Afghan farmers harvest pomegranate as its picking season begins. But this year thousands of tonnes of the juicy red fruit risk rotting on trucks blocked at the frequently shuttered border to Pakistan, as Afghanistan finds itself engulfed in a multitude of crises that have developed since the Taliban seized control two months ago. "We have 15,000 farm workers in this region who have been laid off because the trade has been paralysed and the fruit is rotting," says Haji Nani Agha, who heads the Fresh Fruits Union in Kandahar. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES