in rebuilding their nation. Others are senior government officials and warlords. Some have grown rich on corruption or the illegal trade in opium, which some estimates say accounts for 60 percent of Afghanistan's Gross Domestic Product. The disparity frustrates many Afghans, who see the ostentation and ask themselves what happened to the promise of a better life after the 2001 invasion and the billions of dollars of foreign aid pumped into reconstruction. Five years on, basic services like running water, sanitation and electricity are still sorely wanting. Most homes in Kabul get electricity for just four hours every second night. Beggars remain a common sight.