AFGHANISTAN

HISTORY

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Excavation of prehistoric sites suggests that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the area were among the earliest in the world.
Afghanistan is a country at a unique nexus point where numerous Eurasian civilizations have interacted and often fought, and was an important site of early historical activity. Through the ages, the Hindu Kush has been home to the Aryans (Indo-Iranians: Indo-Aryans, Persians, Medes, Parthians, etc.). It also has been invaded by a host of people, including the Greeks, Mauryans, Kushans, Hepthalites, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, British, Soviets, and most recently by the Americans. On other occasions, native entities have invaded surrounding regions to form empires of their own.
Between 2000 and 1200 BC, waves of Indo-European-speaking Aryans are thought to have flooded into this part of Asia which now consists of modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and others, setting up a nation that during the rule of Medes and the Persian Empire became known as Aryānām Xšaθra or Airyānem Vāejah. Later, during the rule of Ashkanian, Sasanian and after, it was called Erānshahr ايرانشهر (Irānshæhr) meaning "Dominion of the Aryans", which included large parts of Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and modern-day Central Asia (Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the western part of Pakistan, etc.).

Buddhas of Bamyan were the largest Buddha statues in the world, dating back to 1st century A.D.
It has been speculated that Zoroastrianism might have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 to 800 BC. Ancient Eastern Iranian languages, such as Avestan, may have been spoken in this region around a similar time-line with the rise of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of the 6th century BC, the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids supplanted the Median Empire and incorporated what was known as Persia to Greeks within its boundaries; and by 330 BC, Alexander the Great had invaded Afghanistan and conquered the surounding regions. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the Hellenistic successor states of the Seleucids and Bactrians controlled the area, while the Mauryas from India annexed the southeast for a time and introduced Buddhism to the region until the area returned to the Bactrian rule.
During the 1st century AD, the Tocharian Kushans created a vast dynasty in Khorasan, bringing the Buddhism culture into this territory. Kushanians were then defeated by Sassanids in the 3rd century AD. Sassanids ruled up to the 7th century, when Muslim Arab armies conquered the Sassanid Empire in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah.
The Arab Empire initially annexed parts of western Afghanistan in 652 and then conquered most of the rest of Afghanistan between AD 706 and 709 and administered the region as Khorasan. Over time much of the local population converted to Islam. Khorasan became the center of various important empires, including the Ghaznavid Empire (962-1151), founded by a local Turkic ruler from Ghazni named Yamin ul-Dawlah Mahmud. This empire was replaced by the Ghorid Empire (1151-1219), founded by another local ruler, this time of Tajik extraction, Muhammad Ghori, whose domains laid the foundations for the Delhi Sultanate in India.

Coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who became the first king of Afghanistan.
In 1219, the region was overrun by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, who devastated the land. Their rule continued with the Ilkhanates, and was extended further following the invasion of Timur Lang, a ruler from Central Asia. In 1504, Babur, a descendant of both Timur Lang and Genghis Khan, established the Mughal Empire with its capital at Kabul. By the early 1700s, the region of present-day Afghanistan was controlled by three ruling groups: Uzbeks to the north, Safavids to the west and the remaining larger area by the Mughals.
In 1709, Mir Wais Khan Khotak, leader of the Pashtun Ghilzai clan, overthrew and killed Gurgin Khan, the Safavid gouvernor of Kandahar. Mir Wais Khan successfully defeated the Safavid's attempts to assert control over Kandahar, which he held until his death in 1715 and was succeeded by his son Mahmud Khotak. In 1722, Mahmud Khotak led an Afghan army to Isfahan, sacked the city and proclaimed himself Mahmud Shah of Persia. The Afghan dynasty was eventually removed from power by Nadir Shah of Persia.
In 1738, Nadir Shah conquered Kandahar; in the same year he occupied Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. On June 19, 1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated, possibly planned by his nephew Ali Qoli. In the same year, one of Nadir Shah's high-ranking military generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani, a Pashtun from the Durrani clan, called for a loya jirga following Nadir Shah's assassination. The Afghans came together at Kandahar and unanimously chose Ahmad Shah to be king, who changed the name of his tribe to Durrani (Persian: "pearl of pearls").

Zahir Shah became the youngest, longest-serving and last king of Afghanistan.
By 1751, Ahmad Shah managed to reconquer and rule the entire present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Khorassan region of Iran, along with Dehli in India. In 1772, Ahmad Shah retired to his home in Maruf in the mountains east of Kandahar, where he died peacefully. He was succeeded by his son, Timur Shah Durrani, who transferred the capital from Kandahar to Kabul. Timur died in 1793 and was finally succeeded by his son Zaman Shah.
During the 19th century, following the Anglo-Afghan wars (fought 1839-1842, 1878-1880, and lastly in 1919) and the ascension of the Barakzai Pashtun dynasty, Afghanistan saw much of its territory and autonomy ceded to the United Kingdom. The UK exercised a great deal of influence, and it was not until King Amanullah Khan acceded to the throne in 1919 (see "The Great Game") that Afghanistan regained complete independence. During the period of British intervention in Afghanistan, ethnic Pashtun territories were divided by the Durand Line, and this would lead to strained relations between Afghanistan and British India – and later the new state of Pakistan – over what came to be known as the Pashtunistan debate.
The longest period of stability in Afghanistan was between 1933 and 1973, when the country was under the rule of King Zahir Shah. However, in 1973, Zahir's brother-in-law, Sardar Mohammed Daoud launched a bloodless coup. Daoud and his entire family were murdered in 1978 when the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan launched a coup known as the Great Saur Revolution and took over the government.

Sardar Daoud Khan was President of the Republic of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978.
Opposition against, and conflict within, the series of communist governments that followed, was considerable. As part of a Cold War strategy, in 1979 the United States government under President Jimmy Carter and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski began to covertly fund and train anti-government Mujahideen forces through the Pakistani secret service agency known as Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), who were derived from discontented Muslims in the country who opposed the official atheism of the Marxist regime. In order to bolster the local Communist forces, the Soviet Union—citing the 1978 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborliness that had been signed between the two countries —intervened on December 24, 1979. The Soviet occupation resulted in a mass exodus of over 5 million Afghans who moved into refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. More than 3 million settled in Pakistan alone. Faced with mounting international pressure and the loss of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers as a result of Mujahideen opposition forces trained by the United States, Pakistan, and other foreign governments, the Soviets withdrew ten years later, in 1989. For more details, see Soviet war in Afghanistan.
The Soviet withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was seen as an ideological victory in the US, which had backed the Mujahideen through three US presidential administrations in order to counter Soviet influence in the vicinity of the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Following the removal of the Soviet forces in 1989, the US and its allies lost interest in Afghanistan and did little to help rebuild the war-ravaged country or influence events there. The USSR continued to support President Najibullah (formerly the head of the secret service, Khad) until his downfall in 1992. However, the absence of the Soviet forces resulted in the downfall of the pro-communist government as it steadily lost ground to the guerrilla forces.

The result of the fighting was that the vast majority of the elites and intellectuals had escaped to take refuge abroad, a dangerous leadership vacuum thereby coming into existence. Fighting continued among the various Mujahideen factions, eventually giving rise to a state of warlordism. The most serious fighting during this growing civil conflict occurred in 1994, when 10,000 people were killed in Kabul. The chaos and corruption that dominated post-Soviet Afghanistan in turn spawned the rise of the Taliban, who were mostly Pashtuns from Kandahar.

Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988.

The Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, and eventually seized Kabul in 1996. By the end of 2000, the Taliban were able to capture 95% of the country, aside from the opposition (Afghan Northern Alliance) strongholds primarily found in the northeast corner of Badakhshan Province. The Taliban sought to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and were later implicated as terrorists, most notably by harbouring and supporting Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
During the Taliban's seven-year rule, much of the population experienced restrictions on their freedom and violations of their human rights. Women were banned from jobs, girls forbidden to attend schools or universities. Those who resisted were punished. Communists were systematically eradicated and the strict Islamic Sharia law was imposed. The Taliban also managed to nearly eradicate the majority of the opium production by 2001.

Ahmed Shah Massoud was a Tajik Afghan military commander who fought against the Soviets in the 1980s, then against the Taliban in the 1990s. He was assassinated in September 2001.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, a military campaign to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist network operating in Afghanistan and overthrow their host (the Taliban). The US made common cause with the Afghan Northern Alliance to achieve its ends.
In December 2001, major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in Bonn, Germany, and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new democratic government that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun from Kandahar, as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority.
After a nationwide Loya Jirga in 2002, Karzai was chosen by the representatives to assume the title as President of Afghanistan. In 2003, the country convened a Constitutional Loya Jirga (Council of Elders) and ratified a new constitution the following year. Hamid Karzai was elected President in a nation-wide election in October 2004. Legislative elections were held in September 2005. The National Assembly--the first freely elected legislature in Afghanistan since 1973--sat in December 2005, and was noteworthy for the inclusion of women as voters, candidates, and elected members.
As the country continued to rebuild and recover, as of late 2006, it was still struggling against widespread poverty, continued warlordism, poor infrastructure, possibly the largest concentration of land mines and other unexploded ordinance on earth, as well as a huge illegal poppy and heroin trade. Afghanistan also remains subject to occasionally violent political jockeying. The landmine problem persists; in 2002, the Red Cross recorded 409 landmine deaths in Afghanistan, one of the highest mine tolls anywhere. The country continues to grapple with the Taliban insurgency, the threat of attacks from a few remaining al-Qaeda, and instability, particularly in the north, caused by the remaining semi-independent warlords.
Afghanistan timeline and Invasions of Afghanistan.

GEOGRAPHY

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Afghanistan is a land-locked, mountainous, central Asian country, with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point, at 7485 m (24,557 ft) above sea level, is Nowshak. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. Afghanistan has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The country is frequently subject to earthquakes.
At 249,984 mi² (647,500 km²), Afghanistan is the world's 41st-largest country (after Burma). It is comparable in size to Somalia, and is somewhat smaller than the US state of Texas.
The country's natural resources include copper, zinc and iron ore in central areas; precious and semi-precious stones such as lapis, emerald and azure in the north-east and east; and potentially significant oil and gas reserves in the north. However, these significant mineral and energy resources remain largely untapped due to the effects of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent civil war.

Administrative divisions
Provinces of Afghanistan and Districts of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four provinces (velayat), which are further subdivided into districts.

Map showing the provinces of Afghanistan.

1 Badakhshan 2 Badghis 3 Baghlan 4 Balkh 5 Bamyan 6 Daykundi 7 Farah 8 Faryab 9 Ghazni10 Ghowr11 Helmand12 Herat13 Jowzjan14 Kabul15 Kandahar16 Kapisa17 Khost

18 Konar19 Kunduz20 Laghman21 Lowgar22 Nangarhar23 Nimruz24 Nurestan25 Oruzgan26 Paktia27 Paktika28 Panjshir29 Parvan30 Samangan31 Sare Pol32 Takhar33 Vardak34 Zabol

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN

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Location and map

Flag Emblem
Anthem: Suroudi Milli
Capital (largest city) ;Kabul 34°31′N 69°08′E
Official languages ;Pashto Persian (Darī)
Government; Islamic Republic
President; Hamid Karzai
Vice President; Ahmad Zia Massoud
Vice President; Karim Khalili
Independence from the United Kingdom- Declared;August 8, 1919 -Recognized;August 19, 1919 Area
- Total; 652,090 km² (41st)251,772 sq mi
Population; - 2005 estimate; 29,863,000 (38th) - 1979 census; 13,051,358
- Density; 46/km² (150th)119/sq mi

GDP (PPP)
2006 estimate- Total $31.9 billion (91st)
- Per capita $1,310 (162nd)
HDI (2003) n/a (n/a) (unranked)
Currency ; Afghani (Af) (AFN)

Time zone (UTC+4:30) - Summer (DST)
(UTC+4:30)
Internet TLD ; .af
Calling code; +93

Afghānistān, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is generally considered a part of Central Asia, and is sometimes ascribed to a regional bloc in either South Asia or the Middle East as it has cultural, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighbours. It is largely bordered by Pakistan in the south and east,[2] Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and the People's Republic of China in the far east. The name Afghanistan means "Land of the Afghans".
Afghanistan is a mosaic of ethnic groups and cultures, and a crossroads between east and west. An ancient land that is a focal point of trade, it has often been plundered, and the region of present-day Afghanistan has seen many invading forces come and go, including Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, British and Soviets. Afghanistan was created in 1747 as a large empire, its modern-day shape being recognized by the international community as a fully independent state in 1919, when foreign intervention ceased following the Anglo-Afghan wars. Since 1979, the country has suffered almost continous conflict, beginning with the Soviet invasion followed by the civil war and finally by the 2001 US war on terror, in which the ruling Taliban regime was toppled. In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force. This force, composed of US and NATO troops is assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing authority across the country.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

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The current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, bloody coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic, theocracy and communist state. The constitution ratified by the 2003 Loya jirga restructured the government as an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, (executive, legislative, and judiciary).
Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. While supporters have praised Karzai's efforts to promote national reconciliation and a growing economy, critics charge him with failing to rein in the country's warlords, inability to stem corruption and the growing drug trade, and the slow pace of reconstruction.

According to BBC[citation needed], Malalai Joya is one of the most popular Afghan politicians.
The current parliament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former mujahadeen, Taliban members, communists, reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. 28% of the delegates elected were women, 3% more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the constitution. This made Afghanistan, long known under the Taliban for its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of female representation.
The Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi, a former university professor who had been legal advisor to the president. The previous court, appointed during the time of the interim government, had been dominated by fundamentalist religious figures, including Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. The court had issued numerous questionable rulings, such as banning cable television, seeking to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential election and limiting the rights of women, as well as overstepping its constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought before the court. The current court is seen as more moderate and led by more technocrats than the previous court, although it has yet to issue any rulings.

Politics of Afghanistan

Afghanistan
Politics and government ofAfghanistan
In recent years the politics of Afghanistan have been dominated by the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the NATO Forces and the subsequent efforts to stabilise and democratise the country. As of 2006 the system of government in Afghanistan is in transition. A new constitution has been adopted, and an executive president democratically elected, and parliamentary elections took place in September 2005.
The current president Hamid Karzai became the first ever democratically elected head of state in Afghanistan in late 2004. He now has begun the process of reconstruction. Still, the country lacks a legislature. Elections for this branch of government were supposed to have finished by mid 2005. The members of the Supreme Court were appointed recently by the president to form the judiciary. Together, this new system will provide a new set of checks and balances that was unheard of in the country. Also, the system is quite new, implementation of which began only 2004, just after decades of war between different factions and warlords. The remnants of the warlords are almost non-existent. The United Nations and other governments and organizations play a vital role rebuilding this new democracy's political environment.
Background
Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, bloody coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic, theocracy and communist state. The constitution ratified by the 2003 Loya jirga restructured the government as an Islamic republic consisting of three branches of power (executive, legislative, and judiciary) overseen by checks and balances.
Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. Before the election, Karzai led the country after being chosen by delegates of the Bonn Conference in 2001 to head an interim government after the fall of the Taliban. While supporters have praised Karzai's efforts to promote national reconciliation and a growing economy, critics charge him with failing to reign in the country's warlords, inability to stem corruption and the growing drug trade, and the slow pace of reconstruction.
The current parliament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former Mujahideen, Taliban fighters, communists, reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. Surprisingly, 28% of the delegates elected were women, 3% more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the constitution. Ironically, this made Afghanistan, long known under the Taliban for its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of female representation.
The Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. Dominated by fundamentalist religious figures, it has banned cable television, tried to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential election for questioning polygamy laws, and limited the rights of women, as well as overstepped its constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought before the court. Though many believed that Karzai would make reforming the Supreme Court a priority of his administration, as of 2006 he has yet to do so.
See also: Constitution of Afghanistan
The Former Taliban Regime
On September 27, 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement. The Taliban declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN continued to recognize the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy could be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions.
By the time of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 terrorist attacks only Pakistan recognized the Taliban government, though Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had in the past.
The Taliban occupied 95% of the territory, called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The remaining 5% belonged to the rebel forces constituting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which the United Nations had recognized as the official government in exile.
U.S.-led Invasion
After the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US for his suspected involvement in the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, a US-led international coalition was formed; after several weeks of aerial bombardment by coalition forces and military action on the ground, including Afghan opposition forces, the Taliban was officially ousted from power on 17 November 2001.
Bonn Agreement
Main article: Bonn Agreement (Afghanistan)
In December 2001, a number of prominent Afghans met under UN auspices in Bonn, Germany, to decide on a plan for governing the country; as a result, the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) - made up of 30 members, headed by a chairman - was inaugurated on 22 December 2001 with a six-month mandate to be followed by a two-year Transitional Authority (TA), after which elections are to be held. Some provisions in the agreement have expired, due to the creation of the constitution. Still, the agreement paved the way for the creation of a democratic Afghanistan.
Approval by the Loya Jirga
The structure of the Transitional Authority was announced on 10 June 2002, when the Loya jirga (Grand Assembly) convened establishing the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA), which had 18 months to hold a constitutional Loya jirga to adopt a constitution and 24 months to hold nationwide elections. The Loya jirga was replaced by the National Assembly.
Recent developments.

Under the Bonn Agreement the Afghan Constitution Commission was established to consult with the public and formulate a draft constitution. The meeting of a constitutional loya jirga was held in December 2003, when a new constitution was adopted creating a presidential form of government with a bicameral legislature.
Troops and intelligence agencies from the United States and a number of other countries are present, some to support the government, others assigned to hunt for remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda
. A United Nations military force called the International Security Assistance Force has been operating in Kabul since December 2001. NATO took control of this Force on August 11, 2003. Some of the country remains under the control of warlords. [1]
On March 27, 2003, Afghan deputy defense minister and powerful warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum created an office for the North Zone of Afghanistan and appointed officials to it, defying then-interim president Hamid Karzai's orders that there be no zones in Afghanistan.
Eurocorps took over the responsibility for the NATO-led ISAF in Kabul August 9, 2004.
National elections were held on October 9, 2004. Over 10 million Afghans were registered to vote. Most of the 17 candidates opposing Karzai boycotted the election, charging fraud;[2] an independent commission found evidence of fraud, but ruled that it did not affect the outcome of the poll. Karzai won 55.4% of the vote.[3] He was inaugurated as president on December 7. It was the country's first national election since 1969, when parliamentary elections were last held.
On September 18, 2005, parliamentary elections were held; the parliament opened on the following December 19. On December 20 Karzai's close ally and president of the first mujahideen government, Sibghatullah Mojadeddi, was picked to head the 102-seat upper house. On December 21, Yunus Qanuni, Afghan opposition leader and Karzai's main opponent was chosen to lead the 249-seat lower house of parliament with 122 votes against 117 for his closest challenger.
Constitution
The Bonn Agreement called for a loya jirga to be convened. This body ratified the Constitution of Afghanistan in early 2004. It creates a strong Presidency and a bicameral legislative branch.
Executive branch
Afghan Cabinet of Ministers
Legislative branch
The 2005 Parliamentary Election for the Wolesi Jirga or House of the People were conducted on 18 September 2005. This was the first parliamentary election in Afghanistan since 1969. 2707 candidates, including 328 women, competed for 249 seats. The election was conducted with multiple seat electoral constituencies. Each province is a constituency and has a varying number of seats, depending on population. Voters have a single non-transferable vote. Provisional results are not expected until 10 October.
The Meshrano Jirga or House of the Elders will consist of an undetermined amount of members. One-third of the members will be appointed by the president, while another third will be elected by the provincial councils. Elections for the provincial councils were held simultaneously with those for the Wolesi Jirga. The remaining third is supposed to be elected by district councils. However, elections for the district councils have been postponed, meaning that one-third of the seats in the Meshrano Jirga will be vacant when it assembles.
Despite Taliban and other anti-government forces stating they intended to disrupt the elections the polling day went by with minimal violence, although a number of candidates were murdered before the election. Early reports indicated that turnout was down on the Presidential Election, but still high.
Political parties and elections
2005 Parliamentary election

Afghanistan held parliamentary elections on 18 September 2005. On 9 October. Since all candidates were not listed by party and elected as non-partisans, a breakdown by party is not possible. Turnout is estimated at about 50 percent.
2004 Presidential elections
Political parties in Afghanistan are in flux and many prominent players have plans to create new parties. The government of Hamid Karzai includes members of numerous factions and parties. As of the 2005 Parliamentary Election, political parties are not legally recognised and candidates must run as independents, although parties can support candidates who are members. Main parties seem to be:
Islamic Social Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-i-Jamiat-i-Islami Afghanistan)
Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan)
National Congress Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan)
National Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan)
National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Jumbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan)
Other minor parties are:
Afghan Social Democratic Party
Communist Party of Afghanistan
Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan
Liberal Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
Social Nationalist Afghan Party
Some sources still list the following parties:
Afghan Mellat Party (Afghan Social Democratic Party) (leader: Shams ul Huda Shams)
Afghan Mellat Party (Shams Faction) Ajmal Shams
Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement) Mohammed Asif Mohseni
Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement) Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi
Hezbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party) Gulbuddin Hikmatyar
Hezbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) Yunis Khalis
Hizb-e-Wahdat (Hizbi Wahdat)-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party) Mohammad Akbar Akbari
Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan) Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front) Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
Mehez-e-Milli (Afghan National Party) Yunus Qanuni
Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front) Sayed Ahamad Gailani
Taliban (Religious Students Movement) Mohammed Omar
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, comprised of:
Jumbesh-i-Melli Islami (National Islamic Movement) Abdul Rashid Dostam
Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society) Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmed Shah Massoud (died in Sep 2001)
Hizb-e-Wahdat (Hizbi Wahdat) -Khalili faction (Islamic Unity Party) Abd ul-Karim Khalili

Political pressure groups and leaders
NA; note - ministries formed under the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA) include former influential Afghans, diaspora members, and former political leaders
Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere have organized politically
Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National
Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA (leader Ishaq Gailani
Tribal leader represent traditional Pashtun leadership
Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [Rasul Amin]
Judicial branch
The Constitution of Afghanistan mandates a Supreme Court. Other minor courts were created too, such as high courts, appeals courts, and other district Courts.
See also: Chief Justice of Afghanistan
International organization participation
Asian Development Bank
Afghanistan has received $892.28 million in lending since joining the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at its founding in 1966 and is ADB’s 17th largest borrower. ADB suspended its operations in Afghanistan from 1992 to 2002. Significant international engagement with Afghanistan resumed in 2001 following the ouster of the Taliban regime. In 2001 and 2002, ADB, the World Bank, and the United Nations assessed the country’s critical rehabilitation and development needs: at the 2002 Tokyo Conference, ADB pledged loan and grant assistance of some $500 million over 2.5 years, beginning with a $167.18 million Postconflict Multisector Program loan, the first loan by an international financial institution to the country in more than 23 years. In 2004, ADB pledged up to $800 million in Asian Development Fund (ADF) loans and grants for 2005–2008, while at the 2006 London Conference indicated its intention to provide up to $200 million per year in ADF funding through 2010. ADB’s support has focused on building national capacity, establishing policy and institutional frameworks, and rehabilitating infrastructure. At the request of the Afghan authorities, ADB loan and grant-financed projects and programs and related technical assistance are focused on the road [transport, energy, agriculture and natural resource management, and governance and financial sectors. Private sector support has focused on loans and investments in the telecommunications and banking sectors.
The World Bank
Afghanistan became a member of the World Bank in 1955. Shortly after the Soviet invasion in 1979, World Bank operations were suspended, and the resident mission in Kabul was closed, although the Bank continued to provide assistance to Afghans through its office in neighboring Pakistan. The Bank resumed operations in Afghanistan in May 2002 to help meet the immediate needs of the poorest people while assisting the government in developing the administrative systems required for longer-term nationwide development.
Prior to 1979, the World Bank had provided 21 no-interest loans, known as "credits" to Afghanistan across a wide range of areas including education, roads, and agriculture. Of the original US$230 million in credits approved under IDA, US $83 million was disbursed and US $147 million was subsequently canceled. Afghanistan had repaid US $9.2 million to IDA and was up to date on debt service payments until June 1992, when it stopped making payments.
In 2003, Afghanistan was able to clear its debt to the World Bank, in part with the help of Japan, the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Italy, who contributed to a trust fund for this purpose. Additional funds from the multi-donor Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which is administered by the World Bank, helped to clear the remaining arrears, allowing Afghanistan to become eligible for loans for projects designed to help meet the country's longer-term development needs.
The ARTF has emerged as one of the main instruments for financing the country’s recurrent budget and investment support for Afghanistan. To date, more than US$1.37 billion has been contributed to the ARTF by 24 donors.
Since 2002, the Bank has financed 21 projects, committing around US$1.13 billion, of which US$696.8 million is in grants and US$436.4 in interest-free credits. Two budget support operations and an emergency public works project have been completed so far. commitments of approximately US$267 million for the fiscal year 2007 (July 2006 - June 2007) will be entirely in grants. The Bank-funded projects mostly support rural livelihoods by providing job opportunities, rebuilding infrastructure, education and basic health services.
Afghanistan is a member of the Colombo Plan , the Economic Cooperation Organization, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Group of 77, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Court, ICRM, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the Islamic Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

See also: Constitution of Afghanistan

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

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Administrative divisions
Main articles: Provinces of Afghanistan and Districts of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four provinces (velayat), which are further subdivided into districts;

1 Badakhshan 2 Badghis 3 Baghlan 4 Balkh 5 Bamyan 6 Daykundi 7 Farah 8 Faryab 9 Ghazni10 Ghowr11 Helmand12 Herat13 Jowzjan14 Kabul15 Kandahar16 Kapisa17 Khost

18 Konar19 Kunduz20 Laghman21 Lowgar22 Nangarhar23 Nimruz24 Nurestan25 Oruzgan26 Paktia27 Paktika28 Panjshir29 Parvan30 Samangan31 Sare Pol32 Takhar33 Vardak34 Zabol

See Map (above) showing the provinces of Afghanistan.

ECONOMY AND TRADE

2007-02-01T19:48:00.000+01:00

Economy of Afghanistan

A Business Center in Kabul
Afghanistan is an extremely impoverished country, one of the world's poorest and least developed nations. Two-thirds of the population lives on less than US$2 a day. The economy has suffered greatly from the recent political and military unrest since the 1979-80 Soviet invasion and subsequent conflicts, while severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2001.

The economically active population in 2002 was about 11 million (out of a total of an estimated 29 million). While there are no official unemployment rate estimates available, it is evident that it is high. The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.

As much as one-third of Afghanistan's GDP comes from growing poppy and illicit drugs including opium and its two derivatives, morphine and heroin, as well as hashish production.
On a positive note, international efforts to rebuild Afghanistan led to the formation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) as a result of the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, where $4.5 billion was committed in a trust fund to be administered by the World Bank Group. Priority areas for reconstruction include the rebuilding of the educational system, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links.
According to a 2004 report by the Asian Development Bank, the present reconstruction effort is two-pronged: first it focuses on rebuilding critical physical infrastructure, and second, on building modern public sector institutions from the remnants of Soviet style planning to ones that promote market-led development. But macroeconomic planning and management at present is hampered by poor information, weak service delivery systems, and less than adequate law enforcement.
One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over two million refugees from neighbouring countries and the West, who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed capital to start up small businesses. What is also helping is the estimated $2-3 billion in international assistance, the partial recovery of the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions.

Afghan King (Zahir Shah) and Turkish President (Celal Bayar) inspecting the produce of Khan Nasher's Spinzar Cotton Company in 1966. Afghanistan was once a world-renowned producer of cotton.
While the country's current account deficit is largely financed with the "donor money", only a small portion – about 15% – is provided directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations. The government had a central budget of only $350 million in 2003 and an estimated $550 million in 2004. The country's foreign exchange reserves totals about $500 million. Revenue is mostly generated through customs, as income and corporate tax bases are negligible.
Inflation had been a major problem until 2002. However, the depreciation of the Afghani in 2002 after the introduction of the new notes (which replaced 1,000 old Afghani by 1 new Afghani) coupled with the relative stability compared to previous periods has helped prices to stabilize and even decrease between December 2002 and February 2003, reflecting the turnaround appreciation of the new Afghani currency. Since then, the index has indicated stability, with a moderate increase toward late 2003.
The Afghan government and international donors seem to remain committed to improving access to basic necessities, infrastructure development, education, housing and economic reform. The central government is also focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline. The rebuilding of the financial sector seems to have been so far successful. Money can now be transferred in and out of the country via official banking channels and according to accepted international norms. A new law on private investment provides three to seven-year tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption from exports tariffs and duties.
While these improvements will help rebuild a strong basis for the nation in the future, for now, the majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other problems exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. The government is not strong enough to collect customs duties from all the provinces due to the power of the warlords. Fraud is widespread and "corruption is rife within all Afghan government organs, and central authority is barely felt in the lawless south and south-west".
The real good news for Afghanistan is that it has great potentials to come out of poverty very quick and become a normal stable country. This is due to many reports showing that the country has possession of mass amounts of highly demanding natural resources and minerals. According to the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Industry, Afghanistan may be possessing 15.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 1.6 billion barrels of oil and up to 1,325 million barrels of natural gas liquids. This could mark the turning point in Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts. Energy exports could generate the revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country’s infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered and fractious population. Other reports suggest that there are huge amounts of gold, copper, coal, iron ore and other rich minerals.

CULTURE

2007-01-01T19:50:00.000+01:00

Culture of Afghanistan
Afghans display pride in their religion, country, ancestry, and above all, their independence. Like other highlanders, Afghans are regarded with mingled apprehension and condescension, for their high regard for personal honor, for their clan loyalty and for their readiness to carry and use arms to settle disputes. As clan warfare / internecine feuding has been one of their chief occupations since time immemorial, this individualistic trait has made it difficult for foreign invaders to hold the region.
Afghanistan has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments. However, many of the country's historic monuments have been damaged in recent wars. The two famous statues of Buddha in the Bamyan Province were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. Other famous sites include the very cities of Kandahar, Herat, Ghazni and Balkh. The Minaret of Jam, in the Hari Rud valley, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The cloak worn by Prophet Mohammad is stored inside the famouse Khalka Sharifa in Kandahar City.
The people of Afghanistan are prominent horsemen as the national sport is Buzkashi, similar to Polo, but instead which a goat carcass is used instead of a ball. Afghan hounds (a type of running dog) also originated from Afghanistan.

Farhad Darya is a popular Afghan singer that can sing in many languages, including Pashto and Persian.
Although literacy levels are very low, classic Persian poetry plays a very important role in Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in Iran and, consequently, Afghanistan, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture. Persian culture has, and continues to, exert a great influence over Afghan culture. Private poetry competition events known as “musha’era” are quite common even among ordinary people. Almost every home owns one or more poetry collection of some sort, even if it is not read often.

Herati Farsiwans women performing their traditional dance.
The eastern dialects of the Persian language are popularly known as "Dari" outside of Iran. The name itself derives from "Pārsī-e Darbārī", meaning Persian of the royal courts. The ancient term Darī - one of the original names of the Persian language - was revived in the Afghan constitution of 1964, and was intended "to signify that Afghans consider their country the cradle of the language. Hence, the name Fārsī, the langue of Fārs, is strictly avoided."
Many of the famous Iranian poets of 10th to 15th centuries stem from where is now known as Afghanistan. They were mostly also scholars in many disciplines like languages, natural sciences, medicine, religion and astronomy. Examples are Mowlānā Rumi, who was born and educated in Balkh in the 13th century and moved to Konya in modern-day Turkey, Sanaayi Ghaznavi (12th century, native of Ghazni provice), Jāmī of Herāt (15th century, native of Jam-e-Herat in western Afghanistan), Nizām ud-Dīn Alī Sher Navā'ī, (15th century, Herat province). Most of these individuals were of Persian (Tājīk) ethnicity who still form the second-largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Also, some of the contemporary Persian language poets and writers, who are relatively well-known in both Iran and Afghanistan include Ustad Betab, Khalilullah Khalili, Sufi Ghulam Nabi Ashqari, Qahar Asey, Parwin Pazwak and others.
In addition to poets, numerous Iranian scientists have had their origins lie in where it's now called Afghanistan. Most notable was Avicenna (Abu Alī Hussein ibn Sīnā) whose father hailed from Balkh. Ibn Sīnā, who travelled to Isfahan later in life to establish a medical school there, is known by some scholars as "the father of modern medicine". George Sarton called ibn Sīnā "the most famous scientist of Islam and one of the most famous of all races, places, and times." His most famous works are The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine, also known as the Qanun. Ibn Sīnā's story even found way to the contemporary English literature through Noah Gordon's The Physician, now published in many languages.

Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan cosmonaut to spend nine days in space aboard the MIR space station in 1988.
In 1988, an Afghan by the name of Abdul Ahad Mohmand reached space before anyone from the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Israel and many other nations.
Before the Taliban gained power, the city of Kabul was home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music, especially during the Nauroz-celebration. Kabul in the middle part of the 20th century has been likened to Vienna during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The tribal system, which orders the life of most people outside metropolitan areas, is potent in political terms. Men feel a fierce loyalty to their own tribe, such that, if called upon, they would assemble in arms under the tribal chiefs and local clan leaders (Khans). In theory, under Islamic law, every believer has an obligation to bear arms at the ruler's call (Ulul-Amr).
Heathcote considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult, and in a society that has an uncomplicated lifestyle - from a materialistic point of view.
Radio Kabul, Music of Afghanistan, and Islam in Afghanistan

WOMEN IN ISLAM

2006-12-20T19:50:00.000+01:00

The vast majority of Afghanistan's population professes to be followers of Islam. Over 1400 years ago, Islam demanded that men and women be equal before God, and gave them various rights such the right to inheritance, the right to vote, the right to work, and even choose their own partners in marriage. For centuries now in Afghanistan, women have been denied these rights either by official government decree or by their own husbands, fathers, and brothers. During the rule of the Taliban (1996 - 2001), women were treated worse than in any other time or by any other society. They were forbidden to work, leave the house without a male escort, not allowed to seek medical help from a male doctor, and forced to cover themselves from head to toe, even covering their eyes. Women who were doctors and teachers before, suddenly were forced to be beggars and even prostitutes in order to feed their families.
Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, many would agree that the political and cultural position of Afghan women has improved substantially. The recently adopted Afghan constitution states that "the citizens of Afghanistan - whether man or woman- have equal rights and duties before the law". So far, women have been allowed to return back to work, the government no longer forces them to wear the all covering burqa, and they even have been appointed to prominent positions in the government. Despite all these changes many challenges still remain. The repression of women is still prevalent in rural areas where many families still restrict their own mothers, daughters, wives and sisters from participation in public life. They are still forced into marriages and denied a basic education. Numerous school for girls have been burned down and little girls have even been poisoned to death for daring to go to school.

(See: WOMEN IN ISLAM, GENDER EQUALITY, WOMEN RIGHTS GROUPS)

PEOPLE

2006-04-10T19:41:00.000+01:00

Demographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is divided into a wide variety of ethnic groups. Because a systematic census has not been held in the country in decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are not available. Therefore most figures are approximations only. According to the CIA World Factbook, an approximate ethnic group distribution is as follows:

Ethnic groups of Afghanistan ██ 42% Pashtun ██ 27% Tajik and Qezelbash ██ 9% Hazara ██ 9% Uzbek 4% Aimak ██ 3% Turkmen ██ 2% Baloch 5% other (Pashai, Nuristani, Brahui, etc.)
The Encyclopædia Britannica gives a slightly different list for various ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan:
49% Pashtun
18% Tajik
9% Hazara
8% Uzbek
4% Aimak
3% Turkmen
9% other
Based on official census numbers from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well as information found in main - mostly scholarly - sources, the Encyclopædia Iranica gives the following list:
36.4% Pashtun
33.6% Tajik, Farsiwan, and Qezelbash
8.0% Hazara
8.0% Uzbek
3.2% Aimak
1.6% Baloch
9.2% other Languages

see also: Languages of Afghanistan under; Culture

Languages of Afghanistan
The CIA factbook on languages spoken in Afghanistan is as follows: Pashto 35% (in gray) and Persian (Dari) 50% (in pink), both Indo-European languages from the Iranian languages sub-family. Others include Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 9% (in green), as well as 30 minor languages 4% (primarily Balochi (in orange) and Pashai (in blue) and Nuristasni (in purple). Bilingualism is common.
According to the Encyclopædia Iranica [18], the Persian language is the mother tongue of roughly 1/3 of Afghanistan's population, while - at the same time - it is the most widely used language of the country, spoken by ca. 90% of the population. It further states that Pashto is spoken by ca. 50% of the population.

Religions
Religiously, Afghans are over 99% Muslim: approximately 74-89% Sunni and 9-25% Shi'a (estimates vary). Other religions in Afghanistan include Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, and Hinduism. Afghanistan was once home to an ancient Jewish community, numbering approximately 5,000 in 1948. (See Bukharan Jews.) Most Jewish families fled the country after the 1979 Soviet invasion, and only one individual, Zablon Simintov, remains today. With the fall of the Taliban, a number of Sikhs have returned to the Ghazni, Nangarhar, Kandahar and Kabul provinces of Afghanistan.
Largest cities
The only city in Afghanistan with over one million residents is its capital, Kabul. The other major cities in the country are, in order of population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, and Kunduz.
See also: List of cities in Afghanistan and Places in Afghanistan

EDUCATION

2006-01-12T19:52:00.000+01:00

Education in Afghanistan
In the spring of 2003, it was estimated that 30% of Afghanistan's 7,000 schools had been very seriously damaged during more than two decades of civil war. Only half of the schools were reported to have clean water, while fewer than an estimated 40% had adequate sanitation. Education for boys was not a priority during the Taliban regime, and girls were banished from schools outright.
As regards the poverty and violence of their surroundings, a study in 2002 by the Save the Children Fund said Afghan children were resilient and courageous. The study credited the strong institutions of family and community.
Up to four million Afghan children, possibly the largest number ever, are believed to have enrolled for class for the school year beginning in March of 2003. Education is available for both girls and boys.
Literacy of the entire population is estimated at 36%, the male literacy rate is 51% and female literacy is 21%.
Another aspect of education that is rapidly changing in Afghanistan is the face of higher education. Following the fall of the Taliban, Kabul University was reopened to both male and female students. In 2006, the American University of Afghanistan will open its doors, with support from USAID and other donors. With the aim of providing a world-class, English-language, co-educational learning environment in Afghanistan, the university will take students from Afghanistan and the region.

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

2006-01-05T23:58:00.000+01:00

Afghanistan has rapidly increased in communication technology, and has embarked on wireless companies, television channels, and commercial international airlines. Afghan telecommunication companies, Afghan Wireless and Roshan, have boasted increase in rapid cellular phone usage. Afghanistan's commercial airlines, Ariana Afghan Airlines, now serves flights to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Dubai and Istanbul to and from Kabul and Herat. Afghanistan's television channels include: Ariana TV Tolo TV Ariana Afghanistan TV Afghan Sports Network Zeba Fashion Television Afghanistan has also improved in vehicle conditions with Toyota, Land Rover, BMW and Hyundai dealerships all over Kabul, and a huge import of fine second-hand vehicles from Dubai on display in Kandahar. Afghanistan, however, still is a long way from major modern technological advancements, but is on the fast road to that goal.

VIEWS OF AFGHANISTAN

2005-12-10T19:51:00.000+01:00

Bamyan

Ghazni

Herat

Kabul

Kandahar

Mazari Sharif

Tora Bora

Golden Needle Sewing School
Help Afghan School Children Organization
Human rights in Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Kabul
Transportation in Afghanistan
Taliban