د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت
(Da Afġānistān Islāmī Jomhoriyat)
جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان
(Jamhūrī-ye Islāmī-ye Afġānistān)Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
|
|
Anthem:Milli Tharana
|
|
|
Capital
(and largest city)
| Kabul
34°31′N, 69°08′E
|
| Official languages |
Dari and Pashto [Afghanistan. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency (December 13, 2007).] |
| Demonym |
Afghan (most common)[Other terms that can be used as demonyms are Afghani and Afghanistani:
]
|
| Government |
Islamic presidential 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 |
647,500km²(41st)
251,772sqmi |
| - |
Water(%) |
0 |
| Population |
| - |
2007estimate |
31,889,923(37th) |
| - |
1979census |
13,051,358 |
| - |
Density |
46/km²(150th)
119/sqmi |
| GDP(PPP) |
2006estimate |
| - |
Total |
$32.4 billion(92nd) |
| - |
Per capita |
$1,490(158th) |
| HDI(1993) |
0.229(n/a)(unranked) |
| Currency |
Afghani (AFN) |
| Time zone |
(UTC+4:30) |
| - |
Summer(DST) |
(UTC+4:30) |
| Internet TLD |
.af |
| Calling code |
+93
|
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Persian: جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان), is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is variously designated as geographically located within Central Asia,[The 2007 Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics,and Society Conference University of Utah][ "Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East & Central Asia" May 2006, International Monetary Fund] South Asia,[CIA world factbook, Afghanistan - Geography (Location: Southern Asia)][University of California, [1], University of Pennsylvania, World Bank; US maps; [2]; University of Washington Syracuse University] and the Middle East.[Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC), University of Texas at Austin][ Afghanistan Profile, National Geographic (accessed 20 January 2006)][ Afghanistan, Middle East Institute (accessed 20 January 2006)] It has religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighboring states. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east,[Footnote: The Government of India also considers Afghanistan to be a bordering country. This is because it considers the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir to be a part of India including the portion bordering Afghanistan. A ceasefire sponsored by the United Nations in 1948 froze the positions of Indian and Pakistani held territory. As a consequence, the region bordering Afghanistan is in Pakistani-administered territory.] Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The name Afghanistan means the "Land of Afghans."
Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategical location, connecting South, Central and Southwest Asia. During its long history, the land has seen various invaders and conquerors, while on the other hand, local entities invaded the surrounding vast regions to form their own empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani created the Durrani Empire in 1747, with its capital at Kandahar.[Ahmad Shah Durrani, Britannica Concise.] Subsequently, the capital was shifted to Kabul and most of its territories ceded to former neighboring countries. In the 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in "The Great Game" played between the British Indian Empire and Russian Empire. On August 19, 1919, following the third Anglo-Afghan war, the country regained full independence from the United Kingdom over its foreign affairs.
Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war, which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the recent 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.
Etymology
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The name Afghānistān translates to the "Land of Afghans". Its modern usage derives from the word Afghan.
Origin of the word "Afghan"
There are different theories about the origin of the word Afghan, its age, and its meaning. Some believe that "Afghan" is formed from "Apagân".[Encyclopedia Britannica, Afghanistan History, Online Edition LINK] The Pashtuns began using the term Afghan as a name for themselves from at least the Islamic period and onwards. According to W. K. Frazier Tyler, M. C. Gillet and several other scholars, "The word Afghan first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam in 982 AD."
In this regard the Encyclopædia Iranica states:["Afghan" (with ref. to "Afghanistan: iv. Ethnography") by Ch. M. Kieffer, Encyclopaedia Iranica Online Edition 2006.]
From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afghān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paštō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paštūn. The equation [of] Afghan [and] Paštūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paštūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically.
It further explains:
The term "Afghān" has probably designated the Paštūn since ancient times. Under the form Avagānā, this ethnic group is first mentioned by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in the beginning of the 6th century CE in his Brihat-samhita.
Meaning and origin of the name "Afghanistan"
The last part of the name, -stān, is an Iranian suffix for "place", prominent in many languages of the region.
The term "Afghanistan," meaning the "Land of Afghans," was mentioned by the sixteenth century Mughal Emperor Babur in his memoirs, referring to the territories south of Kabul that were inhabited by Pashtuns (called "Afghans" by Babur).["Transactions of the year 908" by Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad Bābur in Bāburnāma, translated by John Leyden, Oxford University Press: 1921.]
Until the 19th century the name was only used for the traditional lands of the Pashtuns, while the kingdom as a whole was known as the Kingdom of Kabul, as mentioned by the British statesman and historian Mountstuart Elphinstone.[Elphinstone, M., "Account of the Kingdom of Cabul and its Dependencies in Persia and India", London 1815; published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown] Other parts of the country were at certain periods recognized as independent kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Balkh in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.[E. Bowen, "A New & Accurate Map of Persia" in A Complete System Of Geography, Printed for W. Innys, R. Ware [etc.], London 1747]
With the expansion and centralization of the country, Afghan authorities adopted and extended the name "Afghanistan" to the entire kingdom, after its English translation, "Afghanland", had already appeared in various treaties between British Raj and Qajarid Persia, referring to the lands that were subject to the Pashtun Barakzai Dynasty of Kabul.[E. Huntington, "The Anglo-Russian Agreement as to Tibet, Afghanistan, and Persia", Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. 39, No. 11 (1907)] "Afghanistan" as the name for the entire kingdom was mentioned in 1857 by Frederick Engels.[MECW Volume 18, p. 40; The New American Cyclopaedia - Vol. I, 1858] It became the official name when the country was recognized by the world community in 1919, after regaining its full independence from the British,[M. Ali, "Afghanistan: The War of Independence, 1919", Kabul [s.n.], 1960] and was confirmed as such in the nation\'s 1923 constitution.[Afghanistan\'s Constitution of 1923 under King Amanullah Khan (English translation).]
Geography
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Topography
Afghanistan is a landlocked and mountainous country in South-Central Asia, with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point is Nowshak, at 7,485m (24,557ft) above sea level. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world.[History of Environmental Change in the Sistan Basin 1976 - 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.] Afghanistan has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. The country is frequently subject to minor earthquakes, mainly in the northeast of Hindu Kush mountain areas. Some 125 villages were damaged and 4000 people killed by the May 30, 1998 earthquake.
At 249,984sqmi (647,500km²), Afghanistan is the world\'s 41st-largest country (after Myanmar). Comparatively, it is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Texas.
The country\'s natural resources include gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron ore in southeastern areas; precious and semi-precious stones such as lapis, emerald and azure in the north-east; and potentially significant petroleum and natural gas reserves in the north. The country also has uranium, coal, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, and salt.[Afghanistan, CIA World Factbook.][Gold and copper discovered in Afghanistan][Uranium Mining Issues: 2005 Review][16 detained for smuggling chromites, Pajhwok Afghan News.] However, these significant mineral and energy resources remain largely untapped due to the effects of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent civil war. Plans are underway to begin extracting them in the near future.[Afghanistan’s Energy Future and its Potential Implications, Eurasianet.org.][Govt plans to lease out Ainak copper mine, Pajhwok Afghan News.]
History
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Though the modern state of Afghanistan was founded or created in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani,[Ahmad Shah Durrani, Britannica Concise.] the land has an ancient history and various timelines of different civilizations. Excavation of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree, the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Institution and others 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.[Sites in Perspective, chapter 3 of Nancy Hatch Dupree, An Historical Guide To Afghanistan.][Afghanistan, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006 (specifically John Ford Shroder, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Regents Professor of Geography and Geology, University of Nebraska. Editor, Himalaya to the Sea: Geology, Geomorphology, and the Quaternary and other books).]
Afghanistan is a country at a unique nexus point where numerous Indo-European civilizations have interacted and often fought, and was an important site of early historical activity. Through the ages, the region has been home to various people, among them the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes, such as the Kambojas, Bactrians, Persians, etc. It also has been conquered by a host of people, including the Median and Persian Empires, Alexander the Great, Kushans, Hepthalites, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. In recent times, invasions from the British, Soviets, and most recently by the Americans and their allies have taken place. On the other hand, native entities have invaded surrounding regions in Iranian plateau and Indian subcontinent to form empires of their own.
Between 2000 and 1200 BC, Indo-European-speaking Aryans are thought to have been in the region of northern Afghanistan. It is unlikely[It is unlikely because of the migration significantly north of the Caspian. Bryant, Edwin F. (2001) The quest for the origins of Vedic culture: the Indo-Aryan migration debate Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, ISBN 0-19-513777-9] that the Aryans themselves originated in Afghanistan although they did migrate from there south towards India and west towards Persia, but they also migrated into Europe via north of the Caspian. These Aryans set up a nation that during the rule of Medes and Achaemenid Persians which became known as Aryānām Xšaθra or Airyānem Vāejah. Original homelands of the Aryans have been proposed as Anatolia, Central Asia, Iran, or Northern India, with the directions of the historical migration varying accordingly.[Lal, B. B. and Saraswat, K. S. (2005) The homeland of the Aryans: evidence of Ṛigvedic flora and fauna & archaeology Aryan Books International, New Delhi, ISBN 81-7305-283-2][Sethna, Kaikhushru Dhunjibhoy (1992) The Problem of Aryan Origins Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi, ISBN 81-85179-67-0] Later, during the rule of Ashkanian, Sasanian and after, it was called Erānshahr (Persian: ايرانشهر - Īrānšahr) meaning "Dominion of the Aryans."
It has been speculated that Zoroastrianism might have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 to 800 BC, as Zoroaster lived and died in Balkh.[The history of Afghanistan, Ghandara.com website].[Afghanistan: Achaemenid dynasty rule, Ancient Classical History, about.com] Ancient Eastern Iranian languages, such as Avestan, may have been spoken in this region around the time of the rise of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of the sixth century BC, the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids supplanted the Median Empire and incorporated what was known as Persia to the Greeks within its boundaries; and by 330 BC, Alexander the Great invaded Afghanistan and conquered the surrounding regions. Following Alexander\'s brief occupation, the Hellenistic successor states of the Seleucids and Greco-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 first century AD, the Kushans created a vast empire centered in modern Afghanistan and were patrons of Buddhist culture. The Kushans were defeated by the Sassanids in the third century. Although various rulers calling themselves Kushans (and generally known as Kushano-Sasanians) continued to rule at least parts of the region, they were probably more or less subject to the Sassanids.[Dani, A. H. and B. A. Litvinsky. "The Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom." In: History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Litvinsky, B. A., ed., 1996. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, pp. 103–118. ISBN 92-3-103211-9] The late Kushans were followed by the Kidarite Huns[Zeimal, E. V. "The Kidarite Kingdom in Central Asia." In: History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Litvinsky, B. A., ed., 1996, Paris: UNESCO Publishing, pp. 119–133. ISBN 92-3-103211-9] who, in turn, were replaced by the short-lived but powerful Hephthalites, as rulers of the region in the first half of the fifth century.[Litvinsky, B. A. "The Hephthalite Empire." In: History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Litvinsky, B. A., ed., 1996, Paris: UNESCO Publishing, pp. 135–162. ISBN 92-3-103211-9] The Hephthalites were defeated by the Sasanian king Khosrau I in AD 557, who re-established Sasanian power in Persia. However, the successors of Kushans and Hepthalites established a small dynasty in Kabulistan called Kushano-Hephthalites or Kabul-Shahan/Shahi and were later defeated by the Muslim armies.
Islamic conquest of the region
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In the Middle Ages, up to the nineteenth century, the region was known as Khorasan.[Ali Akbar Dehkhoda, Dehkhoda Dictionary, p. 8457][Ghubar, Mir Ghulam Mohammad, Khorasan, 1937 Kabul Printing House, Kabul)]["Tajikistan Development Gateway" from History of Afghanistan by the Development Gateway Foundation] Several important centers of Khorāsān are thus located in modern Afghanistan, such as Balkh, Herat, Ghazni and Kabul. It was during this period of time when Islam was introduced and spread in the area.
The region of Afghanistan became the center of various important empires, including that of the Samanids (875–999), Ghaznavids (977–1187), Seljukids (1037–1194), Ghurids (1149–1212), and Timurids (1370–1506). Among them, the periods of Ghaznavids["Ghaznavid Dynasty", Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Edition.] of Ghazni, and Timurids["Timurid Dynasty", Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Edition.] of Herat are considered as some of the most brilliant eras of Afghanistan\'s history.
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 ("Tamerlane"), 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, Afghanistan was controlled by several ruling groups: Uzbeks to the north, Safavids to the west and the remaining larger area by the Mughals or self-ruled by local Afghan tribes.
Hotaki dynasty: first Afghan local rule
Main article: Hotaki dynasty
In 1709, Mir Wais Hotak, a local Afghan (Pashtun) from the Ghilzai clan, overthrew and killed Gurgin Khan, the Safavid governor of Kandahar. Mir Wais successfully defeated the Persians, who were attempting to convert the local population of Kandahar from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. Mir Wais held the region of Kandahar until his death in 1715 and was succeeded by his son Mir Mahmud Hotaki. In 1722, Mir Mahmud led an Afghan army to Isfahan (now in Iran), sacked the city and proclaimed himself King of Persia. However, the great majority still rejected the Afghan regime as usurping, and after the massacre of thousands of civilians in Isfahan by the Afghans – including more than three thousand religious scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavid family – the Hotaki dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, Nadir Shah of Persia.["Ašraf Ghilzai" by Prof. D. Balland, Encyclopaedia Iranica Online Edition 2006.]["The Hotakis" in "Afghanistan", Encyclopaedia Britannica.]
Durrani Empire: beginnings of the "Afghan state"
Main article: Durrani Empire
In 1738 Nadir Shah and his army, which included four thousand Pashtuns of the Abdali clan,["The Durranti dynasty" in "Afghanistan", Encyclopaedia Britannica.] conquered the region of 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\'s military commanders and personal bodyguard, Ahmad Shah Abdali, a Pashtun from the Abdali clan, called for a loya jirga following Nadir\'s death. The Afghans gathered at Kandahar and chose Ahmad Shah as their King. Since then, he is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.["Ahmad Shah Durrani", Encyclopaedia Britannica.][The South, chapter 16 of Nancy Hatch Dupree, An Historical Guide To Afghanistan.] After the inauguration, he changed his title or clans\' name to "Durrani", which derives from the Persian word Durr, meaning "Pearl".
By 1751 Ahmad Shah Durrani and his Afghan army conquered the entire present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Delhi in India.
European influence
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During the nineteenth century, following the Anglo-Afghan wars (fought 1839–42, 1878–80, and lastly in 1919) and the ascension of the Barakzai 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 that Afghanistan re-gained complete independence over its foreign affairs (see "The Great Game"). During the period of British intervention in Afghanistan, ethnic Pashtun territories were divided by the Durand Line. 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 Shah\'s brother-in-law, Mohammed Daoud Khan, launched a bloodless coup and became the first President of Afghanistan. Daoud Khan 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. The 1978 Khalq uprising against the government of Daoud Khan was essentially a resurgence by the Ghilzai tribe of the Pashtun against the Durrani (the tribe of Daoud Khan and the previous monarchy).[Hanifi, M. Jamil "GHILZĪ or GHALZĪ". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition). United States: Columbia University. Retrieved on January 2008.]
Soviet invasion and civil war
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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 known as Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). 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. Over 100,000 Soviet troops took part in the invasion, who were backed by another 100,000 and plus pro-communist forces of Afghanistan. The Soviet occupation resulted in the killings of at least 600,000 to 2 million Afghan civilians. Over five million Afghans fled their country to Pakistan, Iran and other parts of the world. Faced with mounting international pressure and great number of casualties on both sides, the Soviets withdrew in 1989.
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, 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 (former head of the Afghan secret service, KHAD) until 1992 when the new Russian government refused to sell oil products to Najibullah regime.["Afghanistan: History", Columbia Encyclopedia.]
Because of the fighting, a number of elites and intellectuals fled to take refuge abroad. This led to a leadership imbalance in Afghanistan. Fighting continued among the victorious Mujahideen factions, which gave rise to a state of warlordism. The most serious fighting during this period occurred in 1994, when over 10,000 people were killed in Kabul alone. It was at this time that the Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, eventually seizing Kabul in 1996. By the end of 2000 the Taliban had captured 95% of the country.
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.[http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/documents/reports/talibans-war-on-women.pdf] Those who resisted were punished instantly.[citation needed] Communists were systematically eradicated and thieves were punished by amputating one of their hands or feet.[citation needed] Meanwhile, the Taliban managed to nearly eradicate the majority of the opium production by 2001.[Afghanistan, Opium and the Taliban [3]]
2001-present war in Afghanistan
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Following the September 11, 2001 attacks the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, a military campaign to destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist training camps inside Afghanistan. The US military also threatened to overthrow the Taliban government for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden and several al-Qaida members. The US made a common cause with the former Afghan Mujahideen to achieve its ends, including the Northern Alliance, a militia still recognized by the UN as the Afghan government.
In late 2001, US Special Forces invaded Afghanistan to aid anti-Taliban militias, backed by US air strikes against Taliban and Al Qaeda targets, culminating in the seizure of Kabul by the Northern Alliance and the overthrow of the Taliban, with many local warlords switching allegiance from the Taliban to the Northern Alliance.
In December of the same year, leaders of the former Afghan mujahideen and diaspora met in Germany, and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new democratic government that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun from the southern city of 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 Interim President of Afghanistan. The country convened a Constitutional Loya Jirga (Council of Elders) in 2003 and a new constitution was ratified in January 2004. Following an election in October 2004, Hamid Karzai won and became the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 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 continues to rebuild and recover, it is still struggling against poverty, poor infrastructure, large concentration of land mines and other unexploded ordnance, as well as a huge illegal poppy cultivation and opium trade. Afghanistan also remains subject to occasionally violent political jockeying. The country continues to grapple with the Taliban insurgency and the threat of attacks from a few remaining al Qaeda.
At the start of 2007 reports of the Taliban\'s increasing presence in Afghanistan led the US to consider longer tours of duty and even an increase in troop numbers. According to a report filed by Robert Burns of Associated Press on January 16, 2007, "U.S. military officials cited new evidence that the Pakistani military, which has long-standing ties to the Taliban movement, has turned a blind eye to the incursions." Also, "The number of insurgent attacks is up 300 percent since September, 2006, when the Pakistani government put into effect a peace arrangement with tribal leaders in the north Waziristan area, along Afghanistan\'s eastern border, a U.S. military intelligence officer told reporters."
- See also: Timeline of the history of Afghanistanand Invasions of Afghanistan
Government and politics
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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, legislature and judiciary).
Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. 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 points 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. Construction for a new parliament building began on August 29, 2005.
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.[[4] - New Supreme Court Could Mark Genuine Departure - August 13, 2006] 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.
- See also: Constitution of Afghanistan
Law enforcement and military
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First deputy vice president Ahmad Zia Massoud presents a new police officer with his diploma at the Kabul Police Academy.
Afghanistan currently has more than 70,000 national police officers, with plans to recruit more so that the total number can reach 80,000. They are being trained by and through the Afghanistan Police Program. Although the police officially are responsible for maintaining civil order, sometimes local and regional military commanders continue to exercise control in the hinterland. Police have been accused of improper treatment and detention of prisoners. In 2003 the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force, now under command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was extended and expanded beyond the Kabul area. However, in some areas unoccupied by those forces, local militias maintain control. In many areas, crimes have gone uninvestigated because of insufficient police and/or communications. Troops of the Afghan National Army have been sent to quell fighting in some regions lacking police protection.[Text used in this cited section originally came from: Afghanistan (Feb 2005) profile from the Library of Congress Country Studies project.]
Administrative divisions
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Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats), and for each province there is a capital. Each province is then divided into many provincial districts, and each district normally covers a city or several townships.
The Governor of the province is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, and the Prefects for the districts of the province will be appointed by the provincial Governor. The Governor is the representative of the central government of Afghanistan, and is responsible for all administrative and formal issues. The provincial Chief of Police is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, who works together with the Governor on law enforcement for all the cities or districts of that province.
There is an exception in the capital city (Kabul) where the Mayor is selected by
