Amir arrives at Peshawar in Pakistan. The taxi driver Gholam drops him off at Rahim's place and "a thing made of skin and bones pretending to be Rahim Khan opened the door." After the initial embarrassing moments they warm up to one another. Rahim Khan is happy to hear that Amir is married to General Taheri's daughter because the General's brother in law Sharif Jan is a former acquaintance of his. Amir tells "him a lot about Baba, his job, the flea market, and how, at the end, he died happy." Amir also talks about himself, his schooling and his success as a writer.
Gholam, the taxi driver, on the way to Rahim Khan's house had hinted to Amir of the brutality of the Taliban. Rahim Khan confirms this by telling him how he was violently assaulted by a Taliban youth for no fault of his during a soccer match. Rahim Khan tells Amir that life under Taliban rule is unbearable. Rahim Khan was in fact happy at first when the Taliban defeated the Russian soldiers because he thought life in Kabul would improve. He even danced on the street when the Taliban arrived to oust the Alliance. This was because as Rahim Khan himself remarks, "the Aliance did more damage to Kabul than the Shorawi" - even the orphanage built by Baba was destroyed by the Alliance. The Taliban was welcomed by everyone as liberating heroes because they expected the fighting to stop soon. The Taliban ushered in peace, but only to make matters worse. Amir asks him why he didn't leave Kabul to escape the harsh living conditions under the Taliban rule. Baba replies, "Kabul was my home, it still is."
Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan lived with him in Baba’s house in Kabul after he left. It's plain that Rahim Khan is very sick and dying. Amir's offer of taking him to America for medical treatment is turned down by Baba because he knows that he will die soon. Rahim Khan tells Amir that he has called him to Peshawar because he wants him to do something for him but before that he wants to tell Amir everything about Hassan - he wants to reveal the truth to Amir about Hassan's parentage.
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