Capital: Kabul
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Capital: Kabul Print | Close |
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Introduction After decades of civil war, Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries and relies heavily on foreign aid. Following the Soviet invasion of 1979, more than six million Afghanis fled to refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan to escape the fighting. Taliban rule forced millions more to flee. Landmines are scattered throughout the country and Afghanistan's economy relies heavily on the production of opium.
Issues
History Afghanistan is struggling to find its feet after decades of civil war and upheaval. Afghanistan's unique location between the Middle East and Central and South Asia means competing empires have long fought for control of it. Waves of invasion have resulted in a complex ethnic, cultural and religious mix. The two main ethnic groups are the Pashtuns and the Tajiks. A Cold War battle was fought on Afghan soil, when in December 1979 about 100,000 soldiers from the Soviet Union invaded to prop up an unpopular Soviet-backed government. A decade of war followed between Soviet forces and Afghan resistance fighters - mujahidin - who were armed by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Soviet military occupation ended in February 1989. The mujahidin took control of the capital, Kabul, and the government in 1992, establising an Islamic state. The mujahadin tried to unite Afghanistan, but interference from Pakistan and Iran prompted a new round of fighting between various militias. Different regions of the country came under the rule of a number of powerful mujahidin leaders, and anarchy and warlordism ensued. Another movement of former mujahidin, the Taliban, emerged in 1994 and by 1998 the group controlled most of Afghanistan. The Taliban imposed an extreme interpretation of Islamic law throughout the whole of Afghanistan. These new fundamentalist laws, among other things, severely limited the rights and activities of women and girls. From the mid-1990s, the Taliban provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden, whose al Qaeda organisation ran terrorist training camps there. Al Qaeda was blamed for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. When the Tailban refused to hand bin Laden over, a US-led coalition invaded in October 2001. By early December the last major city under Taliban control, Kandahar, had fallen. After the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan was ruled by a provisional administration led by Hamid Karzai. A new constitution was adopted in January 2004 and the country's first direct presidential election was held in October of the same year. The poll was won by Mr Karzai. The post-Taliban period in Afghanistan has been marked by frequent infighting between local militia leaders and attacks by remnants of the Taliban in the east and south-east. The government in Kabul faces the challenge of extending its control beyond the capital. The country is heavily dependent on international aid and priority areas for development include education, health, sanitation, employment, security, rebuilding infrastructure and reabsorbing two million returning refugees. The US-led coalition continues to hunt for Taliban and al Qaeda remnants in Afghanistan. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), led by NATO, is still working to establish conditions of peace and security in Afghanistan through its Provincial Reconstruction Teams of civilian and military personnel. Government Since the US-led overthrow of Afghanistan's Taliban regime in late 2001, the country has undergone a rapid process of democratisation. Following the fall of the Taliban the country was run by the Afghan Interim Authority. In June 2002, a Loya Jirga - Grand Council, representing Afghanistan's political and tribal leaders along with social, academic and religious representatives - appointed the Afghan Transitional Authority. Hamid Karzai was the appointed president of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. Afghanistan adopted a new constitution at a Loya Jirga in January 2004. The constitution provides for a presidential system of government, with a parliament, within the framework of an Islamic republic. It states the president is to be directly elected, and will have two vice-presidents. The new Afghan parliament, or National Assembly, is made up of a Lower House (Wolesi Jirga or House of People) and an Upper House (Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders). The Wolesi Jirga has 249 members, all directly elected by the people of Afghanistan. The Meshrano Jirga is composed of 102 members. Two-thirds of the Meshrano Jirga are elected by the Provincial Councils, one-third are appointed by the president. Mr Karzai was elected on October 9, 2004 in the country's first direct presidential poll. The first parliamentary elections were held in September 2005 and despite some violence nearly half of the 12.5 million registered voters took part. In another first, women not only voted but also participated as candidates, with a quota system guaranteeing women a quarter of the seats. Afghanistan's first parliament for more than 30 years held its inaugural session in the capital, Kabul, in December 2005. Economy Afghanistan is an extremely poor country, with a very high dependency on foreign aid. Twenty-three years of conflict has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and has also severely disrupted economic activity in all areas, including agriculture. Over the last two decades, the area under agriculture cultivation has been halved to cover just six per cent of the country. This has been caused by population dislocation, land mines, a severe three year drought and damage to centuries-old irrigation infrastructure. Grain production has declined but opium production has expanded rapidly. In 2002 Afghanistan was the world's largest producer of opium and in 2003, despite government efforts, cultivation expanded to new parts of the country. The United Nations estimated in 2004 that opium may account for more than two thirds of Afghanistan's GDP. Reconstruction has begun in several cities but continuing violence has delayed or slowed down rebuilding. Afghanistan has huge reserves of natural gas, oil, coal and other resources. |
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