Kabul, Afghanistan ? In Taliban times, it would have been unimaginable: a fully stocked Irish pub serving whiskey and cold beer in the heart of Afghanistan’s ultra-Islamic capital.

In the post-Taliban era, Kabul’s new Irish Club — the country’s only bar — is still unthinkable, at least for Afghans. But it’s a huge success with the many foreigners who are desperate for a little bit of nightlife.

“Walk in that front door and you’ll find a very different world in here,” says Allan Ferguson, a 57-year-old Australian businessman sitting on a barstool as Irish folk tunes blare from speakers overhead. “You could be anywhere — Ireland, Australia, America. But walk outside, and you’ll be back in Afghanistan.”

The Irish Club opened on a secluded side street in central Kabul last month on — what else — St. Patrick’s Day.

Concealed by a nondescript outer concrete wall with no sign out front — not even a number on the door, it’s not an easy place to find. In a country where terrorists are still a threat, that’s exactly the way the Irish-born owner wants it.

“We wanted to keep a low profile, so we didn’t advertise whatsoever,” owner Sean Martin Mc Quade said. “But people know where to find us. News travels fast by word of mouth.”

Judging by the club’s growing popularity, Quade was right.

In a mock-Tudor style house behind the blank outer wall, immaculate Afghan waiters in black pants, white shirts and black bow ties serve drinks to dozens of expatriate aid workers, diplomats and journalists crowded around a wooden bar topped off with green marble imported from Ireland.

“We’re the first people to stick our necks out and say this can be a cosmopolitan city,” says Quade, who’s worked as an engineer in Afghanistan for 11 years. “But we don’t want to disrespect anybody.”

People take a drink at the Irish pub in Kabul, Afghanistan. The bar serves alcohol only to foreigners in the strict Muslim city.

Toward that end, Quade sought the approval of a neighborhood mullah to open the bar. In return, he has promised to help rebuild the potholed road in front of the club and help relocate an adjacent school to a bigger, better lot.

The bar is officially licensed by the state to sell alcohol — but only to foreigners. Just inside the bar’s entrance, an Afghan bouncer keeps Afghans out, checking IDs and requiring patrons to sign in.

The Taliban no longer are in power, but Muslim conservatives continue to hold sway in Afghanistan. Just a few months ago, the country’s chief justice banned cable television, complaining of images that violate Islamic morals.

Fazel Ahmed Manawi, the deputy supreme court justice, said Muslims found drinking at the club would be punished.

“We’ve got a lot of foreigners living in our country and unfortunately, this is a necessary thing for them,” Manawi says. “But this bar should remain a place only for foreigners.”