Language: Pashto, Dari
Currency: Afghani (AFN)
Calling Code: +93
Afghanistan - is a landlocked country located in
the heart of Asia. The country is located geographically in Central
Asia, grouped within a regional block between the Indian
subcontinent and the Middle East, as a religious, ethnolinguistic
and geographic entity related to most of its neighbors. It borders
Pakistan to the south and east, with Iran to the west, with
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north, and with the
People's Republic of China to the northeast through the Wakhan
corridor.
In recent years several wars and conflicts have happened in this
country. In 1978, the Saur Revolution took place. The strong
harassment of the Islamic fundamentalists provoked the intervention
of the Red Army in support of the government, while the guerrillas
received the support of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan
and other Muslim nations. In 1989 the Soviets withdrew, although the
civil war continued. In 1996, the Taliban imposed a regime based on
Sharia law. In 2001 the United States overthrew the Taliban government
supported by an international coalition, in reaction to the attacks
of September 11, 2001 in New York and responding to a policy of
persecution of the group Al Qaeda in the region by the US
government. The previous political structure of Afghanistan was
replaced by a more pro-Western and democratically elected
government.
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Panjshir Valley is located 150 km North of Kabul in North- Central Afghanistan. Name of Panjshir Valley literally means "Valley of the Five Lions". |
Temperatures in the central highlands are below freezing for most of
the winter, and snow is common at higher elevations. Summertime
highs in lower elevations (such as Jalalabad or Mazar-e Sharif) can
exceed 50°C/120°F. In higher areas such as Kabul, summer
temperatures can be 30°C/90°F and winter around 0°C/30°F. The most
pleasant weather in Kabul is during April, May and September.
Terrain
Mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest. The Hindu
Kush mountains run northeast to southwest, dividing the northern
provinces from the rest of the country, with the highest peaks found
in the northern Wakhan Corridor. South of Kandahar is desert.
Kandahar is beautiful in many places.
The lowest point is Amu Darya at 242m, and the highest is Nowshak at
7,489 m.
Afghanistan is an ethnically diverse country. Tribal and local
allegiances are strong, which complicates national politics
immensely.
The largest ethnic group is the Pashtun followed by the Tajik,
Hazara, Uzbek and others.
Baloch tribesmen, while still largely nomadic, can be found anywhere
between Quetta in Pakistan and Mashad in Iran, including much of
Western Afghanistan. They make marvellous rugs, if somewhat simple.
There are about three thousand Hindus and Sikhs living in different
cities of the country but mostly in Kabul, Jalalabad, and Kandahar
who belong to the Punjabi, Sindhi, Kabuli, and Kandhari ethnic
groups.
Hazaras in the Central mountains look much more Asiatic than other
Afghans. According to some theories, many of them are descended from
Ghengis Khan's soldiers.
Afghanistan is a multilingual country in which two languages -
Persian (Dari) and Pashto are both official with Persian being most
widely spoken in the country. Pashto speakers predominate in the
South and East, Persian in North, West and central Afghanistan.
About 11% of the population have Turkic languages, Uzbek or Turkmen,
as their first language. Many of them are in the North, near
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Minor native language groups include
Nuristani, Dardic and Pamiri, found in small pockets in the east and
northeast.Most ethnicities speak and understand Persian.
Afghanistan is a country with an ancient history.
The first people appeared in Afghanistan at least 5,000 years ago,
and the rural communities of this region were among the first in the
world.
It is assumed that one of the Iranian religions, Zoroastrianism,
arose on the territory of modern Afghanistan Turkestan between 1800
to 800 years BC. e., and Zarathushtra lived and died in Balkh.
Ancient Eastern Iranian languages, such as Avestan, were spoken in
this region during the heyday of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of
the VI century BC, the Achaemenids included Afghanistan in their
Persian empire.
The Achaemenid Empire fell under the blows of Alexander of Macedon
after 330 BC. e. and the modern territory of Afghanistan became part
of his empire. After the collapse of the empire of Alexander the
Great, Afghanistan was part of the Seleucid state, which controlled
the region until 305 BC. e. Buddhism has become the dominant
religion in the region.
Then the region became part of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. The
Indo-Greeks were defeated by the Scythians and driven out of the
region by the end of the 2nd century BC. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom
lasted until 125 BC.
In the 1st century, the Parthian Empire conquered modern
Afghanistan. In the mid-end of the II century BC. The Kushan Empire,
centered in modern Afghanistan, has become a great patroness of
Buddhist culture. Kushans were defeated by the Sassanids in the 3rd
century. Various rulers called themselves Kushans (as you know, the
Sassanids continued to rule at least part of this region). In the
end, the Kushans were defeated by the Huns, whose place, in turn,
was taken by the Ephthalites, who created their state in the region
in the first half of the 5th century. The Ephthalites were defeated
by the troops of the Turkic Kaganate in 557. However, the Ephtalites
and descendants of the Kushans managed to create a small state in
Kabulistan, which was subsequently captured by the Muslim rulers of
the Saffarids, and then was part of the Samanids and Ghaznavids.
During this period, in the central part of modern Afghanistan, the
Bamian Buddha statues were built, which were part of the complex of
Buddhist monasteries in the Bamian Valley, whose age dates back to
the 6th century AD and belongs to the Indian art of Gandhar, and the
population spoke Gandhari (language).
Islamic and Mongolian period
In the 7th century, the modern territory of western Afghanistan was
conquered by the Arabs, who brought their culture and a new religion
- Islam. However, Islam was finally established only in the 10th
century, when the region became part of the Samanids empire.
In the X century, the Turks came to the country from Central Asia.
On the territory of modern Afghanistan, the Ghaznavid Empire arose
(with its capital in the city of Ghazni), which also included parts
of Iran, Central Asia and India. The flowering of science and
culture began.
In the XII century, the local Gurid dynasty intensified, uniting a
large territory under its authority. At the beginning of the 13th
century, the Gurid power was conquered by Khorezm.
In the XIII century, the region was invaded by the Mongol troops of
Genghis Khan. The modern territory of Afghanistan became part of the
Mongol empire, on its territory there was a vassal of the Kurt
dynasty to the Mongols. Modern Afghanistan was located on the border
of two Mongolian uluses - the Hulaguids and the Chagatai ulus. In
the second half of the 14th century, modern Afghanistan was part of
the Timur empire, and after his death the Timurids ruled here, of
which the ruler of Kabul Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire, is
especially famous.
In the XVI - XVII centuries, the territory of modern Afghanistan was
ruled by the rulers of the Safavid Iran, the Mughal Empire and the
Bukhara Khanate.
Hotaki Dynasty
At the beginning of the XVIII century, the territory of modern
Afghanistan was part of the Safavid state and the Bukhara Khanate.
After the weakening of Persia and several uprisings, the Afghans
managed to create a number of independent principalities - Kandahar
and Herat, and after the weakening of the Bukhara Khanate, the
semi-independent Uzbek khan of the Balkh Khanate became independent.
The Kandahar principality was ruled by the Pashtun Hotaki dynasty,
founded by Mir Weiss. In 1722, Afghan troops launched a campaign in
the Safavid Empire and even captured its capital, Isfahan, but then
were defeated by Nadir Shah.
Nadir Shah then extended his power to the modern territory of
Afghanistan, but his power there turned out to be fragile and after
his death in 1747 the Safavid empire broke up.
Durrani Power
The Durrani Empire was founded in Kandahar in 1747 by military
commander Ahmad Shah Durrani. She became the first single Afghan
state. However, under his successors, the empire broke up into a
number of independent principalities - Peshawar, Kabul, Kandahar and
Herat.
Modern history
Anglo-Afghan Wars
Due to its strategic position in the center of
Eurasia, Afghanistan is becoming an arena of struggle between two
powerful powers of that time: the British and Russian empires. This
fight was called the "Big Game". In order to control Afghanistan,
the British Empire conducted three wars, two of which ended with a
confident victory for the British.
Kingdom of Afghanistan
On August 19, 1919, Amanullah Khan proclaimed the independence of
Afghanistan, which was welcomed by the authorities of Soviet Russia.
Afghanistan was the first state to recognize the RSFSR and establish
diplomatic relations with it.
After the third Anglo-Afghan war, Great Britain was forced to
recognize at first the partial, and in 1926 complete independence of
the Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Emirate was abolished in 1929; the last emir was Habibullah
Gazi. The Kingdom of Afghanistan was proclaimed by Muhammad Nadir
Shah. After the death of Nadir Shah in November 1933, his son
Muhammad Zahir Shah became the king, who was overthrown by his own
cousin Muhammad Daoud in 1973.
The First Republic and Daud Dictatorship
On July 17, 1973, a coup d'etat took place in Afghanistan. The
monarchy was abolished and a republic was proclaimed in the country.
This period of history is characterized by extreme political
instability. President Mohammed Daoud tried to reform and modernize
the country, but he ultimately failed.
April (Saur) revolution
In April 1978, a revolution began in the country. President Mohammed
Daoud, together with his family members, was executed, and the
Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to
power.
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Civil war
In April 1978, after the Saur (April) Revolution, the Democratic
Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) was proclaimed. The head of state was
Nur Mohammad Taraki, and the chairman of the Revolutionary Council
was Hafizullah Amin. The government began to carry out radical
reforms, in particular, secularization, which caused massive
protests in traditional Afghan society. The country began the Civil
War. Since 1967, the ruling party of the PDPA has been divided into
two factions - the Halk and Parcham. Nur Mohammad Taraki, leader of
the Halk faction, was secretly killed by Amin, a member of his own
faction, who became the head of state. In the USSR, Amin was
considered an unreliable person, capable of reorienting to the West
at any time.
Therefore, the Soviet leadership decided to eliminate Amin, and send
troops into the country to help the communist government cope with
the rebels. As a result, the USSR intervened in the civil war, which
continues to this day. US official position: USSR invaded
Afghanistan and occupied it. After the assassination of Amin during
the assault on the presidential palace by Soviet special forces, the
chairman of the Revolutionary Council was taken by the leader of the
faction, Parcham Babrak Karmal.
Afghan mujahideen fought against Soviet troops. For some time now,
they began to support the United States, China and several other
countries, in particular financially, and to help with weapons,
including portable missile systems "Stinger". The incessant
resistance ultimately led the Soviet leadership to withdraw troops
from Afghanistan.
On May 4, 1986, by decision of the 18th plenum of the Central
Committee of the PDPA, Karmal was released “for health reasons”. The
dismissal was caused by changes in the USSR, where Gorbachev came to
power. On October 1, Muhammad Najibullah became the new chairman of
the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
A month later, on November 30, in accordance with the new
constitution, the Loya Jirga elected him the new president of the
country, thereby restoring the post, which was abolished after the
Saur revolution. Soviet troops were withdrawn from the country in
1989. After the departure of the Soviet troops (1989), Najibullah
remained in power for another three years.
Taliban rule
After the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, the civil war did not
end, but flared up with renewed vigor. In the north, a group of
field commanders formed the Northern Alliance. In April 1992, rebels
entered Kabul, and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan ceased to
exist. During the power struggle between Ahmad Shah Masoud and
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the capital of Kabul was fired by artillery of
the warring parties, and a large number of cultural and historical
monuments of the Afghan capital were destroyed. Meanwhile, the
Taliban movement was gaining strength in the south of the country.
For the most part, the Taliban were Pashtuns by nationality and
declared themselves defenders of the interests of the Afghan people.
Their goal was to build an Islamic state in Afghanistan based on
Sharia law.
By 1996, most of the country came under their
control, in September, after the capture of Kabul, Muhammad
Najibullah was executed, and the Northern Alliance was ousted to the
remote border northern provinces. Taliban rule was characterized by
religious intolerance towards Gentiles (for example, despite the
protests of the world community, including Muslim countries, the
Taliban blew up architectural monuments - Bamyan Buddha statues,
which they declared pagan idols) and cruelty - for example, thieves
chopped off hands, women and girls were forbidden to attend schools
and to be on the street without an escort of a man, etc.
Since the late 1980s, a massive increase in drug production in
Afghanistan has begun. A record opiate crop of 4,600 tons was
harvested in 1999 during Taliban rule. In 2000, 3,275 tons of opium
poppy were harvested due to severe drought. In the same year, under
the pressure of the world community, the Taliban banned the
cultivation of opium poppy in their controlled territory, as a
result of which a record low yield of opium poppy was grown in
Afghanistan in 2001: only 185 tons of opium were produced, and most
of this opium was collected on the territory Badakhshan province
controlled by the Northern Alliance.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, international terrorist Osama
bin Laden took refuge in Taliban Afghanistan. This was the reason
for the US invasion of Afghanistan. However, according to the
journalist Pepe Escobar, the Taliban refused to lay the Trans-Afghan
pipeline (TAPI, Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India) under
US conditions, in particular, the plan for the US invasion of
Afghanistan existed six months before the events of September 11.
The war in Afghanistan in 2001-2014
During Operation Enduring Freedom, by the beginning of 2002, the
Taliban regime was liquidated, but the Taliban were not completely
destroyed. The main forces went to the mountainous regions of
Waziristan, while others switched to guerrilla warfare in
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
After the fall of the Taliban regime, the modern Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan was proclaimed. In December 2001, at the Bonn Conference
of Afghan Politicians, Hamid Karzai was placed at the head of the
transitional administration of Afghanistan. In June 2002, the Loya
Jirga (Supreme Council, which includes the leaders of all peoples,
tribes and groups of Afghanistan) elected him interim president of
the country. In 2004, a new Constitution was adopted and the first
presidential election was held, in which Hamid Karzai won.
On August 20, 2009, the country held the next presidential election,
a victory in which Hamid Karzai again won.
At the moment, the head of the country is Ashraf Ghani (since 2014).
Despite this, a civil war continues in the country, but with the
participation of the International Security Assistance Force in
Afghanistan (ISAF).
According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which published in
January 2019 the ranking of the most dangerous countries for women
in the world, Afghanistan ranks second in the list of countries with
the highest risks for women in terms of health, access to economic
resources, ordinary life, sexual violence, and human trafficking.