Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan i/fnstn/ (Pashto/Dari:, Afnistn), ocially the IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked countrylocated in Central Asia.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] It has apopulation of approximately 31 million people, makingit the 42nd most populous country in the world. It isbordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in thewest; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in thenorth; and China in the far northeast. Its territory covers652,000 km2 (252,000 sq mi), making it the 41st largestcountry in the world.Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to theMiddle Paleolithic Era,[16] and the countrys strategic lo-cation along the Silk Road connected it to the culturesof the Middle East and other parts of Asia.[17] Throughthe ages the land has been home to various peoples[18]and witnessed numerous military campaigns, notably byAlexander the Great, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British,Soviet Russians, and in the modern-era by Western pow-ers.[16] The land also served as the source from which theKushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saarids, Ghaznavids,Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, and othershave risen to form major empires.[19]

The political history of the modern state of Afghanistanbegan with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18thcentury.[20][21][22] In the late 19th century, Afghanistanbecame a buer state in the "Great Game" betweenBritish India and the Russian Empire. Following the1919 Anglo-Afghan War, King Amanullah and KingMohammed Zahir Shah attempted modernization of thecountry. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed bya Soviet invasion and a series of civil wars that devastatedmuch of the country.

1 Etymology

Main article: Name of Afghanistan

The name Afghnistn (Persian: , [avnestn])is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, whichis documented in the 10th-century geography bookHudud ul-'alam.[23] The root name "Afghan" was usedhistorically in reference to the Pashtun people, and thesux "-stan" means place of in Persian. Therefore,Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans.[24][25]The Constitution of Afghanistan states that "[t]he wordAfghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan.[26]

2 HistoryMain article: History of Afghanistan

Excavations of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree andothers suggest that humans were living in what is nowAfghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farmingcommunities in the area were among the earliest in theworld.[27][28] An important site of early historical activi-ties, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt interms of the historical value of its archaeological sites.[29]

The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerouscivilizations have interacted and often fought. It has beenhome to various peoples through the ages, among themthe ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominantrole of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multi-ple points, the land has been incorporated within largeregional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire,the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, andthe Islamic Empire.Many kingdoms have also risen to power in Afghanistan,such as the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Hephthalites,Kabul Shahis, Saarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids,Khiljis, Kartids, Timurids, Mughals, and nally the Hotakand Durrani dynasties that marked the political origins ofthe modern state.

2.1 Pre-Islamic period

Main article: Pre-Islamic period of AfghanistanArchaeological exploration done in the 20th century sug-gests that the geographical area of Afghanistan has beenclosely connected by culture and trade with its neigh-bors to the east, west, and north. Artifacts typical of thePaleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ageshave been found in Afghanistan.[30] Urban civilization isbelieved to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and theearly city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south ofthe country) may have been a colony of the nearby IndusValley Civilization.[28]

After 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadicpeople from Central Asia began moving south intoAfghanistan; among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians.[27] These tribes later migratedfurther south to India, west to what is now Iran, and to-wards Europe via the area north of the Caspian Sea.[31]The region as a whole was called Ariana.[27][32][33]

1

2 2 HISTORY

Bilingual (Greek and Aramaic) edict by Emperor Ashoka fromthe 3rd century BCE discovered in the southern city of Kandahar

One of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Buddhism was widespread inthe region before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan.

The people shared similar culture with other Indo-Iranians. The ancient religion of Karistan survived hereuntil the 19th century. Another religion, Zoroastrianismis believed by some to have originated in what isnow Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BCE, as itsfounder Zoroaster is thought to have lived and died inBalkh.[34][35][36] Ancient Eastern Iranian languages mayhave been spoken in the region around the time of therise of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of the 6th century

BCE, the Achaemenid Persians overthrew the Medes andincorporated Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria within its east-ern boundaries. An inscription on the tombstone of KingDarius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list ofthe 29 countries that he had conquered.[37]

Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived toAfghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Per-sia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela.[34] FollowingAlexanders brief occupation, the successor state of theSeleucid Empire controlled the region as one of their east-ernmost territories until 305 BCE, when they gave muchof it to the Indian Maurya Empire as part of an alliancetreaty. The Mauryans introduced Buddhism and con-trolled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they wereoverthrown about 185 BCE.[38] Their decline began 60years after Ashoka's rule ended, leading to the Hellenisticreconquest of the region by the Greco-Bactrians. Muchof it soon broke away from the Greco-Bactrians and be-came part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Greekswere defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in thelate 2nd century BCE.During the rst century BCE, the Parthian Empire sub-jugated the region, but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vas-sals. In the mid-to-late rst century CE the vast KushanEmpire, centered in modern Afghanistan, became greatpatrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism ourishthroughout the region. The Kushans were defeated bythe Sassanids in the 3rd century CE. Although the Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region.[39]They were followed by the Kidarite Huns[40] who, in turn,were replaced by the Hephthalites.[41] By the 6th centuryCE, the successors to the Kushans and Hepthalites estab-lished a small dynasty called Kabul Shahi.

2.2 Islamization and Mongol invasionMain articles: Islamic conquest of Afghanistan andMongol invasion of Central Asia

Before the 19th century, the northwestern area of

The Ghurid-era Friday Mosque of Herat, or Masjid Jami, oneof the oldest mosques in Afghanistan

Afghanistan was referred to by the regional nameKhorasan.[42][43] Two of the four capitals of Khorasan

2.3 Hotak dynasty and Durrani Empire 3

(Herat and Balkh[44]) are now located in Afghanistan,while the regions of Kandahar, Zabulistan, Ghazni, Kab-ulistan, and Afghanistan formed the frontier betweenKhorasan and Hindustan.[44][45][46]

Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of thenative inhabitants they encountered accepted it whileothers revolted.[47] The land was collectively recog-nized by the Arabs as al-Hind due to its cultural con-nection with Greater India. Before Islam was intro-duced, people of the region were multi-religious, includ-ing Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Surya and Nana worshipers,Jews, and others.[48] The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi wererst conquered in 870 CE by the Saarid Muslims ofZaranj. Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic inu-ence south of the Hindu Kush. It is reported that Muslimsand non-Muslims still lived side by side in Kabul beforethe Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century.[49]

Afghanistan became one of the main centers in theMuslim world during the Islamic Golden Age.[27][50] Bythe 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the re-maining Hindu rulers and eectively Islamized the widerregion, with the exception of Karistan. The Ghaznaviddynasty was defeated and replaced by the Ghurids, whoexpanded and advanced the already powerful Islamic em-pire. Some speculate that todays Nasher clan is a rem-nant of the Ghaznavid dynasty.[51][52][53]

In 1219 AD, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army over-ran the region. His troops are said to have annihi-lated the Khorasanian cities of Herat and Balkh as wellas Bamyan.[54] The destruction caused by the Mon-gols forced many locals to return to an agrarian ruralsociety.[55] Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate inthe northwest while the Khilji dynasty administered theAfghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until theinvasion of Timur, who established the Timurid dynastyin 1370.[56] During the Ghaznavid, Ghurid, and Timurideras, the region produced many ne Islamic architecturalmonuments and numerous scientic and literary works.In the early 16th century, Babur arrived from Fergana andcaptured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty. From there hebegan dominating control of the central and eastern ter-ritories of Afghanistan. He remained in Kabulistan un-til 1526 when he invaded Delhi in India to replace theLodi dynasty with the Mughal Empire. Between the 16thand 18th century, the Khanate of Bukhara, Safavids, andMughals ruled parts of the territory.

2.3 Hotak dynasty and Durrani EmpireMain articles: Hotak dynasty and Durrani EmpireIn 1709, Mirwais Hotak, a Pashtun from Kandahar, suc-cessfully rebelled against the Persian Safavids. He over-threw and killed Gurgin Khan, and made Afghanistanindependent.[57] Mirwais died of a natural cause in 1715and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was

Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the last Afghan empire andviewed as Father of the Nation

soon killed by Mirwais son Mahmud for treason. Mah-mud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capitalof Isfahan, captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabadand proclaimed himself King of Persia.[57] The Persiansrejected Mahmud, and after the massacre of thousandsof religious scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavidfamily, the Hotak dynasty was ousted from Persia byNader Shah Afshar after the 1729 Battle of Damghan.[58]

In 1738, Nader Shah and his forces captured Kanda-har, the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Ho-tak, at which point the incarcerated 16-year-old AhmadShah Durrani was freed and made the commander ofan Afghan regiment.[59] Soon after the Persian andAfghan forces invaded India. By 1747, the Afghanschose Durrani as their head of state.[60][61][62] Dur-rani and his Afghan army conquered much of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistanprovinces of Iran, and Delhi in India.[63] He defeated theIndian Maratha Empire, and one of his biggest victorieswas the 1761 Battle of Panipat.In October 1772, Durrani died of a natural cause and wasburied at a site now adjacent to the Shrine of the Cloakin Kandahar. He was succeeded by his son, Timur Shah,who transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kanda-har to Kabul in 1776. After Timurs death in 1793, theDurrani throne passed down to his son Zaman Shah, fol-lowed by Mahmud Shah, Shuja Shah and others.The Afghan Empire was under threat in the early 19th

4 2 HISTORY

century by the Persians in the west and the British-backed Sikhs in the east. Fateh Khan, leader of theBarakzai tribe, had installed 21 of his brothers in posi-tions of power throughout the empire. After his death,they rebelled and divided up the provinces of the em-pire between themselves. During this turbulent period,Afghanistan had many temporary rulers until Dost Mo-hammad Khan declared himself emir in 1826.[64] ThePunjab region was lost to Ranjit Singh, who invadedKhyber Pakhtunkhwa and in 1834 captured the city ofPeshawar.[65] In 1837, during the Battle of Jamrud nearthe Khyber Pass, Akbar Khan and the Afghan army killedSikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa.[66] By this time theBritish were advancing from the east and the rst majorconict during the Great Game was initiated.[67]

2.4 Western inuenceFurther information: European inuence in Afghanistanand Reforms of Amnullh Khn and civil warFollowing the 1842 defeat of the British-Indian forces

British and allied forces at Kandahar after the 1880 Battle ofKandahar, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The large de-fensive wall around the city was removed in the early 1930s bythe order of King Nadir.

and victory of the Afghans, the British establisheddiplomatic relations with the Afghan government andwithdrew all forces from the country. They returned dur-ing the Second Anglo-Afghan War in the late 1870s forabout two years to assist Abdur Rahman Khan defeatAyub Khan. The United Kingdom began to exercise agreat deal of inuence after this and even controlled thestates foreign policy. In 1893, Mortimer Durand madeAmir Abdur Rahman Khan sign a controversial agree-ment in which the ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territorieswere divided by the Durand Line. This was a standarddivide and rule policy of the British and would lead tostrained relations, especially with the later new state ofPakistan.After the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing ofthe Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919, King Amanullah Khandeclared Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent

Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933to 1973.

state. He moved to end his countrys traditional isolationby establishing diplomatic relations with the internationalcommunity and, following a 192728 tour of Europe andTurkey, introduced several reforms intended to modern-ize his nation. A key force behind these reforms wasMahmud Tarzi, an ardent supporter of the education ofwomen. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistans 1923constitution, which made elementary education compul-sory. The institution of slavery was abolished in 1923.[68]

Some of the reforms that were actually put in place,such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for womenand the opening of a number of co-educational schools,quickly alienated many tribal and religious leaders. Facedwith overwhelming armed opposition, Amanullah Khanwas forced to abdicate in January 1929 after Kabulfell to rebel forces led by Habibullah Kalakani. PrinceMohammed Nadir Shah, Amanullahs cousin, in turn de-feated and killed Kalakani in November 1929, and wasdeclared King Nadir Shah. He abandoned the reformsof Amanullah Khan in favor of a more gradual approachto modernisation but was assassinated in 1933 by AbdulKhaliq, a Hazara school student.[69]

Mohammed Zahir Shah, Nadir Shahs 19-year-old son,succeeded to the throne and reigned from 1933 to 1973.Until 1946, Zahir Shah ruled with the assistance of hisuncle, who held the post of Prime Minister and con-tinued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another of Zahir

2.6 Civil war 5

Shahs uncles, Shah Mahmud Khan, became Prime Min-ister in 1946 and began an experiment allowing greaterpolitical freedom, but reversed the policy when it wentfurther than he expected. He was replaced in 1953 byMohammed Daoud Khan, the kings cousin and brother-in-law. Daoud Khan sought a closer relationship withthe Soviet Union and a more distant one towards Pak-istan. Afghanistan remained neutral and was neither aparticipant in World War II nor aligned with either powerbloc in the Cold War. However, it was a beneciaryof the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and theUnited States vied for inuence by building Afghanistansmain highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure.In 1973, while King Zahir Shah was on an ocial over-seas visit, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and be-came the rst President of Afghanistan. In the meantime,Zulkar Ali Bhutto got neighboring Pakistan involved inAfghanistan. Some experts suggest that Bhutto paved theway for the April 1978 Saur Revolution.[70]

Derek Gregory argued in his book The Colonial Presentthat the makings of a failed state in Afghanistan had itsroots in Western imperialism. The great game betweenthe European powers over what was then the British pos-session of India, lead England and Russia to require abuer zone between their imperial interests. A state wasliterally carved out of nothing, much the same way as itwas all throughout Africa. (Stephen Howe, p. 13) Dif-ferent ethnic groups, dierent languages and dierentways of life were enmeshed together into a single statewith little consideration of the eects of such policies. Inthis context, the creation of Afghanistan (like many othersmall states created by the European powers) had littleto do with self-determination as it was claimed, but overgeopolitics. Isah Bowman, a renowned, American geog-rapher, is said to have championed the notion of manysmall states within Eastern Europe, Latin America andAfrica to increase imperial competition, thus weakeningtheir respective power in relation to the United States.(Painter and Jerey Ch 9)

2.5 Marxist revolution and Soviet war

Main articles: Saur Revolution, Soviet war inAfghanistan, Democratic Republic of Afghanistanand History of Afghanistan (19781992)In April 1978, the communist Peoples Democratic Partyof Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in Afghanistanin the Saur Revolution. Within months, opponents ofthe communist government launched an uprising ineastern Afghanistan that quickly expanded into a civilwar waged by guerrilla mujahideen against governmentforces countrywide. The Pakistani government providedthese rebels with covert training centers, while the SovietUnion sent thousands of military advisers to support thePDPA government.[71] Meanwhile, increasing frictionbetween the competing factions of the PDPA thedominant Khalq and the more moderate Parcham

Outside the Arg Presidential Palace in Kabul, a day after the April1978 Marxist revolution in which President Daoud Khan wasassassinated along with his entire family.

resulted in the dismissal of Parchami cabinet membersand the arrest of Parchami military ocers under thepretext of a Parchami coup.In September 1979, Nur Muhammad Taraki was assas-sinated in a coup within the PDPA orchestrated by fel-low Khalq member Hazullah Amin, who assumed thepresidency. Distrusted by the Soviets, Amin was assas-sinated by Soviet special forces in December 1979. ASoviet-organized government, led by Parchams BabrakKarmal but inclusive of both factions, lled the vacuum.Soviet troops were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan un-der Karmal in more substantial numbers, although the So-viet government did not expect to do most of the ghtingin Afghanistan. As a result, however, the Soviets werenow directly involved in what had been a domestic warin Afghanistan.[72] The PDPA prohibited usury, declaredequality of the sexes,[73] and introducing women to polit-ical life.[73]

The United States has been supporting anti-Soviet forces(mujahideen) as early as mid-1979.[74] Billions in cashand weapons, which included over two thousand FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, were provided by theUnited States and Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.[75][76][77]

The Soviet war in Afghanistan resulted in the deaths ofover 1 million Afghans, mostly civilians,[78][79][80] and thecreation of about 6 million refugees who ed Afghanistan,mainly to Pakistan and Iran.[81] Faced with mounting in-ternational pressure and numerous casualties, the Sovietswithdrew in 1989 but continued to support Afghan Pres-ident Mohammad Najibullah until 1992.[82]

2.6 Civil war

Main articles: Civil war in Afghanistan (198992) andCivil war in Afghanistan (199296)

From 1989 until 1992, Najibullahs government tried tosolve the ongoing civil war with economic and military

6 2 HISTORY

aid, but without Soviet troops on the ground. Najibullahtried to build support for his government by portrayinghis government as Islamic, and in the 1990 constitutionthe country ocially became an Islamic state and all ref-erences of communism were removed. Nevertheless, Na-jibullah did not win any signicant support, and with thedissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, hewas left without foreign aid. This, coupled with the in-ternal collapse of his government, led to his ousting frompower in April 1992.After the fall of Najibullahs government in 1992, thepost-communist Islamic State of Afghanistan was es-tablished by the Peshawar Accord, a peace and power-sharing agreement under which all the Afghan partieswere united in April 1992, except for the Pakistani sup-ported Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Hekmat-yar started a bombardment campaign against the capitalcity Kabul, which marked the beginning of a new phasein the war.Saudi Arabia and Iran supported dierent Afghanmilitias[83][84][85] and instability quickly developed.[86]The conict between the two militias soon escalated intoa full-scale war.

A section of Kabul during the civil war in 1993

Due to the sudden initiation of the war, working govern-ment departments, police units, and a system of justiceand accountability for the newly created Islamic State ofAfghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities werecommitted by individuals of the dierent armed factionswhile Kabul descended into lawlessness and chaos.[84][87]Because of the chaos, some leaders increasingly hadonly nominal control over their (sub-)commanders.[88]For civilians there was little security from murder, rape,and extortion.[88] An estimated 25,000 people died dur-ing the most intense period of bombardment by Hek-matyars Hezb-i Islami and the Junbish-i Milli forcesof Abdul Rashid Dostum, who had created an alliancewith Hekmatyar in 1994.[87] Half a million people edAfghanistan.[88]

Southern and eastern Afghanistan were under the controlof local commanders such as Gul Agha Sherzai and oth-ers. In 1994, the Taliban (a movement originating fromJamiat Ulema-e-Islam-run religious schools for Afghan

refugees in Pakistan) also developed in Afghanistan asa political-religious force.[89] The Taliban took controlof Kabul and several provinces in southern and centralAfghanistan in 1994 and forced the surrender of dozensof local Pashtun leaders.[88]

In late 1994, forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud heldon to Kabul and bombardment of the city came to ahalt.[87][90][91] The Islamic State government took stepsto open courts, restore law and order,[92] and initiatea nationwide political process with the goal of nationalconsolidation and democratic elections. Massoud invitedTaliban leaders to join the process but they refused.[93]

2.7 Taliban Emirate and Northern Al-liance

Main articles: Civil war in Afghanistan (19962001)and Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

The Talibans early victories in 1994 were followedby a series of defeats that resulted in heavy lossesthat led analysts to believe the Taliban movementhad run its course.[88] The Taliban started shellingKabul in early 1995 but were repelled by forces underMassoud.[90][90][94]

On 26 September 1996, as the Taliban, with military sup-port from Pakistan[83][83][95] and nancial support fromSaudi Arabia, prepared for another major oensive, Mas-soud ordered a full retreat from Kabul.[96] The Talibanseized Kabul on 27 September 1996, and established theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They imposed on theparts of Afghanistan under their control their political andjudicial interpretation of Islam, issuing edicts especiallytargeting women.[97] According to Physicians for HumanRights (PHR), no other regime in the world has method-ically and violently forced half of its population into vir-tual house arrest, prohibiting them on pain of physicalpunishment.[97]

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Massoud and Dos-tum created the United Front (Northern Alliance).[98]The United Front included Massouds predominantlyTajik forces, Dostums Uzbek forces, and Hazara andPashtun factions under leaders such as Haji MohammadMohaqiq, Abdul Haq, and Abdul Qadir. The Talibandefeated Dostums forces during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (199798). The Taliban committed system-atic massacres against civilians in northern and westernAfghanistan[99][100][101][102]

Pakistans Chief of Army Sta, Pervez Musharraf, wasresponsible for sending tens of thousands of Pakistanis toght alongside the Taliban and bin Laden against North-ern Alliance forces.[93][95][103][104][105] In 2001 alone,there were believed to be 28,000 Pakistani nationals ght-ing inside Afghanistan.[93][106] From 1996 to 2001, theal-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-

7Zawahiri was harbored by the Taliban in Afghanistan,[107]and bin Laden sent thousands of Arab recruits to ghtagainst the United Front.[106][107][108]

Massoud remained the only leader of the United Front inAfghanistan. In the areas under his control, Massoud setup democratic institutions and signed the Womens RightsDeclaration.[109] The ghting also caused around 1 mil-lion people to ee Taliban controlled areas.[103][110][111]From 1990 to September 2001, 400,000 Afghan civilianshave reportedly died in the wars.[112]

On 9 September 2001, Massoud was assassinatedby two French-speaking Arab suicide attackers insideAfghanistan, and two days later the September 11 attackswere carried out in the United States. The US govern-ment identied Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda as theperpetrators of the attacks, and demanded that the Tal-iban hand over bin Laden.[113] After refusing to complywith the US demand, the October 2001 Operation En-during Freedom was launched. During the initial inva-sion, US and UK forces bombed parts of Afghanistanand worked with ground forces of the Northern Allianceto remove the Taliban from power and destroy al-Qaedatraining camps.[114]

2.8 Recent history (2002present)

Further information: War in Afghanistan (2001present), Taliban insurgency and Civilian casualties in theWar in Afghanistan (2001present)In December 2001, after the Taliban government was

NATO involvement

toppled and the new Afghan government under HamidKarzai was formed, the International Security Assis-tance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Secu-rity Council to help assist the Karzai administration andprovide basic security.[115][116] Taliban forces also beganregrouping inside Pakistan, while more coalition troopsentered Afghanistan and began rebuilding the war-torncountry.[117][118]

Shortly after their fall from power, the Taliban began aninsurgency to regain control of Afghanistan. Over thenext decade, ISAF and Afghan troops led many oen-sives against the Taliban but failed to fully defeat them.Afghanistan remained one of the poorest countries in theworld due to a lack of foreign investment, governmentcorruption, and the Taliban insurgency.[119][120]

Meanwhile, the Afghan government was able to buildsome democratic structures, and, on December 7, 2004,the country changed its name to the Islamic Republic ofAfghanistan. Attempts were made, often with the sup-port of foreign donor countries, to improve the countryseconomy, healthcare, education, transport, and agricul-ture. ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan armedforces and police. In the decade following 2002, over vemillion Afghan refugees were repatriated to the country,including many who were forcefully deported from West-ern countries.[121][122]

By 2009, a Taliban-led shadow government began toform in many parts of the country.[123] US PresidentBarack Obama announced that the U.S. would deploy an-other 30,000 U.S. soldiers to the country in 2010 for aperiod of two years. In 2010, Karzai attempted to holdpeace negotiations with the Taliban and other groups, butthese groups refused to attend and bombings, assassina-tions, and ambushes intensied.[124]

After the May 2011 death of Osama bin Ladenin Pakistan, many prominent Afghan gures wereassassinated,[125] AfghanistanPakistan border skir-mishes intensied, and many large scale attacks by thePakistani-based Haqqani Network took place acrossAfghanistan. The United States warned the Pakistanigovernment of possible military action within Pakistanif the government refused to attack these forces in theFederally Administered Tribal Areas,[126] as the UnitedStates blamed rogue elements within the Pakistanigovernment for the increased attacks.[127] The PakistaniArmy began to intensify their attacks against thesegroups as part of the War in North-West Pakistan.Following the 2014 presidential election President HamidKarzai left power and Ashraf Ghani became President on29 September 2014. The US war in Afghanistan (Amer-icas longest war) ocially ended on November 28, 2014.However, thousands of US-led NATO troops have re-mained in the country to train and advise Afghan gov-ernment forces.

3 GeographyMain article: Geography of AfghanistanA landlocked mountainous country with plains in the

north and southwest, Afghanistan is variously describedas being located within Central Asia[15][128] or SouthAsia.[14][129][130] It is part of the US coined Greater Mid-dle East Muslim world, which lies between latitudes 29

8 4 DEMOGRAPHICS

Topography

N and 39 N, and longitudes 60 E and 75 E. The coun-trys highest point is Noshaq, at 7,492 m (24,580 ft) abovesea level. It has a continental climate with harsh wintersin the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (aroundNuristan), and the Wakhan Corridor, where the averagetemperature in January is below 15 C (5 F), and hotsummers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan Basin ofthe southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and theTurkestan plains along the Amu River in the north, wheretemperatures average over 35 C (95 F) in July.

Landscapes of Afghanistan, from left to right: 1. Band-e AmirNational Park; 2. Salang Pass in Parwan Province; 3. KorangalValley in Kunar Province; and 4. Kajaki Dam in HelmandProvince

Despite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large partsof the country are dry. The endorheic Sistan Basin isone of the driest regions in the world.[131] Aside fromthe usual rainfall, Afghanistan receives snow during thewinter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, and themelting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes,and streams.[132][133] However, two-thirds of the coun-trys water ows into the neighboring countries of Iran,Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. The state needs more thanUS$2 billion to rehabilitate its irrigation systems so thatthe water is properly managed.[134]

The northeastern Hindu Kush mountain range, in andaround the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is in

a geologically active area where earthquakes may oc-cur almost every year.[135] They can be deadly and de-structive sometimes, causing landslides in some parts oravalanches during the winter.[136] The last strong earth-quakes were in 1998, which killed about 6,000 peoplein Badakhshan near Tajikistan.[137] This was followed bythe 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes in which over 150 peo-ple were killed and over 1,000 injured. A 2010 earth-quake left 11 Afghans dead, over 70 injured, and morethan 2,000 houses destroyed.The countrys natural resources include: coal, copper,iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite,gold, zinc, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, marble, precious andsemi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum, amongother things.[138][139] In 2010, US and Afghan govern-ment ocials estimated that untapped mineral depositslocated in 2007 by the US Geological Survey are worthbetween $900 bn and $3 trillion.[140][141][142]

At 652,230 km2 (251,830 sq mi),[143] Afghanistan isthe worlds 41st largest country,[144] slightly bigger thanFrance and smaller than Burma, about the size of Texasin the United States. It borders Pakistan in the southand east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, andTajikistan in the north; and China in the far east.

4 DemographicsMain articles: Demographics of Afghanistan and Afghandiaspora

As of 2012, the population of Afghanistan is around31,108,077,[145] which includes the roughly 2.7 millionAfghan refugees still living in Pakistan and Iran. In 1979,the population was reported to be about 15.5 million.[146]The only city with over a million residents is its capi-tal, Kabul. Other large cities in the country are, in or-der of population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif,Jalalabad, Lashkar Gah, Taloqan, Khost, Sheberghan,and Ghazni. Urban areas are experiencing rapid pop-ulation growth following the return of over 5 millionexpats. According to the Population Reference Bureau,the Afghan population is estimated to increase to 82 mil-lion by 2050.[147]

4.1 Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in AfghanistanAfghanistan is a multiethnic society, and its historical

status as a crossroads has contributed signicantly to itsdiverse ethnic makeup.[149] The population of the countryis divided into a wide variety of ethnolinguistic groups.Because a systematic census has not been held in the na-tion in decades, exact gures about the size and composi-tion of the various ethnic groups are unavailable.[150] An

9Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan

approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown inthe chart below:

4.2 LanguagesMain article: Languages of Afghanistan

Pashto and Dari are the ocial languages of Afghanistan;bilingualism is very common.[1] Both are Indo-Europeanlanguages from the Iranian languages sub-family. Dari(Afghan Persian) has long been the prestige language anda lingua franca for inter-ethnic communication. It isthe native tongue of the Tajiks, Hazaras, Aimaks, andKizilbash.[157] Pashto is the native tongue of the Pash-tuns, although many Pashtuns often use Dari and somenon-Pashtuns are uent in Pashto.Other languages, including Uzbek, Arabic, Turkmen,Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani languages (Ashkunu,Kamkata-viri, Vasi-vari, Tregami, and Kalasha-ala),are the native tongues of minority groups across thecountry and have ocial status in the regions wherethey are widely spoken. Minor languages also in-clude Pamiri (Shughni, Munji, Ishkashimi, and Wakhi),Brahui, Hindko, and Kyrgyz. A small percentage ofAfghans are also uent in Urdu, English, and other lan-guages.

4.3 ReligionsMain article: Religion in Afghanistan

Over 99% of the Afghan population is Muslim; ap-proximately 8085% are from the Sunni branch, 1519% are Shia.[38][158][159][160] Until the 1890s, the regionaround Nuristan was known as Karistan (land of thekars (unbelievers)) because of its non-Muslim inhabi-

tants, the Nuristanis, an ethnically distinct people whosereligious practices included animism, polytheism, andshamanism.[161] Thousands of Afghan Sikhs and Hindusare also found in the major cities.[162][163] There was asmall Jewish community in Afghanistan who had emi-grated to Israel and the United States by the end of thetwentieth century; only one Jew, Zablon Simintov, re-mained by 2005.[164]

5 GovernanceMain articles: Politics of Afghanistan, Presidency ofHamid Karzai and Constitution of AfghanistanAfghanistan is an Islamic republic consisting of three

The National Assembly of Afghanistan in 2006

branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial. The na-tion was led by Hamid Karzai as the President and leadersince late 2001 till 2014. Currently the new presidentis Ashraf Ghani with Abdul Rashid Dostum and SarwarDanish as vise presidents. Abdullah Abdullah serves asthe chief executive ocer (CEO). The National Assem-bly is the legislature, a bicameral body having two cham-bers, the House of the People and the House of Elders.The Supreme Court is led by Chief Justice Abdul SalamAzimi, a former university professor who had been a le-gal advisor to the president.[165] The current court is seenas more moderate and led by more technocrats than theprevious one, which was dominated by fundamentalist re-ligious gures such as Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shin-wari, who issued several controversial rulings, includingseeking to place a limit on the rights of women.According to Transparency International's 2010 corrup-tion perceptions index results, Afghanistan was ranked asthe third most corrupt country in the world.[166] A Jan-uary 2010 report published by the United Nations Of-ce on Drugs and Crime revealed that bribery consumedan amount equal to 23% of the GDP of the nation.[167]A number of government ministries are believed to berife with corruption, and while President Karzai vowedto tackle the problem in late 2009 by stating that in-dividuals who are involved in corruption will have no

10 5 GOVERNANCE

place in the government,[168] top government ocialswere stealing and misusing hundreds of millions of dol-lars through the Kabul Bank. Although the nations in-stitutions are newly formed and steps have been takento arrest some,[169] the United States warned that aid toAfghanistan would be greatly reduced if the corruption isnot stopped.[170]

5.1 Elections and parties

Main articles: Elections in Afghanistan and List of polit-ical parties in AfghanistanThe 2004 Afghan presidential election was relatively

From left to right: Abdullah Abdullah, John Kerry and AshrafGhani during the 2014 presidential election

peaceful, in which Hamid Karzai won in the rst roundwith 55.4% of the votes. However, the 2009 presiden-tial election was characterized by lack of security, lowvoter turnout, and widespread electoral fraud.[171][172]The vote, along with elections for 420 provincial coun-cil seats, took place in August 2009, but remained unre-solved during a lengthy period of vote counting and fraudinvestigation.[173]

Two months later, under international pressure, a secondround run-o vote between Karzai and remaining chal-lenger Abdullah was announced, but a few days later Ab-dullah announced that he would not participate in the 7November run-o because his demands for changes inthe electoral commission had not been met. The next day,ocials of the election commission cancelled the run-oand declared Hamid Karzai as President for another ve-year term.[172]

In the 2005 parliamentary election, among the elected of-cials were former mujahideen, Islamic fundamentalists,warlords, communists, reformists, and several Talibanassociates.[174] In the same period, Afghanistan reachedto the 30th highest nation in terms of female represen-tation in parliament.[175] The last parliamentary electionwas held in September 2010, but due to disputes and in-vestigation of fraud, the swearing-in ceremony took placein late January 2011. The 2014 presidential electionended with Ashraf Ghani winning by 56.44% votes.[176]

5.2 Administrative divisionsMain articles: Provinces of Afghanistan and Districts ofAfghanistan

Afghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces(wilayats), with each province having its own capital anda provincial administration. The provinces are furtherdivided into about 398 smaller provincial districts, eachof which normally covers a city or a number of villages.Each district is represented by a district governor.The provincial governors are appointed by the Presidentof Afghanistan and the district governors are selected bythe provincial governors. The provincial governors arerepresentatives of the central government in Kabul andare responsible for all administrative and formal issueswithin their provinces. There are also provincial coun-cils that are elected through direct and general electionsfor a period of four years.[177] The functions of provincialcouncils are to take part in provincial development plan-ning and to participate in the monitoring and appraisal ofother provincial governance institutions.According to article 140 of the constitution and the pres-idential decree on electoral law, mayors of cities shouldbe elected through free and direct elections for a four-yearterm. However, due to huge election costs, mayoral andmunicipal elections have never been held. Instead, may-ors have been appointed by the government. In the capitalcity of Kabul, the mayor is appointed by the President ofAfghanistan.The following is a list of all the 34 provinces in alphabet-ical order:

Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces, and every province isfurther divided into a number of districts

1. Badakhshan2. Badghis3. Baghlan4. Balkh

5.3 Foreign relations and military 11

5. Bamyan

6. Daykundi

7. Farah

8. Faryab

9. Ghazni

10. Ghor

11. Helmand

12. Herat

13. Jowzjan

14. Kabul

15. Kandahar

16. Kapisa

17. Khost

18. Kunar

19. Kunduz

20. Laghman

21. Logar

22. Nangarhar

23. Nimruz

24. Nurestan

25. Oruzgan

26. Paktia

27. Paktika

28. Panjshir

29. Parvan

30. Samangan

31. Sare Pol

32. Takhar

33. Wardak

34. Zabul

Soldiers of the Afghan National Army, including the ANA Com-mando Battalion standing in the front

5.3 Foreign relations and military

Main articles: Foreign relations of Afghanistan andAfghan Armed ForcesThe Afghan Ministry of Foreign Aairs is in charge of

maintaining the foreign relations of Afghanistan. Thestate has been a member of the United Nations since1946. It enjoys strong economic relations with a num-ber of NATO and allied states, particularly the UnitedStates, United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey. In2012, the United States designated Afghanistan as amajor non-NATO ally and created the U.S.AfghanistanStrategic Partnership Agreement. Afghanistan also hasfriendly diplomatic relations with neighboring Pakistan,Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China,and with regional states such as India, Bangladesh,Kazakhstan, Russia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt,Japan, and South Korea. It continues to develop diplo-matic relations with other countries around the world.The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan(UNAMA) was established in 2002 under United Na-tions Security Council Resolution 1401 in order to helpthe country recover from decades of war. Today, anumber of NATO member states deploy about 38,000troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Secu-rity Assistance Force (ISAF).[178] Its main purpose is totrain the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). TheAfghan Armed Forces are under the Ministry of Defense,which includes the Afghan National Army (ANA) andthe Afghan Air Force (AAF). The ANA is divided into7 major Corps, with the 201st Selab (Flood) in Kabulfollowed by the 203rd in Gardez, 205th Atul (Hero)in Kandahar, 207th in Herat, 209th in Mazar-i-Sharif,and the 215th in Lashkar Gah. The ANA also has acommando brigade, which was established in 2007. TheAfghan Defense University (ADU) houses various edu-cational establishments for the Afghan Armed Forces, in-cluding the National Military Academy of Afghanistan.

12 6 ECONOMY

5.4 Law enforcement

Main articles: Crime in Afghanistan and Law enforce-ment in AfghanistanThe National Directorate of Security (NDS) is the na-

Afghan National Police (ANP) in Kunar Province

tions domestic intelligence agency, which operates simi-lar to that of the United States Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS) and has between 15,000 to 30,000 em-ployees. The nation also has about 126,000 national po-lice ocers, with plans to recruit more so that the totalnumber can reach 160,000.[179] The Afghan National Po-lice (ANP) is under the Ministry of the Interior and servesas a single law enforcement agency all across the coun-try. The Afghan National Civil Order Police is the mainbranch of the ANP, which is divided into ve Brigades,each commanded by a Brigadier General. These brigadesare stationed in Kabul, Gardez, Kandahar, Herat, andMazar-i-Sharif. Every province has an appointed provin-cial Chief of Police who is responsible for law enforce-ment throughout the province.The police receive most of their training from Westernforces under the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.According to a 2009 news report, a large proportion ofpolice ocers were illiterate and accused of demand-ing bribes.[180] Jack Kem, deputy to the commander ofNATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Se-curity Transition Command Afghanistan, stated that theliteracy rate in the ANP would rise to over 50% by Jan-uary 2012. What began as a voluntary literacy pro-gram became mandatory for basic police training in early2011.[179] Approximately 17% of them tested positivefor illegal drug use. In 2009, President Karzai createdtwo anti-corruption units within the Interior Ministry.[181]Former Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said that securityocials from the US (FBI), Britain (Scotland Yard), andthe European Union will train prosecutors in the unit.The southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan are themost dangerous due to militant activities and the ourish-ing drug trade. These particular areas are sometimes pa-trolled by Taliban insurgents, who often plant improvisedexplosive devices (IEDs) on roads and carry out suicidebombings. Kidnapping and robberies are also reported.

Every year many Afghan police ocers are killed in theline of duty in these areas. The Afghan Border Police(ABP) are responsible for protecting the nations airportsand borders, especially the disputed Durand Line border,which is often used by members of criminal organizationsand terrorists for their illegal activities. A report in 2011suggested that up to 3 million people were involved in theillegal drug business in Afghanistan. Many of the attackson government employees may be ordered by powerfulmaa groups. Drugs from Afghanistan are exported toneighboring countries and worldwide. The Afghan Min-istry of Counter Narcotics is tasked to deal with these is-sues by bringing to justice major drug trackers.[182]

6 EconomyMain article: Economy of AfghanistanAfghanistan is an impoverished and least developed

Workers processing pomegranates (anaar), which Afghanistan isfamous for in Asia

Afghan women at a textile factory in Kabul

country, one of the worlds poorest because of decadesof war and lack of foreign investment. As of 2013, thenations GDP stands at about $45.3 billion with an ex-change rate of $20.65 billion, and the GDP per capitais $1,100. The countrys exports totaled $2.6 billion in2010. Its unemployment rate is about 35% and roughly

6.1 Mining 13

the same percentage of its citizens live below the povertyline.[183] According to a 2009 report, about 42% of thepopulation lives on less than $1 a day.[184] The nation hasless than $1.5 billion in external debt and is recoveringwith the assistance of the world community.[183]

The Afghan economy has been growing at about 10%per year in the last decade, which is due to the infu-sion of over $50 billion in international aid and remit-tances from Afghan expats.[183] It is also due to im-provements made to the transportation system and agri-cultural production, which is the backbone of the na-tions economy.[185] The country is known for produc-ing some of the nest pomegranates, grapes, apricots,melons, and several other fresh and dry fruits, includ-ing nuts.[186] Many sources indicate that as much as 11%or more of Afghanistans economy is derived from thecultivation and sale of opium, and Afghanistan is widelyconsidered the worlds largest producer of opium despiteAfghan government and international eorts to eradicatethe crop.[187][188]

While the nations current account decit is largely -nanced with donor money, only a small portion is pro-vided directly to the government budget. The restis provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations systemand non-governmental organizations. The Afghan Min-istry of Finance is focusing on improved revenue collec-tion and public sector expenditure discipline. For exam-ple, government revenues increased 31% to $1.7 billionfrom March 2010 to March 2011.

Afghanistan, Trends in the Human Development Index, 19702010

Da Afghanistan Bank serves as the central bank of thenation and the Afghani (AFN) is the national currency,with an exchange rate of about 47 Afghanis to 1 USdollar. Since 2003, over 16 new banks have opened inthe country, including Afghanistan International Bank,Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Char-tered Bank, and First Micro Finance Bank.One of the main drivers for the current economic re-covery is the return of over 5 million expatriates, whobrought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship andwealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds tostart up businesses. For the rst time since the 1970s,

Afghans have involved themselves in construction, oneof the largest industries in the country.[189] Some ofthe major national construction projects include the $35billion New Kabul City next to the capital, the GhaziAmanullah Khan City near Jalalabad, and the Aino Menain Kandahar.[190][191][192] Similar development projectshave also begun in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and othercities.[193]

In addition, a number of companies and small factoriesbegan operating in dierent parts of the country, whichnot only provide revenues to the government but also cre-ate new jobs. Improvements to the business environmenthave resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecom invest-ment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003.[194]Afghan rugs are becoming popular again, allowing manycarpet dealers around the country to hire more workers.Afghanistan is a member of SAARC, ECO, and OIC. Itholds an observer status in SCO. Foreign Minister ZalmaiRassoul told the media in 2011 that his nations goal isto achieve an Afghan economy whose growth is basedon trade, private enterprise and investment.[195] Expertsbelieve that this will revolutionize the economy of theregion. Opium production in Afghanistan soared to arecord in 2007 with about 3 million people reported tobe involved in the business,[196] but then declined signi-cantly in the years following.[197] The government startedprograms to help reduce poppy cultivation, and by 2010it was reported that 24 out of the 34 provinces were freefrom poppy growing.In June 2012, India advocated for private investments inthe resource rich country and the creation of a suitableenvironment therefor.[198]

6.1 Mining

Main article: Mining in Afghanistan

Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution esti-mated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 bn per yearfrom its mineral deposits, its gross national product woulddouble and provide long-term funding for Afghan secu-rity forces and other critical needs.[199] The United StatesGeological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2006 that north-ern Afghanistan has an average 2.9 billion (bn) barrels(bbl) of crude oil, 15.7 trillion cubic feet (440 bn m3)of natural gas, and 562 million bbl of natural gas liq-uids.[200] In December 2011, Afghanistan signed an oilexploration contract with China National Petroleum Cor-poration (CNPC) for the development of three oil eldsalong the Amu Darya river in the north.[201]

Other reports show that the country has huge amountsof lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and otherminerals.[138][139][202] The Khanashin carbonatite inHelmand Province contains 1,000,000 metric tons(1,100,000 short tons) of rare earth elements.[203] In

14 8 COMMUNICATION

2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the Aynak coppermine to the China Metallurgical Group for $3 billion,[204]making it the biggest foreign investment and privatebusiness venture in Afghanistans history.[205] The state-run Steel Authority of India won the mining rights todevelop the huge Hajigak iron ore deposit in centralAfghanistan.[206] Government ocials estimate that 30%of the countrys untapped mineral deposits are worthbetween $900 bn and $3 trillion.[140][141][142] One of-cial asserted that this will become the backbone ofthe Afghan economy and a Pentagon memo statedthat Afghanistan could become the Saudi Arabia oflithium.[141][207][208][209] In a 2011 news story, the CSMreported, The United States and other Western nationsthat have borne the brunt of the cost of the Afghan warhave been conspicuously absent from the bidding processon Afghanistans mineral deposits, leaving it mostly to re-gional powers.[210]

7 TransportationMain article: Transport in Afghanistan

7.1 AirMain article: List of airports in AfghanistanAir transport in Afghanistan is provided by the national

An Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA) Airbus A310 in 2006

carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA), and by privatecompanies such as Afghan Jet International, East Hori-zon Airlines, Kam Air, Pamir Airways, and Sa Air-ways. Airlines from a number of countries also provideights in and out of the country. These include Air In-dia, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, PakistanInternational Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.The country has four international airports: Herat In-ternational Airport, Hamid Karzai International Airport(formerly Kabul International Airport), Kandahar Inter-national Airport, and Mazar-e Sharif International Air-port. There are also around a dozen domestic airportswith ights to Kabul or Herat.

7.2 Rail

Main article: Rail transport in Afghanistan

As of 2014, the country has only two rail links, onea 75 km line from Kheyrabad to the Uzbekistan bor-der and the other a 10 km long line from Toraghundito the Turkmenistan border. Both lines are used forfreight only and there is no passenger service as of yet.There are various proposals for the construction of ad-ditional rail lines in the country.[211] In 2013, the pres-idents of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistanattended the groundbreaking ceremony for a 225 kmline between Turkmenistan-Andkhvoy-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kheyrabad. The line will link at Kheyrabad with theexisting line to the Uzbekistan border.[212] Plans existfor a rail line from Kabul to the eastern border townof Torkham, where it will connect with Pakistan Rail-ways.[213] There are also plans to nish a rail line betweenKhaf, Iran and Herat, Afghanistan.[214]

7.3 Roads

Further information: Highway 1 (Afghanistan)

Traveling by bus in Afghanistan remains dangerous dueto careless and intoxicated bus drivers as well as militantactivities. The buses are usually older model Mercedes-Benz and owned by private companies. Serious tracaccidents are common on Afghan roads and highways,particularly on the KabulKandahar and the KabulJalalabad Road.[215]

Newer automobiles have recently become more widelyavailable after the rebuilding of roads and highways.They are imported from the United Arab Emiratesthrough Pakistan and Iran. As of 2012, vehicles morethan 10 years old are banned from being imported intothe country. The development of the nations road net-work is a major boost for the economy due to trade withneighboring countries. Postal services in Afghanistan areprovided by the publicly owned Afghan Post and privatecompanies such as FedEx, DHL, and others.

8 CommunicationMain article: Communications in Afghanistan

Telecommunication services in the country are providedby Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, Roshan, MTN Group, andAfghan Telecom. In 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Com-munications signed a $64.5 million agreement with ZTEfor the establishment of a countrywide optical ber ca-ble network. As of 2011, Afghanistan had around 17million GSM phone subscribers and over 1 million inter-

15

net users, but only had about 75,000 xed telephone linesand a little over 190,000 CDMA subscribers.[216] 3G ser-vices are provided by Etisalat and MTN Group. In 2014,Afghanistan leased a space satellite from Eutelsat, calledAFGHANSAT 1.[217]

9 HealthMain article: Health in Afghanistan

According to the Human Development Index,

Inside a regional military hospital in Paktia Province

Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country inthe world. The average life expectancy is estimated tobe around 60 years for both sexes.[218] The country hasthe ninth highest total fertility rate in the world, at 5.64children born/woman (according to 2012 estimates).[219]It has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in theworld, estimated in 2010 at 460 deaths/100,000 livebirths,[220] and the highest infant mortality rate in theworld (deaths of babies under one year), estimated in2012 to be 119.41 deaths/1,000 live births.[221] Datafrom 2010 suggest that one in ten children die beforethey are ve years old.[222] The Ministry of Public Healthplans to cut the infant mortality rate to 400 for every100,000 live births before 2020.[223] The country cur-rently has more than 3,000 midwives, with an additional300 to 400 being trained each year.[224]

A number of hospitals and clinics have been built overthe last decade, with the most advanced treatments be-

ing available in Kabul. The French Medical Institute forChildren and Indira Gandhi Childrens Hospital in Kabulare the leading childrens hospitals in the country. Someof the other main hospitals in Kabul include the 350-bed Jamhuriat Hospital and the Jinnah Hospital, whichis still under construction. There are also a number ofwell-equipped military-controlled hospitals in dierentregions of the country.It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the popula-tion lives within a two-hour walk of the nearest healthfacility, up from 9% in 2002.[225] The latest surveysshow that 57% of Afghans say they have good or verygood access to clinics or hospitals.[224] The nation hasone of the highest incidences of people with disabilities,with around a million people aected.[226] About 80,000people are missing limbs; most of these were injuredby landmines.[227][228] Non-governmental charities suchas Save the Children and Mahbobas Promise assist or-phans in association with governmental structures.[229]Demographic and Health Surveys is working with theIndian Institute of Health Management Research andothers to conduct a survey in Afghanistan focusing onmaternal death, among other things.[230]

10 Education

Main article: Education in Afghanistan

Education in the country includes K12 and higher ed-ucation, which is supervised by the Ministry of Educa-tion and the Ministry of Higher Education.[231] The na-tions education system was destroyed due to the decadesof war, but it began reviving after the Karzai administra-tion came to power in late 2001. More than 5,000 schoolswere built or renovated in the last decade, with more than100,000 teachers being trained and recruited.[232] Morethan seven million male and female students are enrolledin schools,[232] with about 100,000 being enrolled in dif-ferent universities around the country; at least 35% ofthese students are female. As of 2013, there are 16,000schools across Afghanistan. Education Minister GhulamFarooq Wardak stated that another 8,000 schools are re-quired to be constructed for the remaining 3 million chil-dren who are deprived of education.[233]

Kabul University reopened in 2002 to both male andfemale students. In 2006, the American Univer-sity of Afghanistan was established in Kabul, withthe aim of providing a world-class, English-language,co-educational learning environment in Afghanistan.The capital of Kabul serves as the learning center ofAfghanistan, with many of the best educational institu-tions being based there. Major universities outside ofKabul include Kandahar University in the south, HeratUniversity in the northwest, Balkh University in the north,Nangarhar University and Khost University in the east.

16 11 CULTURE

American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) in Kabul

The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeledafter the United States Military Academy at West Point,is a four-year military development institution dedicatedto graduating ocers for the Afghan Armed Forces.The $200 million Afghan Defense University is underconstruction near Qargha in Kabul. The United Statesis building six faculties of education and ve provin-cial teacher training colleges around the country, twolarge secondary schools in Kabul, and one school inJalalabad.[232]

The literacy rate of the entire population has been verylow but is now rising because more students go toschools.[234] In 2010, the United States began establish-ing a number of Lincoln learning centers in Afghanistan.They are set up to serve as programming platforms of-fering English language classes, library facilities, pro-gramming venues, Internet connectivity, and educationaland other counseling services. A goal of the program isto reach at least 4,000 Afghan citizens per month perlocation.[235][236] The Afghan National Security Forcesare provided with mandatory literacy courses.[234] In ad-dition to this, Baghch-e-Simsim (based on the AmericanSesame Street) was launched in late 2011 to help youngAfghan children learn.In 2009 and 2010, a 5,000 OLPC - One LaptopPer Child schools deployment took place in Kanda-har with funding from an anonymous foundation.[237]The OLPC team seeks local support to undertake largerdeployment.[238][239]

11 CultureMain article: Culture of Afghanistan

The Afghan culture has been around for over two millen-nia, tracing back to at least the time of the AchaemenidEmpire in 500 BCE.[240][241] It is mostly a nomadicand tribal society, with dierent regions of the countryhaving their own traditions, reecting the multi-culturaland multi-lingual character of the nation. In the south-

ern and eastern region the people live according to thePashtun culture by following Pashtunwali, which is anancient way of life that is still preserved.[242] The re-mainder of the country is culturally Persian and Turkic.Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pash-tuns have adopted Pashtunwali[243] in a process calledPashtunization (or Afghanization), while some Pashtunshave been Persianized. Millions of Afghans who havebeen living in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 yearshave been inuenced by the cultures of those neighbor-ing nations.

Men wearing traditional Afghan dress in the southern city ofKandahar

Afghans display pride in their culture, nation, ancestry,and above all, their religion and independence. Like otherhighlanders, they are regarded with mingled apprehen-sion and condescension, for their high regard for per-sonal honor, for their tribe loyalty and for their readi-ness to use force to settle disputes.[244] As tribal war-fare and internecine feuding has been one of their chiefoccupations since time immemorial, this individualistictrait has made it dicult for foreigners to conquer them.Tony Heathcote considers the tribal system to be thebest way of organizing large groups of people in a coun-try that is geographically dicult, and in a society that,from a materialistic point of view, has an uncomplicatedlifestyle.[244] There are an estimated 60 major Pashtuntribes,[245] and the Afghan nomads are estimated at about23 million.[246]

11.2 Sports 17

The nation has a complex history that has survived ei-ther in its current cultures or in the form of various lan-guages and monuments. However, many of its historicmonuments have been damaged in recent wars.[247] Thetwo famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by theTaliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. Despite that,archaeologists are still nding Buddhist relics in dierentparts of the country, some of them dating back to the2nd century.[248][249][250] This indicates that Buddhismwas widespread in Afghanistan. Other historical placesinclude the cities of Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Zarang. The Minaret of Jam in the HariRiver valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A cloakreputedly worn by Islams prophet Muhammad is kept in-side the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, a city foundedby Alexander and the rst capital of Afghanistan. Thecitadel of Alexander in the western city of Herat has beenrenovated in recent years and is a popular attraction fortourists. In the north of the country is the Shrine ofHazrat Ali, believed by many to be the location whereAli was buried. The Afghan Ministry of Informationand Culture is renovating 42 historic sites in Ghazni un-til 2013, when the province will be declared as the cap-ital of Islamic civilization.[251] The National Museum ofAfghanistan is located in Kabul.Although literacy is low, classic Persian and Pashto poetryplays an important role in the Afghan culture. Poetry hasalways been one of the major educational pillars in theregion, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture.Some notable poets include Rumi, Rabi'a Balkhi, Sanai,Jami, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, KhalilullahKhalili, and Parween Pazhwak.[252]

11.1 Media and entertainmentMain article: Media of AfghanistanThe Afghan mass media began in the early 20th cen-

Farhad Darya performing at the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

tury, with the rst newspaper published in 1906. Bythe 1920s, Radio Kabul was broadcasting local radio ser-vices. Afghanistan National Television was launched in1974 but was closed in 1996 when the media was tightly

controlled by the Taliban.[253] Since 2002, press restric-tions have been gradually relaxed and private media di-versied. Freedom of expression and the press is pro-moted in the 2004 constitution and censorship is banned,although defaming individuals or producing material con-trary to the principles of Islam is prohibited. In 2008,Reporters Without Borders ranked the media environ-ment as 156 out of 173 countries, with the 1st beingthe most free. Around 400 publications were registered,at least 15 local Afghan television channels, and 60 ra-dio stations.[254] Foreign radio stations, such as Voiceof America, BBC World Service, and Radio Free Eu-rope/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast into the coun-try.The city of Kabul has been home to many musicianswho were masters of both traditional and modern Afghanmusic. Traditional music is especially popular duringthe Nowruz (New Year) and National Independence Daycelebrations. Ahmad Zahir, Nashenas, Ustad Sarahang,Sarban, Ubaidullah Jan, Farhad Darya, and Naghma aresome of the notable Afghan musicians, but there aremany others.[255] Most Afghans are accustomed to watch-ing Bollywood lms from India and listening to its lmihit songs. Many major Bollywood lm stars have rootsin Afghanistan, including Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan,Shah Rukh Khan (SRK), Aamir Khan, Feroz Khan,Kader Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, and Celina Jaitley. Inaddition, several Bollywood lms, such as Dharmatma,Khuda Gawah, Escape from Taliban, and Kabul Expresshave been shot inside Afghanistan.

11.2 Sports

Main article: Sport in AfghanistanThe Afghanistan national football team has been com-

The Afghanistan national football team (in red uniforms) beforeits rst win over India (in blue) during the 2011 SAFF Champi-onship.

peting in international football since 1941. The nationalteam plays its home games at the Ghazi Stadium inKabul, while football in Afghanistan is governed by the

18 14 REFERENCES

Afghanistan Football Federation. The national team hasnever competed or qualied for the FIFA World Cup, buthas recently won an international football trophy in theSAFF Championship. The country also has a nationalteam in the sport of futsal, a 5-a-side variation of foot-ball.The other most popular sport in Afghanistan is cricket.The Afghan national cricket team, which was formed inthe last decade, participated in the 2009 ICC World CupQualier, 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Oneand the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. It won the ACCTwenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The teameventually made it to play in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the ocial gov-erning body of the sport and is headquartered in Kabul.The Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Sta-dium serves as the nations main cricket stadium, followedby the Kabul National Cricket Stadium. Several other sta-diums are under construction.[256] Domestically, cricketis played between teams from dierent provinces.Other popular sports in Afghanistan include basketball,volleyball, taekwondo, and bodybuilding.[257] Buzkashi isa traditional sport, mainly among the northern Afghans.It is similar to polo, played by horsemen in two teams,each trying to grab and hold a goat carcass. The AfghanHound (a type of running dog) originated in Afghanistanand was originally used in hunting.

12 See also Outline of Afghanistan Index of Afghanistan-related articles Bibliography of Afghanistan Afghanistanism International rankings of Afghanistan Environment of Afghanistan Water supply and sanitation in Afghanistan List of power stations in Afghanistan List of dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan

13 Notes

14 References[1] Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan.

2004. Archived from the original on 2013-10-28. Re-trieved 13 June 2012. From among the languages ofPashto, Dari, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuris-tani, Pamiri (alsana), Arab and other languages spoken in

the country, Pashto and Dari are the ocial languagesof the state.

[2] Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan: StatisticalYearbook 2012-2013: Area and administrative Popula-tion

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[4] Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment (PDF).Afghanistan Country Study. Illinois Institute of Tech-nology. pp. 10506. Archived from the original on 3November 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2010.

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