Afghanistan: Then and now

Major Cavagnari, the British envoy, with Afghan chieftains, 1879. Photograph: The Kodak Collection at the National Media Museum, Bradford

The future leadership of the Afghan air force with Major ­Jason A Church of the US marines, who is ­helping to ­train them. Photograph: © Simon Norfolk

The political staff of the British embassy. Photograph: © Simon Norfolk

Dost ­Mohammad Khan, emir of Afghanistan for four ­decades, with his family. His influence towered over relations with the British. Photograph: Wilson Centre for Photography

Scene with ­musicians in the city of Jalalabad, 1878. Photograph: The Kodak Collection at the National Media Museum, Bradford

A music school in Kabul, where the boys learn the traditional Afghan instrument, the rubab. It is a skill that nearly became ­extinct after the Taliban banned secular music.
Photograph: © Simon Norfolk

Officers of the 51st Regiment on Sultan Tarra, 1878. Three ­local scouts or servants sit at the back. Photograph: The Kodak Collection at the National Media Museum, Bradford

The crew and ground staff of the new international airline, Safi Airways. Photograph: © Simon Norfolk

'Nautch' dancing girls – Hindu women who were ­imported to entertain Afghanistan’s rulers. Photograph: Wilson Centre for Photography

The Afghan women's national basketball squad. Photograph: © Simon Norfolk

Pro-Taliban refugees. Photograph: © Simon Norfolk

Mahomed Tahir Khan, Aslam Khan of Ghazni.

These photographs are taken from Burke + ­Norfolk: Photographs From The War In ­Afghanistan, by John Burke and Simon Norfolk, published on 5 May by Dewi Lewis Publishing at £40. To order a copy for £32 with free UK mainland p&p, guardianbookshop.co.uk. An exhibition of the pictures will be at Tate ­Modern, London SE1, 6 May-10 July; go to tate.org.uk for details. Photograph: Wilson Centre for Photography