Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
| Motto: لا إله إلا الله، محمد رسول الله Lā ʾilāha ʾillā llāh, Muhammadun rasūlu llāh "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God." (Shahadah) | |
| Anthem: دا د باتورانو کور "Dā Də Bātorāno Kor" "This Is the Home of the Brave"[2] | |
.svg) _-_AFG_-_UNOCHA.svg) | |
| Status | UN member state under an unrecognized government |
| Capital and largest city | Kabul 34°31′N 69°11′E / 34.517°N 69.183°E[3] |
| Official languages | |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Religion (2015) | |
| Demonym(s) | Afghan[b][11][12] |
| Government | Unitary totalitarian[13] provisional theocratic Islamic emirate[14] |
| Hibatullah Akhundzada | |
| Hasan Akhund (acting) | |
| Abdul Hakim Haqqani | |
| Legislature | None[c] |
| Formation | |
| 1709–1738 | |
| 1747–1823 | |
• Emirate | 1823–1839 |
| 1839–1842 | |
| 1842–1926 | |
| 27 May 1863 | |
| 26 May 1879 | |
| 19 August 1919 | |
• Kingdom | 9 June 1926 |
• Republic | 17 July 1973 |
| 27–28 April 1978 | |
| 28 April 1992 | |
| 27 September 1996 | |
| 26 January 2004 | |
| 15 August 2021 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 652,867[19] km2 (252,073 sq mi) (40th) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate |  41,128,771[20] (37th) |
• Density | 48.08/km2 (124.5/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $81.007 billion[21] |
• Per capita | $2,459[21] |
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $20.136 billion[21] |
• Per capita | $611[21] |
| HDI (2022) |  0.462[22][23]low (182nd) |
| Currency | Afghani (افغانى) (AFN) |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 Lunar Calendar[25] (Afghanistan Time) |
| DST is not observed[24] | |
| ISO 3166 code | AF |
| Internet TLD | .af |
![Coat of Arms of the Islamic Emirate[1]](/wiki/File:Arms_of_the_Islamic_Emirate_of_Afghanistan.svg)
Afghanistan,[d] officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,[e] is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia,[26] it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south,[f] Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. According to the World Population review, as of 2023[update], Afghanistan's population is 43 million.[6] The National Statistics Information Authority of Afghanistan estimated the population to be 32.9 million as of 2020[update].[28]
Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. Popularly referred to as the graveyard of empires,[29] the land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and a US-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires.[30] The various conquests and periods in both the Iranian and Indian cultural spheres.[31][32] the area was a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam.[33] The modern state of Afghanistan began with the Durrani Afghan Empire in the 18th century,[34] although Dost Mohammad Khan is sometimes considered to be the founder of the first modern Afghan state.[35] Dost Mohammad died in 1863, days after his last campaign to unite Afghanistan, and Afghanistan was consequently thrown back into civil war. During this time, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the Great Game between the British Empire and the Russian Empire. From India, the British attempted to subjugate Afghanistan but were repelled in the First Anglo-Afghan War. However, the Second Anglo-Afghan War saw a British victory and the successful establishment of British political influence. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, Afghanistan became free of foreign political hegemony, and emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan in June 1926 under Amanullah Khan. This monarchy lasted almost half a century, until Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, following which the Republic of Afghanistan was established.
Since the late 1970s Afghanistan's history has been dominated by extensive warfare, including coups, invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars. The conflict began in 1978 when a communist revolution established a socialist state, and subsequent infighting prompted the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan in 1979. Mujahideen fought against the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War and continued fighting among themselves following the Soviets' withdrawal in 1989. The Islamic fundamentalist Taliban controlled most of the country by 1996, but their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan received little international recognition before its overthrow in the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after capturing Kabul and overthrowing the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ending the 2001–2021 war.[36] In September 2021 the Taliban re-established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[37] The Taliban government remains internationally unrecognized.[38]
Afghanistan is rich in natural resources, including lithium, iron, zinc, and copper. It is the second-largest producer of cannabis resin,[39] and third largest of both saffron[40] and cashmere.[41] The country is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and a founding member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Due to the effects of war in recent decades, the country has dealt with high levels of terrorism, poverty, and child malnutrition. Afghanistan remains among the world's least developed countries, ranking 180th in the Human Development Index. Afghanistan's gross domestic product (GDP) is $81 billion by purchasing power parity and $20.1 billion by nominal values. Per capita, its GDP is among the lowest of any country as of 2020[update].
Etymology
Some scholars suggest that the root name Afghān is derived from the Sanskrit word Aśvakan, which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush.[42] Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or "cavalrymen" (from aśva, the Sanskrit and Avestan words for "horse").[43]
Historically, the ethnonym Afghān was used to refer to ethnic Pashtuns.[44] The Arabic and Persian form of the name, Afġān, was first attested in the 10th-century geography book Hudud al-'Alam.[45] The last part of the name, "-stan", is a Persian suffix meaning "place of". Therefore, "Afghanistan" translates to "land of the Afghans", or "land of the Pashtuns" in a historical sense. According to the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam:[46]
The name Afghanistan (Afghānistān, land of the Afghans / Pashtuns, afāghina, sing. afghān) can be traced to the early eighth/fourteenth century, when it designated the easternmost part of the Kartid realm. This name was later used for certain regions in the Ṣafavid and Mughal empires that were inhabited by Afghans. While based on a state-supporting elite of Abdālī / Durrānī Afghans, the Sadūzāʾī Durrānī polity that came into being in 1160 / 1747 was not called Afghanistan in its own day. The name became a state designation only during the colonial intervention of the nineteenth century.
The term "Afghanistan" was officially used in 1855, when the British recognized Dost Mohammad Khan as king of Afghanistan.[47]
History
Prehistory and antiquity
Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in the historical value of its archaeological sites.[48][49] Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages have been found in Afghanistan. Urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south of the country) was a center of the Helmand culture. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilization stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan.[50][51][52]
After 2000 BCE successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan; among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, and toward Europe via the area north of the Caspian Sea. The region at the time was referred to as Ariana.[48][53] By the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids overthrew the Medes and incorporated Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria within its eastern boundaries. An inscription on the tombstone of Darius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list of the 29 countries that he had conquered.[54] The region of Arachosia, around Kandahar in modern-day southern Afghanistan, used to be primarily Zoroastrian and played a key role in the transfer of the Avesta to Persia and is thus considered by some to be the "second homeland of Zoroastrianism".[55][56][57]
Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived in Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region until 305 BCE, when they gave much of it to the Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty. The Mauryans controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they were overthrown in about 185 BCE. Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest by the Greco-Bactrians. Much of it soon broke away and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. They were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE.[58][59] The Silk Road appeared during the first century BCE, and Afghanistan flourished with trade, with routes to China, India, Persia, and north to the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Khiva in present-day Uzbekistan.[60] Goods and ideas were exchanged at this center point, such as Chinese silk, Persian silver and Roman gold, while the region of present Afghanistan was mining and trading lapis lazuli stones[61] mainly from the Badakhshan region.
During the first century BCE, the Parthian Empire subjugated the region but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vassals. In the mid-to-late first century CE the vast Kushan Empire, centered in Afghanistan, became great patrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism flourish throughout the region. The Kushans were overthrown by the Sassanids in the 3rd century CE, though the Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region. They were followed by the Kidarites who, in turn, was replaced by the Hephthalites. They were replaced by the Turk Shahi in the 7th century. The Buddhist Turk Shahi of Kabul was replaced by a Hindu dynasty before the Saffarids conquered the area in 870, this Hindu dynasty was called Hindu Shahi.[62] Much of the northeastern and southern areas of the country remained dominated by Buddhist culture.[63][64]
Medieval period
Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted. Before the arrival of Islam, the region used to be home to various beliefs and cults, often resulting in Syncretism between the dominant religions[65][66] such as Zoroastrianism,[55][56][57] Buddhism or Greco-Buddhism, Ancient Iranian religions,[67] Hinduism, Christianity,[68][69] and Judaism.[70][71] An exemplification of the syncretism in the region would be that people were patrons of Buddhism but still worshipped local Iranian gods such as Ahura Mazda, Lady Nana, Anahita or Mihr (Mithra) and portrayed Greek gods as protectors of Buddha.[72][67][73] The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi were first conquered in 870 CE by the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj. Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic influence south of the Hindu Kush. The Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century.[74][75][76]
By the 11th century Mahmud of Ghazni had defeated the remaining Hindu rulers and effectively Islamized the wider region,[77] with the exception of Kafiristan.[78] Mahmud made Ghazni into an important city and patronized intellectuals such as the historian Al-Biruni and the poet Ferdowsi.[79] The Ghaznavid dynasty was overthrown by the Ghurids in 1186, whose architectural achievements included the remote Minaret of Jam. The Ghurids controlled Afghanistan for less than a century before being conquered by the Khwarazmian dynasty in 1215.[80]
In 1219 CE Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region. His troops are said to have annihilated the Khwarazmian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan.[81] The destruction caused by the Mongols forced many locals to return to an agrarian rural society.[82] Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate in the northwest while the Khalji dynasty administered the Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until the invasion of Timur (aka Tamerlane), who established the Timurid Empire in 1370. Under the rule of Shah Rukh the city of Herat[83] served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance, whose glory matched Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.[84][85]
In the early 16th century Babur arrived from Ferghana and captured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty.[86] Babur would go on to conquer the Afghan Lodi dynasty who had ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the First Battle of Panipat.[87] Between the 16th and 18th century, the Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara, Iranian Safavids, and Indian Mughals ruled parts of the territory.[88] During the medieval period, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan, which was commonly used up to the 19th century among natives to describe their country.[89][90][91][92]
Hotak dynasty
In 1709 Mirwais Hotak, a local Ghilzai tribal leader, successfully rebelled against the Safavids. He defeated Gurgin Khan, the Georgian governor of Kandahar under the Safavids, and established his own kingdom.[93] Mirwais died in 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was soon killed by Mirwais's son Mahmud for possibly planning to sign a peace with the Safavids. Mahmud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capital of Isfahan, and captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabad and proclaimed himself King of Persia.[93] The Afghan dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah after the 1729 Battle of Damghan.
In 1738 Nader Shah and his forces captured Kandahar in the siege of Kandahar, the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Hotak. Soon after, the Persian and Afghan forces invaded India, Nader Shah had plundered Delhi, alongside his 16-year-old commander, Ahmad Shah Durrani who had assisted him on these campaigns. Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747.[94][95]
Durrani empire
After the death of Nader Shah in 1747 Ahmad Shah Durrani had returned to Kandahar with a contingent of 4,000 Pashtuns. The Abdalis had "unanimously accepted" Ahmad Shah as their new leader. With his ascension in 1747, Ahmad Shah had led multiple campaigns against the Mughal empire, Maratha empire, and then-receding Afsharid empire. Ahmad Shah had captured Kabul and Peshawar from the Mughal appointed governor, Nasir Khan. Ahmad Shah had then conquered Herat in 1750, and had also captured Kashmir in 1752.[96] Ahmad Shah had launched two campaigns into Khorasan, 1750–1751 and 1754–1755.[97] His first campaign had seen the siege of Mashhad, however, he was forced to retreat after four months. In November 1750, he moved to siege Nishapur, but he was unable to capture the city and was forced to retreat in early 1751. Ahmad Shah returned in 1754; he captured Tun, and on 23 July, he sieged Mashhad once again. Mashhad had fallen on 2 December, but Shahrokh was reappointed in 1755. He was forced to give up Torshiz, Bakharz, Jam, Khaf, and Turbat-e Haidari to the Afghans, as well as accept Afghan sovereignty. Following this, Ahmad Shah sieged Nishapur once again, and captured it.
Ahmad Shah invaded India eight times during his reign,[98] beginning in 1748. Crossing the Indus River, his armies sacked and absorbed Lahore into the Durrani Realm. He met Mughal armies at the Battle of Manupur (1748), where he was defeated and forced to retreat back to Afghanistan.[99] He returned the next year in 1749 and captured the area around Lahore and Punjab, presenting it as an Afghan victory for this campaign.[100] From 1749 to 1767, Ahmad Shah led six more invasions, the most important being the last; the Third Battle of Panipat created a power vacuum in northern India, halting Maratha expansion.
Ahmad Shah Durrani died in October 1772, and a civil war over succession followed, with his named successor, Timur Shah Durrani succeeding him after the defeat of his brother, Suleiman Mirza.[101] Timur Shah Durrani ascended to the throne in November 1772, having defeated a coalition under Shah Wali Khan and Humayun Mirza. Timur Shah began his reign by consolidating power toward himself and people loyal to him, purging Durrani Sardars and influential tribal leaders in Kabul and Kandahar. One of Timur Shah's reforms was to move the capital of the Durrani Empire from Kandahar to Kabul. Timur Shah fought multiple series of rebellions to consolidate the empire, and he also led campaigns into Punjab against the Sikhs like his father, though more successfully. The most prominent example of his battles during this campaign was when he led his forces under Zangi Khan Durrani – with over 18,000 men total of Afghan, Qizilbash, and Mongol cavalrymen – against over 60,000 Sikh men. The Sikhs lost over 30,000 in this battle and staged a Durrani resurgence in the Punjab region[102] The Durranis lost Multan in 1772 after Ahmad Shah's death. Following this victory, Timur Shah was able to lay siege to Multan and recapture it,[103] incorporating it into the Durrani Empire once again, reintegrating it as a province until the Siege of Multan (1818). Timur Shah was succeeded by his son Zaman Shah Durrani after his death in May 1793. Timur Shah's reign oversaw the attempted stabilization and consolidation of the empire. However, Timur Shah had over 24 sons, which plunged the empire in civil war over succession crises.[104]
Zaman Shah Durrani succeeded to the Durrani Throne following the death of his father, Timur Shah Durrani. His brothers Mahmud Shah Durrani and Humayun Mirza revolted against him, with Humayun centered in Kandahar and Mahmud Shah centered in Herat.[105] Zaman Shah would defeat Humayun and force the loyalty of Mahmud Shah Durrani.[105] Securing his position on the throne, Zaman Shah led three campaigns into Punjab. The first two campaigns captured Lahore, but he retreated due to intel about a possible Qajar invasion. Zaman Shah embarked on his third campaign for Punjab in 1800 to deal with a rebellious Ranjit Singh.[106] However, he was forced to withdraw, and Zaman Shah's reign was ended by Mahmud Shah Durrani.[106] However, just under two years into his reign, Mahmud Shah Durrani was deposed by his brother Shah Shuja Durrani on 13 July 1803.[107] Shah Shuja attempted to consolidate the Durrani Realm but was deposed by his brother at the Battle of Nimla (1809).[108] Mahmud Shah Durrani defeated Shah Shuja and forced him to flee, usurping the throne again. His second reign began on 3 May 1809.[109]
Barakzai dynasty and British wars
By the early 19th century the Afghan empire was under threat from the Persians in the west and the Sikh Empire in the east. Fateh Khan, leader of the Barakzai tribe, installed many of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire. Fateh Khan was brutally murdered in 1818 by Mahmud Shah. As a result, the brothers of Fateh Khan and the Barakzai tribe rebelled, and a civil war brewed. During this turbulent period, Afghanistan fractured into many states, including the Principality of Qandahar, Emirate of Herat, Khanate of Qunduz, Maimana Khanate, and numerous other warring polities. The most prominent state was the Emirate of Kabul, ruled by Dost Mohammad Khan.[110][111]
With the collapse of the Durrani Empire, and the exile of the Sadozai Dynasty to be left to rule in Herat, Punjab and Kashmir were lost to Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Sikh Empire, who invaded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March 1823 and captured the city of Peshawar following the Battle of Nowshera. In 1834, Dost Mohammad Khan led numerous campaigns, firstly campaigning to Jalalabad, and then allying with his rival brothers in Kandahar to defeat Shah Shuja Durrani and the British in the Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk.[112] In 1837, Dost Mohammad Khan attempted to conquer Peshawar and sent a large force under his son Wazir Akbar Khan, leading to the Battle of Jamrud. Akbar Khan and the Afghan army failed to capture the Jamrud Fort from the Sikh Khalsa Army, but killed Sikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa, thus ending the Afghan-Sikh Wars. By this time the British were advancing from the east, capitalizing off of the decline of the Sikh Empire after it had its own period of turbulence following the death of Ranjit Singh, which engaged the Emirate of Kabul in the first major conflict during "The Great Game".[113]
In 1839 a British expeditionary force marched into Afghanistan, invading the Principality of Qandahar, and in August 1839, seized Kabul. Dost Mohammad Khan defeated the British in the Parwan campaign, but surrendered following his victory. He was replaced with the former Durrani ruler Shah Shuja Durrani as the new ruler of Kabul, a de facto puppet of the British.[114][115] Following an uprising that saw the assassination of Shah Shuja, the 1842 retreat from Kabul of British-Indian forces and the annihilation of Elphinstone's army, and the punitive expedition of The Battle of Kabul that led to its sacking, the British gave up on their attempts to try and subjugate Afghanistan, allowing Dost Mohammad Khan to return as ruler. Following this, Dost Mohammad pursued a myriad of campaigns to unite most of Afghanistan in his reign, launching numerous incursions including against the surrounding states such as the Hazarajat campaign, conquest of Balkh, conquest of Kunduz, and the conquest of Kandahar. Dost Mohammad led his final campaign against Herat, conquering it and re-uniting Afghanistan. During his campaigns of re-unification, he held friendly relations with the British despite the First Anglo-Afghan War, and affirmed their status in the Second Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1857, while Bukhara and internal religious leaders pressured Dost Mohammad to invade India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[116]
Dost Mohammad died in June 1863, a few weeks after his successful campaign to Herat. Following his death, a civil war ensued among his sons, prominently Mohammad Afzal Khan, Mohammad Azam Khan, and Sher Ali Khan. Sher Ali won the resulting Afghan Civil War (1863–1869) and ruled Afghanistan until his death in 1879. In his final years, the British returned to Afghanistan in the Second Anglo-Afghan War to fight perceived Russian influence in the region. Sher Ali retreated to northern Afghanistan, intending to create a resistance there similar to his predecessors, Dost Mohammad Khan, and Wazir Akbar Khan. His untimely death however, saw Yaqub Khan declared the new Amir, leading to Britain gaining control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the Treaty of Gandamak of 1879, making it an official British Protected State.[117][118] An uprising however, re-started the conflict, and Yaqub Khan was deposed. During this tumultuous period, Abdur Rahman Khan began his rise to power, becoming an eligible candidate to become Amir after he seized much of Northern Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman marched on Kabul, and was declared Amir, being recognized by the British as well. Another uprising by Ayub Khan threatened the British, where rebels confronted and defeated British forces in the Battle of Maiwand. Following up on his victory, Ayub Khan unsuccessfully besieged Kandahar, and his decisive defeat saw the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, with Abdur Rahman secured firmly as Amir.[119] In 1893, Abdur Rahman signed an agreement in which the ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories were divided by the Durand Line, which forms the modern-day border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Shia-dominated Hazarajat and pagan Kafiristan remained politically independent until being conquered by Abdur Rahman Khan in 1891–1896. He was known as the "Iron Amir" for his features and his ruthless methods against tribes.[120] He died in 1901, succeeded by his son, Habibullah Khan.
How can a small power like Afghanistan, which is like a goat between these lions [Britain and Russia] or a grain of wheat between two strong millstones of the grinding mill, stand in the midway of the stones without being ground to dust?
During the First World War, when Afghanistan was neutral, Habibullah Khan was met by officials of the central powers in the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition. They called on Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, join them and attack British India, as part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy. The effort to bring Afghanistan into the Central Powers failed, but it sparked discontent among the population about maintaining neutrality with the British. Habibullah was assassinated in February 1919, and Amanullah Khan eventually assumed power. A staunch supporter of the 1915–1916 expeditions, Amanullah Khan invaded British India, beginning the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and entering British India via the Khyber Pass.[123]
After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on 19 August 1919, Emir Amanullah Khan declared the Emirate of Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state. He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community, particularly with the Soviet Union and the Weimar Republic.[124][125] He proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan on 9 June 1926, forming the Kingdom of Afghanistan. He introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation. A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi, an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 constitution, which made elementary education compulsory. Slavery was abolished in 1923.[126] King Amanullah's wife, Queen Soraya, was an important figure during this period in the fight for woman's education and against their oppression.[127]
Some of the reforms, such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for women and the opening of co-educational schools, alienated many tribal and religious leaders, leading to the Afghan Civil War (1928–1929). King Amanullah abdicated in January 1929, and soon after Kabul fell to Saqqawist forces led by Habibullah Kalakani.[128] Mohammed Nadir Shah, Amanullah's cousin, defeated and killed Kalakani in October 1929, and was declared King Nadir Shah.[129] He abandoned the reforms of King Amanullah in favor of a more gradual approach to modernization, but was assassinated in 1933 by Abdul Khaliq.[130]
Mohammed Zahir Shah succeeded to the throne and reigned as king from 1933 to 1973. During the tribal revolts of 1944–1947, King Zahir's reign was challenged by Zadran, Safi, Mangal, and Wazir tribesmen led by Mazrak Zadran, Salemai, and Mirzali Khan, among others – many of whom were Amanullah loyalists. Afghanistan joined the League of Nations in 1934. The 1930s saw the development of roads, infrastructure, the founding of a national bank, and increased education. Road links in the north played a large part in a growing cotton and textile industry.[131] The country built close relationships with the Axis powers, with Nazi Germany having the largest share in Afghan development at the time.[132]
Until 1946 King Zahir ruled with the assistance of his uncle, who held the post of prime minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another uncle, Shah Mahmud Khan, became prime minister in 1946 and experimented with allowing greater political freedom. He was replaced in 1953 by Mohammed Daoud Khan, a Pashtun nationalist who sought the creation of a Pashtunistan, leading to highly tense relations with Pakistan.[133] Daoud Khan pressed for social modernization reforms and sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. Afterward, the 1964 constitution was formed, and the first non-royal prime minister was sworn in.[131]
Zahir Shah, like his father Nadir Shah, had a policy of maintaining national independence while pursuing gradual modernization, creating nationalist feeling, and improving relations with the United Kingdom. Afghanistan was neither a participant in World War II nor aligned with either power bloc in the Cold War. However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure. On a per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet development aid than any other country. In 1973, while the King was in Italy, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first president of Afghanistan, abolishing the monarchy.
Democratic Republic and Soviet war
In April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a bloody coup d'état against then-President Mohammed Daoud Khan, in what is called the Saur Revolution. The PDPA declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, with its first leader named as People's Democratic Party General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki.[134] This would trigger a series of events that would dramatically turn Afghanistan from a poor and secluded (albeit peaceful) country to a hotbed of international terrorism.[135] The PDPA initiated various social, symbolic, and land distribution reforms that provoked strong opposition, while also brutally oppressing political dissidents. This caused unrest and quickly expanded into a state of civil war by 1979, waged by guerrilla mujahideen (and smaller Maoist guerrillas) against regime forces countrywide. It quickly turned into a proxy war as the Pakistani government provided these rebels with covert training centers, the United States supported them through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),[136] and the Soviet Union sent thousands of military advisers to support the PDPA regime.[137] Meanwhile, there was increasingly hostile friction between the competing factions of the PDPA – the dominant Khalq and the more moderate Parcham.[138]
In October 1979 PDPA General Secretary Taraki was assassinated in an internal coup orchestrated by then-prime minister Hafizullah Amin, who became the new general secretary of the People's Democratic Party. The situation in the country deteriorated under Amin, and thousands of people went missing.[139] Displeased with Amin's government, the Soviet Army invaded the country in December 1979, heading for Kabul and killing Amin.[140] A Soviet-organized regime, led by Parcham's Babrak Karmal but inclusive of both factions (Parcham and Khalq), filled the vacuum. Soviet troops in more substantial numbers were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan under Karmal, marking the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War.[141] Lasting nine years, the war caused the deaths of between 562,000[142] and 2 million Afghans,[143][144][145][146][147][148][149][excessive citations] and displaced about 6 million people who subsequently fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran.[150] Heavy air bombardment destroyed many countryside villages, millions of landmines were planted,[151] and some cities such as Herat and Kandahar were also damaged from bombardment. After the Soviet withdrawal, the civil war ensued until the communist regime under People's Democratic Party leader Mohammad Najibullah collapsed in 1992.[152][153][154]
The Soviet–Afghan War had drastic social effects on Afghanistan. The militarization of society led to heavily armed police, private bodyguards, openly armed civil defense groups, and other such things becoming the norm in Afghanistan for decades thereafter.[155] The traditional power structure had shifted from clergy, community elders, intelligentsia, and military in favor of powerful warlords.[156]
Post–Cold War conflict
.png)
Another civil war broke out after the creation of a dysfunctional coalition government between leaders of various mujahideen factions. Amid a state of anarchy and factional infighting,[157][158][159] various mujahideen factions committed widespread rape, murder and extortion,[158][160][161] while Kabul was heavily bombarded and partially destroyed by the fighting.[161] Several failed reconciliations and alliances occurred between different leaders.[162] The Taliban emerged in September 1994 as a movement and militia of students (talib) from Islamic madrassas (schools) in Pakistan,[161][163] who soon had military support from Pakistan.[164] Taking control of Kandahar city that year,[161] they conquered more territories until finally driving out the government of Rabbani from Kabul in 1996,[165][166] where they established an emirate.[167] The Taliban were condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which resulted in the brutal treatment of many Afghans, especially women.[168][169] During their rule, the Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to starving civilians and conducted a policy of scorched earth, burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.[170][171][172][173][174][175][excessive citations]
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum formed the Northern Alliance, later joined by others, to resist the Taliban. Dostum's forces were defeated by the Taliban during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1997 and 1998; Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, began sending thousands of Pakistanis to help the Taliban defeat the Northern Alliance.[176][164][177][178][179][excessive citations] By 2000, the Northern Alliance only controlled 10% of territory, cornered in the northeast. On 9 September 2001, Massoud was assassinated by two Arab suicide attackers in Panjshir Valley. Around 400,000 Afghans died in internal conflicts between 1990 and 2001.[180]
US invasion and Islamic Republic
In October 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power after they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the September 11 attacks, who was a "guest" of the Taliban and was operating his al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan.[181][182][183] The majority of Afghans supported the American invasion.[184][185] During the initial invasion, US and UK forces bombed al-Qaeda training camps, and later working with the Northern Alliance, the Taliban regime came to an end.[186]
In December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist the Karzai administration and provide basic security.[187][188] By this time, after two decades of war as well as an acute famine at the time, Afghanistan had one of the highest infant and child mortality rates in the world, the lowest life expectancy, much of the population were hungry,[189][190][191] and infrastructure was in ruins.[192] Many foreign donors started providing aid and assistance to rebuild the war-torn country.[193][194] As coalition troops entered Afghanistan to help the rebuilding process,[195][196] the Taliban began an insurgency to regain control. Afghanistan remained one of the poorest countries in the world because of a lack of foreign investment, government corruption, and the Taliban insurgency.[197][198]
The Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, adopting a constitution in 2004 with the name Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Attempts were made, often with the support of foreign donor countries, to improve the country's economy, healthcare, education, transport, and agriculture. ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan National Security Forces. Following 2002, nearly five million Afghans were repatriated.[199] The number of NATO troops present in Afghanistan peaked at 140,000 in 2011,[200] dropping to about 16,000 in 2018.[201] In September 2014 Ashraf Ghani became president after the 2014 presidential election where for the first time in Afghanistan's history power was democratically transferred.[202][203][204] On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. The NATO-led Operation Resolute Support was formed the same day as a successor to ISAF.[205][206] Thousands of NATO troops remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces[207] and continue their fight against the Taliban.[208] A report titled Body Count concluded that 106,000–170,000 civilians had been killed as a result of the fighting in Afghanistan at the hands of all parties to the conflict.[209]
On 19 February 2020, the US–Taliban deal was made in Qatar. The deal was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF);[210] following the signing of the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency, leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul.[211]
Second Taliban era
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on 14 April 2021 that the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May.[212] Soon after NATO troops began withdrawing, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government and quickly advanced in front of collapsing Afghan government forces.[213][214] The Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul on 15 August 2021, after regaining control over a vast majority of Afghanistan. Several foreign diplomats and Afghan government officials, including president Ashraf Ghani,[215] were evacuated from the country, with many Afghan civilians attempting to flee along with them.[216] On 17 August, first vice president Amrullah Saleh proclaimed himself caretaker president and announced the formation of an anti-Taliban front with a reported 6,000+ troops[217][218] in the Panjshir Valley, along with Ahmad Massoud.[219][220] However, by 6 September, the Taliban had taken control of most of Panjshir province, with resistance fighters retreating to the mountains.[221] Clashes in the valley ceased mid-September.[222]
According to the Costs of War Project, 176,000 people were killed in the conflict, including 46,319 civilians, between 2001 and 2021.[223] According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, at least 212,191 people were killed in the conflict.[224] Though the state of war in the country ended in 2021, armed conflict persists in some regions[225][226][227] amid fighting between the Taliban and the local branch of the Islamic State, as well as an anti-Taliban Republican insurgency.[228]
.png)
The Taliban government is led by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada[229] and acting prime minister Hasan Akhund, who took office on 7 September 2021.[230][231] Akhund is one of the four founders of the Taliban[232] and was a deputy prime minister of the previous emirate; his appointment was seen as a compromise between moderates and hardliners.[233] A new, all-male cabinet was formed, which included Abdul Hakim Haqqani as minister of justice.[234][235] On 20 September 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres received a letter from acting minister of foreign affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi to formally claim Afghanistan's seat as a member state for their official spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen. The United Nations did not recognize the previous Taliban government and chose to work with the then government-in-exile instead.[236]
Western nations suspended most of their humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following the Taliban's August 2021 takeover of the country; the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also halted their payments.[237][238] More than half of Afghanistan's 39 million people faced an acute food shortage in October 2021.[239] Human Rights Watch reported on 11 November 2021 that Afghanistan was facing widespread famine due to an economic and banking crisis.[240] The Taliban have significantly tackled corruption, now being placed as 150th on the corruption watchdog perception index. The Taliban have also reportedly reduced bribery and extortion in public service areas.[241] At the same time, the human rights situation in the country has deteriorated.[242] Following the 2001 invasion, more than 5.7 million refugees returned to Afghanistan;[243] however, in 2021, 2.6 million Afghans remained refugees, primarily in Iran and Pakistan, and another 4 million were internally displaced.[244]
In October 2023, the Pakistani government ordered the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan.[245] Iran also decided to deport Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan.[246] Taliban authorities condemned the deportations of Afghans as an "inhuman act".[247] Afghanistan faced a humanitarian crisis in late 2023.[248]
Geography
Afghanistan is located in Southern-Central Asia.[249][250][251][252][253] The region centered at Afghanistan is considered the "crossroads of Asia",[254] and the country has had the nickname Heart of Asia.[255] The renowned Urdu poet Allama Iqbal once wrote about the country:
Asia is a body of water and earth, of which the Afghan nation is the heart. From its discord, the discord of Asia; and from its accord, the accord of Asia.
At over 652,864 km2 (252,072 sq mi),[256] Afghanistan is the world's 41st largest country,[257] slightly bigger than France and smaller than Myanmar, and about the size of Texas in the United States. There is no coastline, as Afghanistan is landlocked. Afghanistan shares its longest land border (the Durand Line) with Pakistan to the east and south, followed by borders with Tajikistan to the northeast, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the north-west, Uzbekistan to the north and China to the far northeast; India recognizes a border with Afghanistan through Pakistani-administered Kashmir.[258] Clockwise from south-west, Afghanistan shares borders with the Sistan and Baluchestan Province, South Khorasan Province and Razavi Khorasan Province of Iran; Ahal Region, Mary Region and Lebap Region of Turkmenistan; Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan; Khatlon Region and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan; Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China; and the Gilgit-Baltistan territory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Balochistan province of Pakistan.[259]
.jpg)
The geography in Afghanistan is varied, but is mostly mountainous and rugged, with some unusual mountain ridges accompanied by plateaus and river basins.[260] It is dominated by the Hindu Kush range, the western extension of the Himalayas that stretches to eastern Tibet via the Pamir Mountains and Karakoram Mountains in Afghanistan's far north-east. Most of the highest points are in the east consisting of fertile mountain valleys, often considered part of the "Roof of the World". The Hindu Kush ends at the west-central highlands, creating plains in the north and southwest, namely the Turkestan Plains and the Sistan Basin; these two regions consist of rolling grasslands and semi-deserts, and hot windy deserts, respectively.[261] Forests exist in the corridor between Nuristan and Paktika provinces (see East Afghan montane conifer forests),[262] and tundra in the northeast. The country's highest point is Noshaq, at 7,492 m (24,580 ft) above sea level.[263] The lowest point lies in Jowzjan Province along the Amu River bank, at 258 m (846 ft) above sea level.
Despite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large parts of the country are dry. The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world.[264] The Amu Darya rises at the north of the Hindu Kush, while the nearby Hari Rud flows west towards Herat, and the Arghandab River from the central region southwards. To the south and west of the Hindu Kush flow a number of streams that are tributaries of the Indus River,[260] such as the Helmand River. The Kabul River flows in an easterly direction to the Indus ending at the Indian Ocean.[265] Afghanistan receives heavy snow during the winter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, and the melting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes, and streams.[266][267] However, two-thirds of the country's water flows into the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. As reported in 2010, the state needs more than US$2 billion to rehabilitate its irrigation systems so that the water is properly managed.[268]
The northeastern Hindu Kush mountain range, in and around the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is in a geologically active area where earthquakes may occur almost every year.[269] They can be deadly and destructive, causing landslides in some parts or avalanches during the winter.[270] In June 2022, a destructive 5.9 earthquake struck near the border with Pakistan, killing at least 1,150 people and sparking fears of a major humanitarian crisis.[271] On 7 October 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Herat, killing over 1,400 people.[272]
Climate
Afghanistan has a continental climate with harsh winters in the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (around Nuristan), and the Wakhan Corridor, where the average temperature in January is below −15 °C (5 °F) and can reach −26 °C (−15 °F),[260] and hot summers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan Basin of the southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and the Turkestan plains along the Amu River in the north, where temperatures average over 35 °C (95 °F) in July[263][274] and can go over 43 °C (109 °F).[260] The country is generally arid in the summers, with most rainfall falling between December and April. The lower areas of northern and western Afghanistan are the driest, with precipitation more common in the east. Although proximate to India, Afghanistan is mostly outside the monsoon zone,[260] except the Nuristan Province which occasionally receives summer monsoon rain.[275]
Biodiversity
Several types of mammals exist throughout Afghanistan. Snow leopards, Siberian tigers and brown bears live in the high elevation alpine tundra regions. The Marco Polo sheep exclusively live in the Wakhan Corridor region of north-east Afghanistan. Foxes, wolves, otters, deer, wild sheep, lynx and other big cats populate the mountain forest region of the east. In the semi-desert northern plains, wildlife include a variety of birds, hedgehogs, gophers, and large carnivores such as jackals and hyenas.[276]
Gazelles, wild pigs and jackals populate the steppe plains of the south and west, while mongoose and cheetahs exist in the semi-desert south.[276] Marmots and ibex also live in the high mountains of Afghanistan, and pheasants exist in some parts of the country.[277] The Afghan hound is a native breed of dog known for its fast speed and its long hair; it is relatively known in the west.[278]
Endemic fauna of Afghanistan includes the Afghan flying squirrel, Afghan snowfinch, Paradactylodon (or the "Paghman mountain salamander"), Stigmella kasyi, Vulcaniella kabulensis, Afghan leopard gecko, Wheeleria parviflorellus, among others. Endemic flora include Iris afghanica. Afghanistan has a wide variety of birds despite its relatively arid climate – an estimated 460 species of which 235 breed within.[278]
The forest region of Afghanistan has vegetation such as pine trees, spruce trees, fir trees and larches, whereas the steppe grassland regions consist of broadleaf trees, short grass, perennial plants and shrublands. The colder high elevation regions are composed of hardy grasses and small flowering plants.[276] Several regions are designated protected areas; there are three national parks: Band-e Amir, Wakhan and Nuristan. Afghanistan had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.85/10, ranking it 15th globally out of 172 countries.[279]
Government and politics
.jpg)
Following the effective collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the 2021 Taliban offensive, the Taliban declared the country an Islamic Emirate. A new caretaker government was announced on 7 September.[280] As of 8 September 2021[update], no other country had formally recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the de jure government of Afghanistan.[281] According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Afghanistan in 2023 was the third least electoral democratic country in Asia.[282]
A traditional instrument of governance in Afghanistan is the loya jirga (grand assembly), a Pashtun consultative meeting that was mainly organized for choosing a new head of state, adopting a new constitution, or to settle national or regional issue such as war.[283] Loya jirgas have been held since at least 1747,[284] with the most recent one occurring in August 2020.[285][286]
Development of Taliban government
.png)
On 17 August 2021, the leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, met with both Hamid Karzai, the former President of Afghanistan, and Abdullah Abdullah, the former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former Chief Executive, in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of forming a national unity government.[287][288] President Ashraf Ghani, having fled the country during the Taliban advance to either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, emerged in the United Arab Emirates and said that he supported such negotiations and was in talks to return to Afghanistan.[289][290] Many figures within the Taliban generally agreed that continuation of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan may, if correctly applied, be workable as the basis for the new religious state as their objections to the former government were political, and not religious.[291]
Hours after the final flight of American troops left Kabul on 30 August, a Taliban official interviewed said that a new government would likely be announced as early as Friday 3 September after Jumu'ah. It was added that Hibatullah Akhundzada would be officially named Emir, with cabinet ministers being revealed at the Arg in an official ceremony. Abdul Ghani Baradar would be named head of government as Prime Minister, while other important positions would go to Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob. Beneath the supreme leader, day-to-day governance will be entrusted to the cabinet.[292]
In a report by CNN-News18, sources said the new government was going to be governed similarly to Iran with Hibatullah Akhundzada as supreme leader similar to the role of Saayid Ali Khamenei, and would be based out of Kandahar. Baradar or Yaqoob would be head of government as Prime minister. The government's ministries and agencies will be under a cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister. The Supreme Leader would preside over an executive body known as the Supreme Council with anywhere from 11 to 72 members. Abdul Hakim Haqqani is likely to be promoted to Chief justice. According to the report, the new government will take place within the framework of an amended 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan.[293] Government formation was delayed due to concerns about forming a broad-based government acceptable to the international community.[294] It was later added however that the Taliban's Rahbari Shura, the group's leadership council was divided between the hardline Haqqani Network and moderate Abdul Ghani Baradar over appointments needed to form an "inclusive" government. Reports claimed that this culminated in a skirmish which led to Baradar being injured and treated in Pakistan, however this was denied by Baradar himself.[295][296]
As of early September 2021 the Taliban were planning the cabinet to be men-only. Journalists and other human rights activists, mostly women, protested in Herat and Kabul, calling for women to be included.[297] The acting Cabinet announced on 7 September was men-only, and the Ministry of Women's Affairs was abolished.[280]
As of June 2024, no country has recognized the Taliban government as the legitimate authorities of Afghanistan, with the U.N adding that recognition was impossible so long as restrictions on female education and employment remained.[298][299]
Administrative divisions
Afghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces (wilayat).[300] Each province has a governor and a capital. The country is further divided into nearly 400 provincial districts, each of which normally covers a city or several villages. Each district is represented by a district governor.
The provincial governors are now appointed by the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, and the district governors are selected by the provincial governors.[301] The provincial governors are representatives of the central government in Kabul and are responsible for all administrative and formal issues within their provinces. There are also provincial councils that are elected through direct and general elections for four years.[302] The functions of provincial councils are to take part in provincial development planning and to participate in the monitoring and appraisal of other provincial governance institutions.
According to article 140 of the constitution and the presidential decree on electoral law, mayors of cities should be elected through free and direct elections for a four-year term. In practice however, mayors are appointed by the government.[303]
The 34 provinces in alphabetical order are:
Foreign relations
Afghanistan became a member of the United Nations in 1946.[304] Historically, Afghanistan had strong relations with Germany, one of the first countries to recognize Afghanistan's independence in 1919; the Soviet Union, which provided much aid and military training for Afghanistan's forces and includes the signing of a Treaty of Friendship in 1921 and 1978; and India, with which a friendship treaty was signed in 1950.[305] Relations with Pakistan have often been tense for various reasons such as the Durand Line border issue and alleged Pakistani involvement in Afghan insurgent groups.
The present Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is currently internationally unrecognized, but has had notable unofficial ties with China, Pakistan, and Qatar.[306][307] Under the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, it enjoyed cordial relations with a number of NATO and allied nations, particularly the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Turkey. In 2012, the United States and the then-republic in Afghanistan signed their Strategic Partnership Agreement in which Afghanistan became a major non-NATO ally.[308] Such qualification was rescinded by US President Joe Biden in July 2022.[309]
Military
The Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan captured a large amount of weapons, hardware, vehicles, aerocrafts, and equipment from the Afghan National Security Forces following the 2021 Taliban offensive and the Fall of Kabul. The total value of the captured equipment has been estimated at US$83 billion.[310][311]
Human rights
Homosexuality is taboo in Afghan society;[312] according to the Penal Code, homosexual intimacy is punished by up to a year in prison.[313] Under Sharia law offenders can be punished by death.[314][315] However, an ancient tradition involving male homosexual acts between children and older men (typically wealthy warlords or elite people) called bacha bazi persists.
Religious minorities such as Sikhs,[316] Hindus,[317] and Christians have reportedly faced persecution.[318][319]
Since May 2022, all women in Afghanistan have been required by law to wear full-body coverings when in public (either a burqa or an abaya paired with a niqāb, which leaves only the eyes uncovered).[320][321] First Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani claimed the decree is only advisory and no form of hijab is compulsory in Afghanistan,[322] though this contradicts the reality.[323] It has been speculated that there is a genuine internal policy division over women's rights between hardliners, including leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, and pragmatists, though they publicly present a united front.[324] Another decree was issued shortly after the first, requiring female TV presenters to cover their faces during broadcasts.[325] Since the Taliban takeover, suicides among women have become more common, and the country could now be one of the few where the rate of suicide among women surpasses that among men.[326][327][328]
In May 2022, the Taliban dissolved Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission along with four other government departments, citing the country's budget deficit.[329]
Economy
Afghanistan's nominal GDP was $20.1 billion in 2020, or $81 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP).[21] Its GDP per capita is $2,459 (PPP) and $611 by nominal.[21] Despite having $1 trillion or more in mineral deposits,[330] it remains one of the world's least developed countries. Afghanistan's rough physical geography and its landlocked status has been cited as reasons why the country has always been among the least developed in the modern era – a factor where progress is also slowed by contemporary conflict and political instability.[260] The country imports over $7 billion worth of goods but exports only $784 million, mainly fruits and nuts. It has $2.8 billion in external debt.[263] The service sector contributed the most to the GDP (55.9%) followed by agriculture (23%) and industry (21.1%).[331]
Da Afghanistan Bank serves as the central bank of the nation[332] and the Afghani (AFN) is the national currency, with an exchange rate of about 75 Afghanis to 1 US dollar.[333] A number of local and foreign banks operate in the country, including the Afghanistan International Bank, New Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the First Micro Finance Bank.
One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 5 million expatriates, who brought with them entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up businesses. Many Afghans are now involved in construction, which is one of the largest industries in the country.[334] Some of the major national construction projects include the $35 billion New Kabul City next to the capital, the Aino Mena project in Kandahar, and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town near Jalalabad.[335][336][337] Similar development projects have also begun in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities.[338] An estimated 400,000 people enter the labor market each year.[339]
Several small companies and factories began operating in different parts of the country, which not only provide revenues to the government but also create new jobs. Improvements to the business environment have resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecom investment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003.[340] Afghan rugs are becoming popular again, allowing many carpet dealers around the country to hire more workers; in 2016–17 it was the fourth most exported group of items.[341]
Afghanistan is a member of WTO, SAARC, ECO, and OIC. It holds an observer status in SCO. In 2018, a majority of imports come from either Iran, China, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, while 84% of exports are to Pakistan and India.[342]
Since the Taliban's takeover of the country in August 2021, the United States has frozen about $9 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank,[343] blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in US bank accounts.[344][345]
The GDP of Afghanistan is estimated to have dropped by 20% following the Taliban return to power. Following this, after months of free-fall, the Afghan economy began stabilizing, as a result of the Taliban's restrictions on smuggled imports, limits on banking transactions, and UN aid. In 2023, the Afghan economy began seeing signs of revival. This has also been followed by stable exchange rates, low inflation, stable revenue collection, and the rise of trade in exports.[346] In the third quarter of 2023, the Afghani rose to be the best performing currency in the world, climbing over 9% against the US dollar.[347]
Agriculture
Agricultural production is the backbone of Afghanistan's economy[348] and has traditionally dominated the economy, employing about 40% of the workforce as of 2018.[349] The country is known for producing pomegranates, grapes, apricots, melons, and several other fresh and dry fruits. Afghanistan also became the world's top producer of cannabis in 2010.[350] In March 2023, however, cannabis production was banned by a decree from Hibatullah Akhundzada.[351]
Saffron, the most expensive spice, grows in Afghanistan, particularly Herat Province. In recent years, there has been an uptick in saffron production, which authorities and farmers are using to try to replace poppy cultivation. Between 2012 and 2019, the saffron cultivated and produced in Afghanistan was consecutively ranked the world's best by the International Taste and Quality Institute.[352][353] Production hit record high in 2019 (19,469 kg of saffron), and one kilogram is sold domestically between $634 and $1147.[354]
The availability of cheap diesel-powered water pumps imported from China and Pakistan, and in the 2010s, of cheap solar power to pump water, resulted in expansion of agriculture and population in the southwestern deserts of Afghanistan in Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz provinces in the 2010s. Wells have gradually been deepened, but water resources are limited. Opium is the major crop, but as of 2022, was under attack by the new Taliban government which, to suppress opium production, was systematically suppressing water pumping.[355][356] In a 2023 report, poppy cultivation in southern Afghanistan was reduced by over 80% as a result of Taliban campaigns to stop its use toward opium. This included a 99% reduction of opium growth in the Helmand Province.[357] In November 2023, a U.N report showed that in the entirety of Afghanistan, poppy cultivation dropped by over 95%, removing it from its place as being the world's largest opium producer.[358][359]
Mining
The country's natural resources include: coal, copper, iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite, gold, zinc, talc, barite, sulfur, lead, marble, precious and semi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum.[360][361] In 2010, US and Afghan government officials estimated that untapped mineral deposits located in 2007 by the US Geological Survey are worth at least $1 trillion.[362]
Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution estimated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 billion per year from its mineral deposits, its gross national product would double and provide long-term funding for critical needs.[363] The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2006 that northern Afghanistan has an average 460 million m3 (2.9 billion bbl) of crude oil, 440 billion m3 (15.7 trillion cu ft) of natural gas, and 67 billion L (562 million US bbl) of natural gas liquids.[364] In 2011, Afghanistan signed an oil exploration contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of three oil fields along the Amu Darya river in the north.[365]
The country has significant amounts of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals.[360][361][366] The Khanashin carbonatite in Helmand Province contains 1,000,000 tonnes (980,000 long tons; 1,100,000 short tons) of rare earth elements.[367] In 2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the Aynak copper mine to the China Metallurgical Group for $3 billion,[368] making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan's history.[369] The state-run Steel Authority of India won the mining rights to develop the huge Hajigak iron ore deposit in central Afghanistan.[370] Government officials estimate that 30% of the country's untapped mineral deposits are worth at least $1 trillion.[362] One official asserted that "this will become the backbone of the Afghan economy" and a Pentagon memo stated that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium".[371] The lithium reserves of 21 Mio. tons could amount to the ones of Bolivia, which is currently viewed as the country with the largest lithium reserves.[372] Other larger deposits are the ones of bauxite and cobalt.[372]
Access to biocapacity in Afghanistan is lower than world average. In 2016, Afghanistan had 0.43 global hectares[373] of biocapacity per person within its territory, much less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.[374] In 2016 Afghanistan used 0.73 global hectares of biocapacity per person—their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use just under double as much biocapacity as Afghanistan contains. As a result, Afghanistan is running a biocapacity deficit.[373]
In September 2023, the Taliban signed mining contracts worth $6.5 billion, with extractions based on gold, iron, lead, and zinc in the provinces of Herat, Ghor, Logar, and Takhar.[375]
Energy
According to the World Bank, 98% of the rural population have access to electricity in 2018, up from 28% in 2008.[376] Overall the figure stands at 98.7%.[377] As of 2016, Afghanistan produces 1,400 megawatts of power, but still imports the majority of electricity via transmission lines from Iran and the Central Asian states.[378] The majority of electricity production is via hydropower, helped by the amount of rivers and streams that flow from the mountains.[379] However electricity is not always reliable and blackouts happen, including in Kabul.[380] In recent years an increasing number of solar, biomass and wind power plants have been constructed.[381] Currently under development are the CASA-1000 project which will transmit electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.[380] Power is managed by the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS, Afghanistan Electricity Company).
Important dams include the Kajaki Dam, Dahla Dam, and the Sardeh Band Dam.[265]
Tourism
.jpg)
Tourism is a small industry in Afghanistan due to security issues. Nevertheless, some 20,000 foreign tourists visit the country annually as of 2016.[382] In particular an important region for domestic and international tourism is the picturesque Bamyan Valley, which includes lakes, canyons and historical sites, helped by the fact it is in a safe area away from insurgent activity.[383][384] Smaller numbers visit and trek in regions such as the Wakhan Valley, which is also one of the world's most remote communities.[385] From the late 1960s onwards, Afghanistan was a popular stop on the famous hippie trail, attracting many Europeans and Americans. Coming from Iran, the trail traveled through various Afghan provinces and cities including Herat, Kandahar and Kabul before crossing to northern Pakistan, northern India, and Nepal.[386][387] Tourism peaked in 1977, the year before the start of political instability and armed conflict.[388]
The city of Ghazni has significant history and historical sites, and together with Bamyan city have in recent years been voted Islamic Cultural Capital and South Asia Cultural Capital respectively.[389] The cities of Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, and Zaranj are also very historic. The Minaret of Jam in the Hari River valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A cloak reputedly worn by Islam's prophet Muhammad is kept in the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, a city founded by Alexander the Great and the first capital of Afghanistan. The citadel of Alexander in the western city of Herat has been renovated in recent years and is a popular attraction. In the north of the country is the Shrine of Ali, believed by many to be the location where Ali was buried.[390] The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul hosts a large number of Buddhist, Bactrian Greek and early Islamic antiquities; the museum suffered greatly by civil war but has been slowly restoring since the early 2000s.[391]
Unexpectedly, tourism has seen development in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. Active efforts by the Taliban has seen tourism increase from 691 tourists in 2021, to 2,300 in 2022. A sharp increase of over 120% was observed from 2022 to 2023, reaching nearly 5,200 tourists, with some estimates of between 7,000 and 10,000.[392][393][394] This is however, threatened from ISIS-K, who held responsibility for attacks on tourists such as the 2024 Bamyan shooting.[395]
Communication
Telecommunication services in Afghanistan are provided by Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, MTN Group, and Roshan. The country uses its own space satellite called Afghansat 1, which provides services to millions of phone, internet, and television subscribers. By 2001 following years of civil war, telecommunications was virtually a non-existent sector, but by 2016 it had grown to a $2 billion industry, with 22 million mobile phone subscribers and 5 million internet users. The sector employs at least 120,000 people nationwide.[396]
Transportation
Due to Afghanistan's geography, transport between various parts of the country has historically been difficult. The backbone of Afghanistan's road network is Highway 1, often called the "Ring Road", which extends for 2,210 kilometres (1,370 mi) and connects five major cities: Kabul, Ghazni, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif,[397] with spurs to Kunduz and Jalalabad and various border crossings, while skirting around the mountains of the Hindu Kush.[398]
The Ring Road is crucially important for domestic and international trade and the economy.[399] A key portion of the Ring Road is the Salang Tunnel, completed in 1964, which facilitates travel through the Hindu Kush mountain range and connects northern and southern Afghanistan.[400] It is the only land route that connects Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.[401] Several mountain passes allow travel between the Hindu Kush in other areas. Serious traffic accidents are common on Afghan roads and highways, particularly on the Kabul–Kandahar and the Kabul–Jalalabad Road.[402] Traveling by bus in Afghanistan remains dangerous due to militant activities.[403]
Air transport in Afghanistan is provided by the national carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines,[404] and by the private company Kam Air. Airlines from a number of countries also provide flights in and out of the country. These include Air India, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. The country has four international airports: Hamid Karzai International Airport (formerly Kabul International Airport), Kandahar International Airport, Herat International Airport, and Mazar-e Sharif International Airport. Including domestic airports, there are 43.[263] Bagram Air Base is a major military airfield.
The country has three rail links: one, a 75-kilometre (47 mi) line from Mazar-i-Sharif to the Uzbekistan border;[405] a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) long line from Toraghundi to the Turkmenistan border (where it continues as part of Turkmen Railways); and a short link from Aqina across the Turkmen border to Kerki, which is planned to be extended further across Afghanistan.[406] These lines are used for freight only and there is no passenger service. A rail line between Khaf, Iran and Herat, western Afghanistan, intended for both freight and passengers, was under construction as of 2019.[407][408] About 125 kilometres (78 mi) of the line will lie on the Afghan side.[409][410]
Private vehicle ownership has increased substantially since the early 2000s. Taxis are yellow and consist of both cars and auto rickshaws.[411] In rural Afghanistan, villagers often use donkeys, mules or horses to transport or carry goods. Camels are primarily used by the Kochi nomads.[278] Bicycles are popular throughout Afghanistan.[412]
Demographics
The population of Afghanistan was estimated at 32.9 million as of 2019 by the Afghanistan Statistics and Information Authority,[414] whereas the UN estimates over 38.0 million.[415] In 1979 the total population was reported to be about 15.5 million.[416] About 23.9% of them are urbanite, 71.4% live in rural areas, and the remaining 4.7% are nomadic.[417] An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries. As of 2013, Afghanistan was the largest refugee-producing country in the world, a title held for 32 years.
The current population growth rate is 2.37%,[263] one of the highest in the world outside of Africa. This population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050 if current population trends continue.[418] The population of Afghanistan increased steadily until the 1980s, when civil war caused millions to flee to other countries such as Pakistan.[419] Millions have since returned and the war conditions contribute to the country having the highest fertility rate outside Africa.[420] Afghanistan's healthcare has recovered since the turn of the century, causing falls in infant mortality and increases in life expectancy, although it has the lowest life expectance of any country outside Africa. This (along with other factors such as returning refugees) caused rapid population growth in the 2000s that has only recently started to slow down.[citation needed] The Gini coefficient in 2008 was 27.8.[421]
Urbanization
As estimated by the CIA World Factbook, 26% of the population was urbanized as of 2020. This is one of the lowest figures in the world; in Asia it is only higher than Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Urbanization has increased rapidly, particularly in the capital Kabul, due to returning refugees from Pakistan and Iran after 2001, internally displaced people, and rural migrants.[422] Urbanization in Afghanistan is different from typical urbanization in that it is centered on just a few cities.[423]
The only city with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul, located in the east of the country. The other large cities are located generally in the "ring" around the Central Highlands, namely Kandahar in the south, Herat in the west, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz in the north, and Jalalabad in the east.[417]
| Rank | Name | Province | Pop. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kabul  Kandahar |
1 | Kabul | Kabul Province | 4,273,200 |  Herat  Mazar-i-Sharif | ||||
| 2 | Kandahar | Kandahar Province | 614,300 | ||||||
| 3 | Herat | Herat Province | 556,200 | ||||||
| 4 | Mazar-i-Sharif | Balkh Province | 469,200 | ||||||
| 5 | Jalalabad | Nangarhar Province | 356,500 | ||||||
| 6 | Kunduz | Kunduz Province | 263,200 | ||||||
| 7 | Taloqan | Takhar Province | 253,700 | ||||||
| 8 | Puli Khumri | Baghlan Province | 237,900 | ||||||
| 9 | Ghazni | Ghazni Province | 183,000 | ||||||
| 10 | Khost | Khost Province | 153,300 | ||||||
Ethnicity and languages
Afghans are divided into several ethnolinguistic groups. According to research data by several institutions in 2019, the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group, comprising 42%, followed by Tajiks, comprising 27%[4][5][6][425][8] of the country's population. The other two major ethnic groups are the Hazaras and Uzbeks, each at 9%. A further 10 other ethnic groups are recognized and each are represented in the Afghan National Anthem.[426]
Dari and Pashto are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common.[427] Dari, which is also referred to as Eastern Persian as it is a variety of and mutually intelligible with Persian (and very often called 'Farsi' by some Afghans like in Iran), functions as the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in much of the northern and northwestern parts of the country.[428] Native speakers of Dari, of any ethnicity, are sometimes called Farsiwans.[429] Pashto is the native tongue of the Pashtuns, although many of them are also fluent in Dari while some non-Pashtuns are fluent in Pashto. Despite the Pashtuns having been dominant in Afghan politics for centuries, Dari remained the preferred language for government and bureaucracy.[430] According to CIA World Factbook, Dari Persian is spoken by 78% (L1 + L2) and functions as the lingua franca, while Pashto is spoken by 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, and Balochi 1% (2021 est). Data represent the most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language. There are a number of smaller regional languages, including Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani.[263]
When it comes to foreign languages among the populace, many are able to speak or understand Hindustani (Urdu-Hindi), partly due to returning Afghan refugees from Pakistan and the popularity of Bollywood films respectively.[431] English is also understood by some of the population,[432] and has been gaining popularity as of the 2000s.[433] Some Afghans retain some ability in Russian, which was taught in public schools during the 1980s.[431]
Religion
The CIA estimated in 2009 that 99.7% of the Afghan population was Muslim[263] and most are thought to adhere to the Sunni Hanafi school.[434] According to Pew Research Center, as much as 90% are of the Sunni denomination, 7% Shia and 3% non-denominational.[435] The CIA Factbook variously estimates up to 89.7% Sunni or up to 15% Shia.[263]
Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are also found in certain major cities (namely Kabul, Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kandahar)[436][437] accompanied by gurdwaras and mandirs.[438] According to Deutsche Welle in September 2021, 250 remain in the country after 67 were evacuated to India.[439]
There was a small Jewish community in Afghanistan, living mainly in Herat and Kabul. Over the years, this small community was forced to leave due to decades of warfare and religious persecution. By the end of the twentieth century, nearly the entire community had emigrated to Israel and the United States, with one known exception, Herat-born Zablon Simintov. He remained for years, being the caretaker of the only remaining Afghan synagogue. He left the country for the US after the second Taliban takeover. A woman who left shortly after him has since been identified as the likely last Jew in Afghanistan.[440][441][442]
Afghan Christians, who number 500–8,000, practice their faith secretly due to intense societal opposition, and there are no public churches.[443][444]
Education
Education in Afghanistan is overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. There are over 16,000 schools in the country and roughly 9 million students. Of this, about 60% are males and 40% females. However, the new regime has thus far forbidden female teachers and female students from returning to secondary schools.[445][446] Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country. About 21% of these are females.[447] Former Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak had stated that construction of 8,000 schools is required for the remaining children who are deprived of formal learning.[448] As of 2018 the literacy rate of the population age 15 and older is 43.02% (males 55.48% and females 29.81%).[449]
The top universities in Afghanistan are the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) followed by Kabul University (KU), both of which are located in Kabul. The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeled after the United States Military Academy at West Point, was a four-year military development institution dedicated to graduating officers for the Afghan Armed Forces. The Afghan Defense University was constructed near Qargha in Kabul. Major universities outside of Kabul include Kandahar University in the south, Herat University in the northwest, Balkh University and Kunduz University in the north, Nangarhar University and Khost University in the east.
After the Taliban regained power in 2021, it became unclear to what extent female education would continue in the country. In March 2022, after they had been closed for some time, it was announced that secondary education would be reopened shortly. However, shortly before reopening, the order was rescinded and schools for older girls remained closed.[450] Despite the ban, six provinces, Balkh, Kunduz, Jowzjan, Sar-I-Pul, Faryab, and the Day Kundi, still allow girl's schools from grade 6 and up.[451][452] In December 2023, investigations were being held by the United Nations on the claim that Afghan girls of all ages were allowed to study at religious schools.[453]
Health
According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. The average life expectancy is estimated to be around 60 years.[454][455] The country's maternal mortality rate is 396 deaths/100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate is 66[455] to 112.8 deaths in every 1,000 live births.[263] The Ministry of Public Health plans to cut the infant mortality rate to 400 for every 100,000 live births before 2020. The country has more than 3,000 midwives, with an additional 300 to 400 being trained each year.[456]
There are over 100 hospitals in Afghanistan,[457] with the most advanced treatments being available in Kabul. The French Medical Institute for Children and Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul are the leading children's hospitals in the country. Some of the other leading hospitals in Kabul include the Jamhuriat Hospital and Jinnah Hospital.[458] In spite of all this, many Afghans travel to Pakistan and India for advanced treatment.
It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the Afghan population lives within a two-hour walk of the nearest health facility.[459] The disability rate is also high in Afghanistan due to the decades of war.[460] It was reported recently that about 80,000 people are missing limbs.[461][462] Non-governmental charities such as Save the Children and Mahboba's Promise assist orphans in association with governmental structures.[463]
Culture
-_Menschen_-_Annemarie_Schwarzenbach_-_SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-21-110.jpg)
Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between the regions of Afghanistan, each with distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country.[260] Family is the mainstay of Afghan society and families are often headed by a patriarch.[464] In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (the Pashtun way).[465] Key tenets of Pashtunwali include hospitality, the provision of sanctuary to those seeking refuge, and revenge for the shedding of blood.[466] The Pashtuns are largely connected to the culture of Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau. The remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic. Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali in a process called Pashtunization, while some Pashtuns have been Persianized. Those who have lived in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 years have been further influenced by the cultures of those neighboring nations. The Afghan people are known to be strongly religious.[434]
Afghans, particularly Pashtuns, are noted for their tribal solidarity and high regard for personal honor.[467] There are various Afghan tribes, and an estimated 2–3 million nomads.[468] Afghan culture is deeply Islamic,[469] but pre-Islamic practices persist.[470] Child marriage is prevalent;[471] the legal age for marriage is 16.[472] The most preferred marriage in Afghan society is to one's parallel cousin, and the groom is often expected to pay a bride price.[473]
In the villages, families typically occupy mudbrick houses, or compounds with mudbrick or stone walled houses. Villages typically have a headman (malik), a master for water distribution (mirab) and a religious teacher (mullah). Men would typically work on the fields, joined by women during harvest.[464] About 15% of the population are nomadic, locally called kochis.[260] When nomads pass villages they often buy supplies such as tea, wheat and kerosene from the villagers; villagers buy wool and milk from the nomads.[464]
Afghan clothing for both men and women typically consists of various forms of shalwar kameez, especially perahan tunban and khet partug. Women would normally wear a chador for head covering; some women, typically from highly conservative communities, wear the burqa, a full body covering. These were worn by some women of the Pashtun community well before Islam came to the region, but the Taliban enforced this dress on women when they were in power.[474] Another popular dress is the chapan which acts as a coat. The karakul is a hat made from the fur of a specific regional breed of sheep. It was favored by former kings of Afghanistan and became known to much of the world in the 21st century when it was constantly worn by President Hamid Karzai.[475] The pakol is another traditional hat originating from the far east of the country; it was popularly worn by the guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.[476] The Mazari hat originates from northern Afghanistan.[477]
Architecture
The nation has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments. Afghanistan contains many remnants from all ages, including Greek and Buddhist stupas, monasteries, monuments, temples and Islamic minarets. Among the most well known are the Great Mosque of Herat, the Blue Mosque, the Minaret of Jam, the Chil Zena, the Qala-i Bost in Lashkargah, the ancient Greek city of Ai-Khanoum.[478] However, many of its historic monuments have been damaged in modern times due to the civil wars.[479] The two famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. As there was no colonialism in the modern era in Afghanistan, European-style architecture is rare but does exist: the Victory Arch at Paghman and the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul were built in this style in the 1920s. Afghan architecture also ranges deep into India such as the city of Agra,[480] and the tomb of Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan Emperor of India.[481]
Art and ceramics
Carpet weaving is an ancient practice in Afghanistan, and many of these are still handmade by tribal and nomadic people today.[423] Carpets have been produced in the region for thousands of years and traditionally done by women.[482] Some crafters express their feelings through the designs of rugs; for example after the outbreak of the Soviet–Afghan War, "war rugs", a variant of Afghan rugs, were created with designs representing pain and misery caused by the conflict.[483] Every province has its own specific characteristics in making rugs.[484] In some of the Turkic-populated areas in the north-west, bride and wedding ceremony prices are driven by the bride's weaving skills.[485]
Pottery has been crafted in Afghanistan for millennia. The village of Istalif, north of Kabul, is in particular a major center, known for its unique turquoise and green pottery,[486] and their methods of crafting have remained the same for centuries.[487][488] Much of lapis lazuli stones were earthed in modern-day Afghanistan which were used in Chinese porcelain as cobalt blue, later used in ancient Mesopotamia and Turkey.[489]
The lands of Afghanistan have a long history of art, with the world's earliest known usage of oil painting found in cave murals in the country.[490][491] A notable art style that developed in Afghanistan and eastern Pakistan is Gandhara Art, produced by a fusion of Greco-Roman art and Buddhist art between the 1st and 7th centuries CE.[492] Later eras saw increased use of the Persian miniature style, with Kamaleddin Behzad of Herat being one of the most notable miniature artists of the Timurid and early Safavid periods. Since the 1900s, the nation began to use Western techniques in art. Abdul Ghafoor Breshna was a prominent Afghan painter and sketch artist from Kabul during the 20th century.
Literature
Classic Persian and Pashto poetry are a cherished part of Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in the region, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture.[493] One of the poetic styles is called landay. A popular theme in Afghan folklore and mythology are Divs, monstrous creatures.[494] Thursdays are traditionally "poetry night" in the city of Herat when men, women and children gather and recite both ancient and modern poems.[495]
Three mystical authors are considered true national glories (although claimed with equal ardor by Iran), namely: Khwaja Abdullah Ansari of Herat, a great mystic and Sufi saint in the 11th century, Sanai of Ghazni, author of mystical poems in the 12th century, and, finally, Rumi of Balkh, in the 13th century, considered the greatest mystical poet of the Muslim world. The Afghan Pashto literature, although quantitatively remarkable and in great growth in the last century, has always had an essentially local meaning and importance, feeling the influence of both Persian literature and the contiguous literatures of India. Both main literatures, from the second half of the nineteenth century, have shown themselves to be sensitive to genres, movements and stylistic features imported from Europe.
Khushal Khan Khattak of the 17th century is considered the national poet. Other notable poets include Rabi'a Balkhi, Jami, Rahman Baba, Khalilullah Khalili, and Parween Pazhwak.[496]
Music
Afghan classical music has close historical links with Indian classical music and use the same Hindustani terminology and theories like raga. Genres of this style of music include ghazal (poetic music) and instruments such as the Indian tabla, sitar and harmonium, and local instruments like zerbaghali, as well as dayereh and tanbur which are also known in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. The rubab is the country's national instrument and precurses the Indian sarod instrument. Some of the famous artists of classical music include Ustad Sarahang and Sarban.[497]
Pop music developed in the 1950s through Radio Kabul and was influential in social change. During this time female artists also started appearing, at first Mermon Parwin.[497] Perhaps the most famous artist of this genre was Ahmad Zahir, who synthesized many genres and continues to be renowned for his voice and rich lyrics long after his death in 1979.[498][497] Other notable masters of traditional or popular Afghan music include Nashenas, Ubaidullah Jan, Mahwash, Ahmad Wali, Farhad Darya, and Naghma.[499]
Attan is the national dance of Afghanistan, a group dance popularly performed by Afghans of all backgrounds.[500] The dance is considered part of Afghan identity.[501]
Media and entertainment
Afghanistan has around 350 radio stations and over 200 television stations.[502] Radio Television Afghanistan, originating from 1925, is the state public broadcaster. Television programs began airing in the 1970s and today there are many private television channels such as TOLO and Shamshad TV. The first Afghan newspaper was published in 1873,[503] and there are hundreds of print outlets today.[502] By the 1920s, Radio Kabul was broadcasting local radio services.[504] Voice of America, BBC, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast in both of Afghanistan's official languages on radio.[505] Press restrictions have been gradually relaxed and private media diversified since 2002, after more than two decades of tight controls.
Afghans have long been accustomed to watching Indian Bollywood films and listening to its filmi songs.[506] It has been claimed that Afghanistan is among the biggest markets for the Hindi film industry.[507] The stereotypes of Afghans in India (Kabuliwala or Pathani) have also been represented in some Bollywood films by actors.[508] Many Bollywood film stars have roots in Afghanistan, including Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Feroz Khan, Kader Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Zarine Khan, Celina Jaitly, and a number of others. Several Bollywood films have been shot inside Afghanistan, including Dharmatma, Khuda Gawah, Escape from Taliban, and Kabul Express.
Cuisine
Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops, such as wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are native fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and whey. Kabuli palaw is the national dish of Afghanistan.[509] The nation's culinary specialties reflect its ethnic and geographic diversity.[510] Afghanistan is known for its high-quality pomegranates, grapes, and sweet melons.[511] Tea is a favorite drink among Afghans. A typical Afghan diet consists of naan, yogurt, rice, and meat.[464]
Holidays and festivals
Afghanistan's official New Year starts with Nowruz, an ancient tradition that started as a Zoroastrian celebration in present-day Iran, and with which it shares the annual celebration along with several other countries. It occurs every year at the vernal equinox. In Afghanistan, Nowruz is typically celebrated with music and dance, as well as holding buzkashi tournaments.[512]
Yaldā, another nationally celebrated ancient tradition,[513] commemorates the ancient goddess Mithra and marks the longest night of the year on the eve of the winter solstice (čelle ye zemestān; usually falling on 20 or 21 December),[514][515] during which families gather together to recite poetry and eat fruit.[516][517]
As a predominantly Muslim country, Islamic events and festivals such as Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Ashura are widely celebrated annually in Afghanistan. The Sikh festival of Vaisakhi is celebrated by the Sikh community[518] and the Hindu festival Diwali by the Hindu community.[519]
National Independence Day is celebrated on 19 August to mark the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 and the country's full independence.[263] Several international celebrations are also officially held in Afghanistan, such as International Workers' Day,[520] and International Women's Day.[521] Some regional festivals include the Red Flower Festival (during Nowruz) in Mazar-i-Sharif,[522] and the Damboora Festival in Bamyan Province.[523]
Sports
Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the Afghan Sports Federation. Cricket and association football are the two most popular sports in the country.[524][525] The Afghan Sports Federation promotes cricket, association football, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding, track and field, skating, bowling, snooker, chess, and other sports.
The Afghanistan national basketball team won the first team sports title at the 2010 South Asian Games.[526] In 2012, the country's 3x3 basketball team won the gold medal at the 2012 Asian Beach Games. In 2013, Afghanistan's football team followed as it won the SAFF Championship.[527]
The Afghan national cricket team, which was formed in 2001, won the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup.[528] It won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The team played in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 Cricket World Cups.[529] The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the official governing body of the sport and is headquartered in Kabul. The Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground serves as the nation's main cricket stadium. There are several other stadiums throughout the country, including the Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Stadium near Jalalabad. Domestically, cricket is played between teams from different provinces.
The Afghanistan national football team has been competing in international football since 1941.[530] The national team plays its home games at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, while football in Afghanistan is governed by the Afghanistan Football Federation. The national team has never competed or qualified for the FIFA World Cup but won an international football trophy in 2013.[527] The country also has a national team in the sport of futsal, a 5-a-side variation of football.
The traditional and the national sport of Afghanistan is buzkashi, particularly popular in the north.[531] It is similar to polo, played by horsemen in two teams, each trying to grab and hold a goat carcass.[532] The Afghan Hound (a type of running dog) originated in Afghanistan and was used in wolf hunting.[533]
See also
.svg){kind=small}
Explanatory notes
- ^ The last census in Afghanistan was conducted in 1979, and was itself incomplete. Due to the ongoing conflict in the country, no official census has been conducted since.[4]
- ^ Other demonyms that have been used are Afghani,[9] Afghanese and Afghanistani (see Afghans for further details)[10]
- ^ Afghanistan is a pure autocracy, with all law ultimately originating from the supreme leader. Consensus rule was initially used among the Taliban, but was phased out as the supreme leader monopolized control in the months following the 2021 return to power.[15][16][17] There is an advisory Leadership Council, however its role is in question as the supreme leader has not convened it for many months (as of March 2023),[update] and increasingly rules by decree.[18]
- ^ /æfˈɡænɪstæn, æfˈɡɑːnɪstɑːn/
- ^
- ^ The Government of India regards Afghanistan as a bordering country, as it considers all of Kashmir to be part of India. However, this is disputed, and the region bordering Afghanistan is administered by Pakistan as Gilgit-Baltistan.[27]
References
Citations
- ^ "Document 77746". Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (19 June 2013). "The Taliban's Qatar Office: Are Prospects for Peace Already Doomed?". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Geonames.org (CC BY)
- ^ a b "Population Matters". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan's ethnic mosaic". The Times of India. 23 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Afghanistan Population 2021". World Population Review. 19 September 2021.
- ^ "Distribution of Afghan population by ethnic group 2020". 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Afghan Ethnic Groups: A Brief Investigation". 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Reference.com Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 13 November 2007).
- ^ Dictionary.com. WordNet 3.0. Princeton University. Reference.com (Retrieved 13 November 2007). Archived 28 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Afghan | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. the Cambridge English Dictionary. ISBN 9781107660151. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ *Sakhi, Nilofar (December 2022). "The Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan and Security Paradox". Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs. 9 (3): 383–401. doi:10.1177/23477970221130882. ISSN 2347-7970. S2CID 253945821.
Afghanistan is now controlled by a militant group that operates out of a totalitarian ideology.
- Madadi, Sayed (6 September 2022). "Dysfunctional centralization and growing fragility under Taliban rule". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
In other words, the centralized political and governance institutions of the former republic were unaccountable enough that they now comfortably accommodate the totalitarian objectives of the Taliban without giving the people any chance to resist peacefully.
- Sadr, Omar (23 March 2022). "Afghanistan's Public Intellectuals Fail to Denounce the Taliban". Fair Observer. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
The Taliban government currently installed in Afghanistan is not simply another dictatorship. By all standards, it is a totalitarian regime.
- "Dismantlement of the Taliban regime is the only way forward for Afghanistan". Atlantic Council. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
As with any other ideological movement, the Taliban's Islamic government is transformative and totalitarian in nature.
- Akbari, Farkhondeh (7 March 2022). "The Risks Facing Hazaras in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan". George Washington University. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
In the Taliban's totalitarian Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, there is no meaningful political inclusivity or representation for Hazaras at any level.
- Madadi, Sayed (6 September 2022). "Dysfunctional centralization and growing fragility under Taliban rule". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ *Choi, Joseph (8 September 2021). "EU: Provisional Taliban government does not fulfill promises". The Hill. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Bezhan, Frud (7 September 2021). "Key Figures In The Taliban's New Theocratic Government". Radio Farda. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- George, Susannah (18 February 2023). "Inside the Taliban campaign to forge a religious emirate". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ T. S. Tirumurti (26 May 2022). "Letter dated 25 May 2022 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) addressed to the President of the Security Council" (PDF). United Nations Security Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Kraemer, Thomas (27 November 2022). "Afghanistan dispatch: Taliban leaders issue new orders on law-making process, enforcement of court orders from previous government". JURIST. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ Dawi, Akmal (28 March 2023). "Unseen Taliban Leader Wields Godlike Powers in Afghanistan". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ Oxford Analytica (10 March 2023). "Senior Afghan Taliban figures move to curb leader". Expert Briefings. Emerald Expert Briefings. doi:10.1108/OXAN-DB276639.
[Akhundzada] has not convened the Taliban's Leadership Council (a 'politburo' of top leaders and commanders) for several months. Instead, he relies on the narrower Kandahar Council of Clerics for legal advice.
- ^ Central Statistics Office Afghanistan
- ^ "World Bank Open Data". World Bank Open Data. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Afghanistan". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24". United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Half Hour and 45-Minute Time Zones". timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Taliban Changes Solar Year to Hijri Lunar Calendar". Hasht-e Subh Daily. 26 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ^ "Securing Stability in Afghanistan, the 'Heart of Asia'". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Border Management)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
- ^ د هېواد د وګړو اټکل برآورد نفوس کشور1399 [Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2020–21] (PDF) (Report) (in Arabic and English). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Pillalamarri, Akhilesh. "Why Is Afghanistan the 'Graveyard of Empires'?". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Luke (14 January 2002). "The Pre-Islamic Period". Afghanistan Country Study. Illinois Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 3 November 2001. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- ^ Cush, Denise; Robinson, Catherine; York, Michael (2012). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge. p. 200. ISBN 9781135189792.
- ^ "The remarkable rugs of war, Drill Hall Gallery". The Australian. 30 July 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Professing Faith: Religious traditions in Afghanistan are diverse". 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan: the land that forgot time". The Guardian. 26 October 2001. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "DŌST MOḤAMMAD KHAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 1995. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ Watkins, Andrew H. (November 2021). Cruickshank, Paul; Hummel, Kristina (eds.). "An Assessment of Taliban Rule at Three Months" (PDF). CTC Sentinel. 14 (9). West Point, New York: Combating Terrorism Center: 1–14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Who Will Run the Taliban Government?". crisisgroup.org. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "The Taliban: Unrecognized and unrepentant". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "Morocco seizes over 840 kg of cannabis – Xinhua | English.news.cn". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Saffron on Media | AfGOV". mail.gov.af. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "Taliban Takeover Puts Afghanistan's Cashmere, Silk Industries at Risk". The Business of Fashion. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^
- "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
- "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture Abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).
- cf: "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander." (Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p. 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society)
- "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen'." (Sva, 1915, p. 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood)
- Cf: "The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a cavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of Alexander" (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological. Henry Yule, A. D. Burnell).
- ^ Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977) [1952]. Ancient India (Reprinted ed.). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 99. ISBN 978-8-12080-436-4.
- ^ Ch. M. Kieffer (15 December 1983). "Afghan". Encyclopædia Iranica (online ed.). Columbia University. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013.
- ^ Vogelsang, Willem (2002). The Afghans. Wiley Blackwell. p. 18. ISBN 0-631-19841-5. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ Nölle-Karimi, Christine (2020). "Afghanistan until 1747". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 317.
- ^ a b Afghanistan – John Ford Shroder, University of Nebraska. Encarta. Archived from the original on 17 July 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ "Afghanistan: A Treasure Trove for Archaeologists". Time. 26 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ Rita Wright (2009). The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0521576529. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (1998). Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation. pp.96
- ^ Louis Depree (1981). Notes on Shortugai: An Harappan Site in Northern Afghanistan. Centre for the Study of the Civilization of Central Asia.
- ^ Bryant, Edwin F. (2001) The quest for the origins of Vedic culture: the Indo-Aryan migration debate Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-513777-4.
- ^ "Chronological History of Afghanistan – the cradle of Gandharan civilisation". Gandhara.com.au. 15 February 1989. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ a b Gnoli, Gherado (1989). The Idea of Iran, an Essay on its Origin. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. p. 133.
... he would have drawn inspiration from a ireligious policy which intended to counteract the Median Magi's influence and transfer the 'Avesta-Schule' from Arachosia to Persia: thus the Avesta would have arrived in Persia through Arachosia in the 6th century B.C. [...] Although ... Arachosia would have been only a second fatherland for Zoroastrianism, a significant role should still be attributed to this south-eastern region in the history of the Zoroastrian tradition.
- ^ a b Gnoli, Gherado (1989). The Idea of Iran, an essay on its Origin. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. p. 133.
linguistic data [...] prove the presence of the Zoroastrian tradition in Arachosia both in the Achaemenian age, in the last quarter of the 6th century, and in the Seleucid age.
- ^ a b "ARACHOSIA – Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Country Profile: Afghanistan" (PDF). Library of Congress Country Studies on Afghanistan. August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ Runion 2007, p. 44.
- ^ "'Afghanistan and the Silk Road: The land at the heart of world trade' by Bijan Omrani". UNAMA. 8 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan – Silk Roads Programme". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Wink, André (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. BRILL. p. 125. ISBN 0-391-04173-8. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Afghan and Afghanistan". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ Charles Higham (2014). Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-4381-0996-1.
- ^ Weber, Olivier; Unesco (2002). Eternal Afghanistan. Chêne. ISBN 978-92-3-103850-1.
Gradually there emerged a fabulous syncretism between the Hellenistic world and the Buddhist universe
- ^ Grenet, Grenet (2016). Zoroastriansm among the Kushans.
- ^ a b Allen, Charles (5 November 2015). The Search For Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-0-349-14218-0.
With Aurmuzd, Sroshard, Narasa and Mihr, we are on safer ground because all are Zoroastrian deities: Aurmuzd is the supreme god of light, Ahura Mazda; and Mihr, the sun god, is linked with the Iranian Mithra. Exactly the same non-Buddhist[...]
- ^ Gorder, A. Christian Van (2010). Christianity in Persia and the Status of Non-muslims in Iran. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7391-3609-6.
- ^ Kennedy, Hugh (9 December 2010). The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. Orion. ISBN 978-0-297-86559-9.
.. when the patriarch at Ctesiphon had to broker a compromise that left one bishop at the capital Zaranj and another further east at Bust, now in southern Afghanistan. A Christian text composed in about 850 also records a monastery of ...
- ^ Yossef, Noam Bar'am-Ben (1998). Brides and Betrothals: Jewish Wedding Rituals in Afghanistan. Israel Museum. ISBN 978-965-278-223-6.
The Jews of Afghanistan According to tradition, the first Jews reached ... in Hebrew script found in the Tang - e Azao Valley in the Ghor region ...
- ^ Ende, Werner; Steinbach, Udo (15 April 2010). Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society. Cornell University Press. p. 257. ISBN 9780801464898.
At the time of the first Muslim advances, numerous local natural religions were competing with Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Hinduism in the territory of modern Afghanistan.
- ^ Adrych, Philippa; coins), Robert Bracey (Writer on; Dalglish, Dominic; Lenk, Stefanie; Wood, Rachel (2017). Images of Mithra. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-879253-6.
The Rabatak inscription includes Miiro amongst a list of gods: Nana, Ahura Mazda, and Narasa. All of these gods likely had images dedicated at the Bagolaggo, presumably alongside statues of Kanishka
- ^ Allen, Charles (5 November 2015). The Search For Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-0-349-14218-0.
The two most important deities are goddesses: one is the lady Nana', daughter of the moon god and sister of the sun god, the Kushan form of Anahita, Zoroastrian goddess of fertility
- ^ "A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul". Sir H. M. Elliot. London: Packard Humanities Institute. 1867–1877. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ Hamd-Allah Mustawfi of Qazwin (1340). "The Geographical Part of the NUZHAT-AL-QULUB". Translated by Guy Le Strange. Packard Humanities Institute. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ "A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul (p.3)". Sir H. M. Elliot. London: Packard Humanities Institute. 1867–1877. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ Ewans 2002, p. 22–23.
- ^ Richard F. Strand (31 December 2005). "Richard Strand's Nuristân Site: Peoples and Languages of Nuristan". nuristan.info. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ Richard Nyrop; Donald Seekins, eds. (1986). Afghanistan: A Country Study. Foreign Area Studies, The American University. p. 10.
- ^ Ewans 2002, p. 23.
- ^ "Central Asian world cities". Faculty.washington.edu. 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ Page, Susan (18 February 2009). "Obama's war: Deploying 17,000 raises stakes in Afghanistan". USA Today. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ Dale, Stephen Frederic (1998). "The Legacy of the Timurids". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 8 (1): 43–58. doi:10.1017/S1356186300016424. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 25183465. S2CID 154120015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ Periods of World History: A Latin American Perspective – Page 129
- ^ The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia – Page 465
- ^ Barfield 2012, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Barfield 2012, pp. 75.
- ^ Dupree 1997, pp. 319, 321.
- ^ Hanifi, Shah Mahmoud (15 July 2019). Mountstuart Elphinstone in South Asia: Pioneer of British Colonial Rule. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190914400.
- ^ "Khurasan". The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. 2009. p. 55. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, the term "Khurassan" frequently had a much wider denotation, covering also parts of what are now Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan
- ^ Ibn Battuta (2004). Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354 (reprint, illustrated ed.). Routledge. p. 416. ISBN 978-0-415-34473-9. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017.
- ^ Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah (1560). "Chapter 200: Translation of the Introduction to Firishta's History". The History of India. Vol. 6. Sir H. M. Elliot. London: Packard Humanities Institute. p. 8. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
- ^ a b Edward G. Browne. "A Literary History of Persia, Volume 4: Modern Times (1500–1924), Chapter IV. An Outline of the History Of Persia During The Last Two Centuries (A.D. 1722–1922)". Packard Humanities Institute. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ "Ahmad Shah Durrani". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ Friedrich Engels (1857). "Afghanistan". Andy Blunden. The New American Cyclopaedia, Vol. I. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
- ^ Snedden, Christopher (2015). Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781849043427.
- ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine (2014). The Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th–19th Centuries). Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. ISBN 978-3-7001-7202-4.
- ^ Mehta, p. 248.
- ^ History of Islam, p. 509, at Google Books
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 122-123.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 149.
- ^ Muhammad Katib Hazarah, Fayz (2012). "The History Of Afghanistan Fayż Muḥammad Kātib Hazārah's Sirāj Al Tawārīkh By R. D. Mcchesney, M. M. Khorrami". AAF: 131. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Muhammad Khan, Ashiq (1998). THE LAST PHASE OF MUSLIM RULE IN MULTAN (1752–1818) (Thesis). University of Multan, MULTAN. p. 159. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 155.
- ^ a b Lee 2019, p. 158.
- ^ a b Lee 2019, p. 162.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 166.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 172.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 176.
- ^ Tanner, Stephen (2009). Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban. Da Capo Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-306-81826-4.
- ^ Lee, Jonathan L. (15 January 2019). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78914-010-1.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 205.
- ^ Chahryar, Adle (2003). History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. UNESCO. p. 296. ISBN 978-92-3-103876-1.
- ^ Ingram, Edward (1980). "Great Britain's Great Game: An Introduction". The International History Review. 2 (2): 160–171. doi:10.1080/07075332.1980.9640210. JSTOR 40105749. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016.
- ^ In Defence of British India: Great Britain in the Middle East, 1775–1842 Archived 6 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine By Edward Ingram. Frank Cass & Co, London, 1984. ISBN 0714632465. p7-19
- ^ Lee, Jonathan L. (1 January 1996). The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731–1901. BRILL. p. 257. ISBN 978-90-04-10399-3.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 359-366.
- ^ Onley, James (March 2009). "The Raj Reconsidered: British India's Informal Empire and Spheres of Influence in Asia and Africa" (PDF). Routledge. Page 9 of URL/Page 52. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 376-383.
- ^ "Afghan Women Hope for More Gains Under New Administration – Afghanistan". ReliefWeb. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan – HISTORY". Country Studies US.
- ^ Arnold, Anthony (June 1985). Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion in Perspective. Hoover Press. ISBN 9780817982133.
- ^ Wyatt, Christopher (2 September 2015). "Afghanistan in the Great War". Asian Affairs. 46 (3): 387–410. doi:10.1080/03068374.2015.1081001. S2CID 159788830.
- ^ Roberts, Jeffery J. (14 June 2003). The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275978785.
- ^ Nicosia, Francis R. (1997). "'Drang Nach Osten' Continued? Germany and Afghanistan during the Weimar Republic". Journal of Contemporary History. 32 (2): 235–257. doi:10.1177/002200949703200207. JSTOR 261243. S2CID 160565967.
- ^ "Afghanistan". Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 25. Americana Corporation. 1976. p. 24.
- ^ "Queen Soraya of Afghanistan: A woman ahead of her time". Arab News. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Muḥammad, Fayz̤; McChesney, R. D. (1999). Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising. Markus Wiener Publishers. pp. 39, 40. ISBN 9781558761544. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- ^ Muḥammad, Fayz̤; McChesney, R. D. (1999). Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising. Markus Wiener Publishers. pp. 275, 276. ISBN 9781558761544. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- ^ Hafizullah, Emadi (2005). Culture and customs of Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 35. ISBN 0-313-33089-1. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ a b Eur (2002). The Far East and Australasia 2003. Psychology Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-85743-133-9.
- ^ Anthony Hyman (27 July 2016). Afghanistan under Soviet Domination, 1964–91. Springer. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-349-21948-3.
- ^ Ron Synovitz (18 July 2003). "Afghanistan: History Of 1973 Coup Sheds Light On Relations With Pakistan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ Ewans 2002, p. 186–88.
- ^ Wadle, Ryan (1 October 2018). Afghanistan War: A Documentary and Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781440857478.
- ^ Meher, Jagmohan (2004). America's Afghanistan War: The Success that Failed. Gyan Books. pp. 68–69, 94. ISBN 978-81-7835-262-6.
- ^ Hussain, Rizwan (2005). Pakistan and the Emergence of Islamic Militancy in Afghanistan. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-0-7546-4434-7.
- ^ Rasanayagam, Angelo (2005). Afghanistan: A Modern History. I.B.Tauris. p. 73. ISBN 978-1850438571. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan: 20 years of bloodshed". BBC News. 26 April 1998. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Barfield 2012, p. 234.
- ^ Kalinovsky, Artemy M. (2011). A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan. Harvard University Press. pp. 25–28. ISBN 978-0-674-05866-8.
- ^ Lacina, Bethany; Gleditsch, Nils Petter (2005). "Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths" (PDF). European Journal of Population. 21 (2–3): 154. doi:10.1007/s10680-005-6851-6. S2CID 14344770. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- ^ Kakar, Mohammed (3 March 1997). The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979–1982. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520208933. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
The Afghans are among the latest victims of genocide by a superpower. Large numbers of Afghans were killed to suppress resistance to the army of the Soviet Union, which wished to vindicate its client regime and realize its goal in Afghanistan.
- ^ Klass, Rosanne (1994). The Widening Circle of Genocide. Transaction Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4128-3965-5.
During the intervening fourteen years of Communist rule, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Afghan civilians were killed by Soviet forces and their proxies- the four Communist regimes in Kabul, and the East Germans, Bulgarians, Czechs, Cubans, Palestinians, Indians and others who assisted them. These were not battle casualties or the unavoidable civilian victims of warfare. Soviet and local Communist forces seldom attacked the scattered guerilla bands of the Afghan Resistance except, in a few strategic locales like the Panjsher valley. Instead they deliberately targeted the civilian population, primarily in the rural areas.
- ^ Reisman, W. Michael; Norchi, Charles H. "Genocide and the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
According to widely reported accounts, substantial programmes of depopulation have been conducted in these Afghan provinces: Ghazni, Nagarhar, Lagham, Qandahar, Zabul, Badakhshan, Lowgar, Paktia, Paktika and Kunar...There is considerable evidence that genocide has been committed against the Afghan people by the combined forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.
- ^ Goodson, Larry P. (2001). Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban. University of Washington Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-295-98050-8.
- ^ "Soldiers of God: Cold War (Part 1/5)". CNN. 1998. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
- ^ UNICEF, Land-mines: A deadly inheritance Archived 5 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Landmines in Afghanistan: A Decades Old Danger". Defenseindustrydaily.com. 1 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ "Refugee Admissions Program for Near East and South Asia". Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ^ Recknagel, Charles. "Afghanistan: Land Mines From Afghan-Soviet War Leave Bitter Legacy (Part 2)". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan: History – Columbia Encyclopedia". Infoplease.com. 11 September 2001. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ 'Mujahidin vs. Communists: Revisiting the battles of Jalalabad and Khost Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. By Anne Stenersen: a Paper presented at the conference COIN in Afghanistan: From Mughals to the Americans, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 12–13 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ Barfield 2012, pp. 239, 244.
- ^ "Archived Version" (PDF). prr.hec.gov.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 September 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan". publishing.cdlib.org. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ Saikal, Amin (13 November 2004). Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival (2006 1st ed.). I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., London New York. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-85043-437-5.
- ^ a b "Blood-Stained Hands, Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan's Legacy of Impunity". Human Rights Watch. 7 July 2005. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009.
- ^ GUTMAN, Roy (2008): How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, Endowment of the United States Institute of Peace, 1st ed., Washington D.C.
- ^ "Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001" (PDF). Afghanistan Justice Project. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Afghanistan: The massacre in Mazar-i Sharif. (Chapter II: Background)". Human Rights Watch. November 1998. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ "Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001" (PDF). Afghanistan Justice Project. 2005. p. 63. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Matinuddin, Kamal, The Taliban Phenomenon, Afghanistan 1994–1997, Oxford University Press, (1999), pp. 25–26
- ^ a b "Documents Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists". George Washington University. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
- ^ Afghanistan: Chronology of Events January 1995 – February 1997 (PDF) (Report). Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. February 1997. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ^ Coll, Ghost Wars (New York: Penguin, 2005), 14.
- ^ Country profile: Afghanistan (published August 2008) Archived 25 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine(page 3). Library of Congress. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ Skain, Rosemarie (2002). The women of Afghanistan under the Taliban. McFarland. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7864-1090-3.
- ^ * James Gerstenzan; Lisa Getter (18 November 2001). "Laura Bush Addresses State of Afghan Women". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- "Women's Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras". A Woman Among Warlords. PBS. 11 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ^ Rashid, Ahmed (2002). Taliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia. I.B.Tauris. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-86064-830-4.
- ^ Gargan, Edward A (October 2001). "Taliban massacres outlined for UN". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
- ^ "Confidential UN report details mass killings of civilian villagers". Newsday. newsday.org. 2001. Archived from the original on 18 November 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2001.
- ^ "U.N. says Taliban starving hungry people for military agenda". Associated Press. 7 January 1998. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ Goodson, Larry P. (2002). Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics and the Rise of the Taliban. University of Washington Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-295-98111-6.
- ^ "Re-Creating Afghanistan: Returning to Istalif". NPR. 1 August 2002. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
- ^ Marcela Grad. Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader (1 March 2009 ed.). Webster University Press. p. 310.
- ^ "Ahmed Shah Massoud". History Commons. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Maley, William (2009). The Afghanistan wars. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-230-21313-5.
- ^ Rashid, Ahmed (11 September 2001). "Afghanistan resistance leader feared dead in blast". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013.
- ^ "Life under Taliban cuts two ways". CSM. 20 September 2001 Archived 30 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Brigade 055". CNN. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013.
- ^ Rory McCarthy (17 October 2001). "New offer on Bin Laden". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ 'Trump calls out Pakistan, India as he pledges to 'fight to win' in Afghanistan Archived 1 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. CNN, 24 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ "WPO Poll: Afghan Public Overwhelmingly Rejects al-Qaeda, Taliban". University of Maryland Libraries. 30 January 2006. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
Equally large percentages endorse the US military presence in Afghanistan. Eighty-three percent said they have a favorable view of "the US military forces in our country" (39% very favorable). Just 17% have an unfavorable view.
- ^ "Afghan Futures: A National Public Opinion Survey" (PDF). Afghan Center for Socio-economic and Opinion Research. 29 January 2015. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
Seventy-seven percent support the presence of U.S. forces; 67 percent say the same of NATO/ISAF forces more generally. Despite the country's travails, eight in 10 say it was a good thing for the United States to oust the Taliban in 2001. And much more blame either the Taliban or al Qaeda for the country's violence, 53 percent, than blame the United States, 12 percent. The latter is about half what it was in 2012, coinciding with a sharp reduction in the U.S. deployment.
- ^ Tyler, Patrick (8 October 2001). "A Nation challenged: The attack; U.S. and Britain strike Afghanistan, aiming at bases and terrorist camps; Bush warns 'Taliban will pay a price'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386. S/RES/1386(2001) 31 May 2001. – (UNSCR 1386)
- ^ "United States Mission to Afghanistan". Nato.usmission.gov. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Refugee Crisis". MERIP. 24 September 2001. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Civilians at Risk". Doctors Without Borders – USA. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ Makhmalbaf, Mohsen (1 November 2001). "Limbs of No Body: The World's Indifference to the Afghan Tragedy". Monthly Review. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Rebuilding Afghanistan". Return to Hope. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Japan aid offer to 'broke' Afghanistan". CNN. 15 January 2002. Archived from the original on 19 November 2002. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Rebuilding Afghanistan: The U.S. Role". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ Fossler, Julie. "USAID Afghanistan". Afghanistan.usaid.gov. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ "Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan: Backgrounder". Afghanistan.gc.ca. 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ "Pakistan Accused of Helping Taliban". United States: ABC News. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Crilly, Rob; Spillius, Alex (26 July 2010). "Wikileaks: Pakistan accused of helping Taliban in Afghanistan attacks". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Howard Adelman (15 April 2016). Protracted Displacement in Asia: No Place to Call Home. Taylor & Francis. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-317-07407-6.
- ^ "The foreign troops left in Afghanistan". BBC News. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ 18 May 2018 at 11:38 am (18 May 2018). "How Many Troops Are Currently in Afghanistan?". Forces Network. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Huge security as Afghan presidential election looms". BBC News. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Afghanistan votes in historic presidential election". BBC News. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ Harooni, Mirwais; Shalizi, Hamid (4 April 2014). "Landmark Afghanistan Presidential Election Held Under Shadow of Violence". HuffPost. Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "U.S. formally ends the war in Afghanistan". No. online. CBA News. Associated Press. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Sune Engel Rasmussen in Kabul (28 December 2014). "Nato ends combat operations in Afghanistan". The Guardian. Kabul. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "U.S. formally ends the war in Afghanistan". CBS News. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "TSG IntelBrief: Afghanistan 16.0". The Soufan Group. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^
- "Body Count – Casualty Figures after 10 Years of the 'War on Terror' – Iraq Afghanistan Pakistan" Archived 30 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), by IPPNW, PGS and PSR, First international edition (March 2015)
- Gabriela Motroc (7 April 2015). "U.S. War on Terror has reportedly killed 1.3 million people in a decade". Australian National Review. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015.
- "220,000 killed in US war in Afghanistan 80,000 in Pakistan: report". Daily Times. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015.
- ^ Borger, Julian (18 May 2022). "US withdrawal triggered catastrophic defeat of Afghan forces, damning watchdog report finds". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "US withdrawal prompted collapse of Afghan army: Report". Al Jazeera. 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "NATO to Cut Forces in Afghanistan, Match US Withdrawal". VOA News. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Robertson, Nic (24 June 2021). "Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden's troop withdrawal continues". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan stunned by scale and speed of security forces' collapse". The Guardian. 13 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "President Ashraf Ghani Flees Afghanistan, Taliban Take Over Kabul: Report". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "The Afghan government's collapse is a humiliation for the US and Joe Biden". New Statesman. 15 August 2021. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Operations". The National Resistance Front: Fighting for a Free Afghanistan. National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Anti-Taliban forces say they've taken three districts in Afghanistan's north". Reuters. 21 August 2021. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "An anti-Taliban front forming in Panjshir? Ex top spy Saleh, son of 'Lion of Panjshir' meet at citadel". The Week. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Afghan Vice President Saleh Declares Himself Caretaker President; Reaches Out To Leaders for Support". News18. 17 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ Kazmin, Amy; Findlay, Stephanie; Bokhari, Farhan (6 September 2021). "Taliban says it has captured last Afghan region of resistance". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Huylebroek, Jim; Blue, Victor J. (17 September 2021). "In Panjshir, Few Signs of an Active Resistance, or Any Fight at All". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021.
- ^ "Human and Budgetary Costs to Date of the U.S. War in Afghanistan, 2001–2022 | Figures | Costs of War". The Costs of War. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "UCDP – Uppsala Conflict Data Program". ucdp.uu.se. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "One year later, Austin acknowledges lasting questions over Afghanistan war's end". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "Karzai says while the war has ended, unity has not yet been achieved | Ariana News". ariananews.af. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "Briefing by Special Representative Deborah Lyons to the Security Council". UNAMA. 26 January 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "Hamid Karzai stays on in Afghanistan — hoping for the best, but unable to leave". NPR. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ Zucchino, David (1 September 2021). "Shifting to Governing, Taliban Will Name Supreme Afghan Leader". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "گروه طالبان حکومت جدید خود را با رهبری ملا حسن اخوند اعلام کرد". BBC News فارسی. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ "Taliban announce new government for Afghanistan". BBC News. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Profile: Who is Afghanistan's new caretaker prime minister?". The Express Tribune. 8 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ "Hardliners get key posts in new Taliban government". BBC News. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Taliban Announces Head of State, Acting Ministers". TOLOnews. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Taliban Name Their Deputy Ministers, Doubling Down On An All-Male Team". NPR. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ "Who will speak for Afghanistan at the United Nations?". Al Jazeera. 26 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ "China urges World Bank, IMF to help Afghanistan". News24. 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Can the Taliban avert a food crisis without foreign aid?". Deutsche Welle. 11 November 2021. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "'Countdown to catastrophe': half of Afghans face hunger this winter – UN". The Guardian. 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan Facing Famine: UN, World Bank, US Should Adjust Sanctions, Economic Policies". Human Rights Watch. 11 November 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Can the Taliban Tackle Corruption in Afghanistan?". VOA. 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is ranked 150th, a remarkable status upgrade from its 174th ranking in 2021. In 2011, at the height of U.S. military and developmental engagement in Afghanistan, the country was ranked 180th, next to North Korea and Somalia.
- ^ "Taliban blasted for 'shocking oppression' of women". Arab News. 12 September 2023. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ Afghan Refugees, Costs of War, "Afghan Refugees | Costs of War". Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013., 2012
- ^ "In numbers: Life in Afghanistan after America leaves". BBC News. 13 July 2021. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "'What's wrong?': The silence of Pakistanis on expulsion of Afghan refugees". Al Jazeera. 22 November 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Afghans Banned From 16 Provinces In Iran As Forced Exodus Continues". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Taliban: Iran Deports Almost 350,000 Afghans Within 3 Months". VOA News. 11 December 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief". Business Standard. 22 December 2023. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ * "U.S. maps". Pubs.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- "South Asia: Data, Projects, and Research". Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- "Maps Showing Geology, Oil and Gas Fields and Geological Provinces of South Asia (Includes Afghanistan)". Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- "University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies: The South Asia Center". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- "Syracruse University: The South Asia Center". 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- "Center for South Asian studies". Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings". UNdata. 26 April 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Tan, Anjelica (18 February 2020). "A new strategy for Central Asia". The Hill. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
, as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has noted, Afghanistan is itself a Central Asian country.
- ^ Afghanistan | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University. ISBN 9781107619500. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004181595.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Cultural Crossroad at the Heart of Asia". Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Land area (sq. km)". World Development Indicators. World Bank. 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "CIA Factbook – Area: 41". Central Intelligence Agency. 26 November 1991. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "International Land Border." Archived 8 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine India Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Cary Gladstone (2001). Afghanistan Revisited. Nova Publishers. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-59033-421-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fisher, W. B. (2002). "Afghanistan: Physical and Social Geography". The Far East and Australasia 2003. Psychology Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 9781857431339.
- ^ Whitehead, Kim (21 October 2014). Afghanistan. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781633559899.
- ^ "Forests of Afghanistan" (PDF). cropwatch.unl.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Afghanistan". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 24 September 2022. (Archived 2022 edition.)
- ^ "History of Environmental Change in the Sistan Basin 1976–2005" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan Rivers Lakes – Afghanistan's Web Site". afghanistans.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Snow in Afghanistan: Natural Hazards". NASA. 3 February 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ "Snow may end Afghan drought, but bitter winter looms". Reuters. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013.
- ^ "Afghanistan's woeful water management delights neighbors". The Christian Science Monitor. 15 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Crone, Anthony J. (April 2007). Earthquakes Pose a Serious Hazard in Afghanistan (PDF) (Technical report). US Geological Survey. Fact Sheet FS 2007–3027. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "Earthquake Hazards". USGS Projects in Afghanistan. US Geological Survey. 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Noroozi, Ebrahim (25 June 2022). "Deadly quake a new blow to Afghans enervated by poverty". CTV News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Earthquakes in Herat Province, Health Situation Report No. 12, November 2023". reliefweb.int. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ Beck, Hylke E.; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; McVicar, Tim R.; Vergopolan, Noemi; Berg, Alexis; Wood, Eric F. (30 October 2018). "Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution". Scientific Data. 5: 180214. Bibcode:2018NatSD...580214B. doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.214. PMC 6207062. PMID 30375988.
- ^ "Afghanistan | History, Map, Flag, Capital, Population, & Languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ Kladnik, Drago (1 September 2017). Terraced Landscapes. Založba ZRC. ISBN 9789610500193.
- ^ a b c Gritzner, Jeffrey A.; Shroder, John F. (14 June 2009). Afghanistan, Second Edition. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9781438104805.
- ^ "Afghanistan Plant and Animal Life – Afghanistan's Web Site". afghanistans.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Wahab, Shaista; Youngerman, Barry (14 June 2007). A Brief History of Afghanistan. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9781438108193.
- ^ Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5978G. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.
- ^ a b "Hardliners get key posts in new Taliban government". BBC News. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Taliban increasingly violent against protesters – UN". BBC News. 24 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ V-Dem Institute (2023). "The V-Dem Dataset". Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Q&A: What is a loya jirga?". BBC News. 1 July 2002. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ Barfield 2012, p. 295.
- ^ "Politicians Express Mixed Reactions to Loya Jirga". TOLO News. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Loya Jirga Approves Release of 400 Taliban Prisoners". TOLO News. 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Hekmatyar says heading for Doha with Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah to meet Taliban – Al Jazeera". Reuters. 16 August 2021. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ AFP (18 August 2021). "Taliban met ex-Afghan leader Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah". Brecorder. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Macias, Amanda; Turak, Natasha (18 August 2021). "Ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resurfaces in UAE after fleeing Kabul, Emirati government says". CNBC. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Ghani says he backs talks as Taliban meet with Karzai, Abdullah". New Age. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Osman, Borhan (July 2016). Taliban Views on a Future State (PDF). New York University. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Taliban expected to announce new government". The Guardian. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Taliban to Follow Iran Model in Afghanistan; Reclusive Hibatullah Akhundzada to be Supreme Leader". News18. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Taliban again postpone Afghan govt formation announcement". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "New 'inclusive' Afghanistan government to be announced soon: Taliban". mint. 5 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Taliban deputy denies reports of leadership row in new video". 15 September 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Women protest against all-male Taliban government". BBC News. 8 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "The Taliban confirm they will attend a UN-led meeting in Qatar on Afghanistan". AP News. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ Kumar, Ruchi. "Why has China recognised Taliban's envoy to Beijing?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Afghanistan Provinces". Ariana News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Ahmed, Azam (8 December 2012). "For Afghan Officials, Prospect of Death Comes With Territory". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Explaining Elections, Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan". Iec.org.af. 9 October 2004. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Jamie Boex; Grace Buencamino; Deborah Kimble. "An Assessment of Afghanistan's Municipal Governance Framework" (PDF). Urban Institute Center on International Development and Governance. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Dupree 1997, p. 642.
- ^ "Treaty of Friendship". mea.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "China Embraces High-Stakes Taliban Relationship as U.S. Exits". Bloomberg News. 16 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ^ Latifi, Ali M (7 October 2021). "Taliban still struggling for international recognition". Al Jazeera Media Network. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "Hillary Clinton says Afghanistan 'major non-Nato ally'". BBC News. 7 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Mizelle, Shawna; Fossum, Sam (7 July 2022). "Biden will rescind Afghanistan's designation as a major non-NATO ally". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022.
- ^ "White House defends letting billions in military equipment fall into Taliban hands". 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Andrzejewski, Adam. "Staggering Costs – U.S. Military Equipment Left Behind In Afghanistan". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Ahmadzai, Aria (7 October 2016). "The LGBT community living under threat of death". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan | Human Dignity Trust". humandignitytrust.org. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Bezhan, Frud. "'Fake Life': Being Gay in Afghanistan". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "LGBT relationships are illegal in 74 countries, research finds". The Independent. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Kumar, Ruchi (28 March 2020). "For Afghan Sikhs, it's between violence and exodus". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Mashal, Mujib; Abed, Fahim (19 July 2020). "India Offers Escape to Afghan Hindus and Sikhs Facing Attacks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Lyons, Kate; Blight, Garry (27 July 2015). "Where in the world is the worst place to be a Christian?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ Afghan clerics call for Christian convert to be killed despite Western outrage, AP Archive, 23 March 2006, archived from the original on 26 April 2022, retrieved 26 April 2022
- ^ George, Susannah (7 May 2022). "Taliban orders head-to-toe coverings for Afghan women in public". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (7 May 2022). "Taliban order all Afghan women to cover their faces in public". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ Shelley, Jo; Popalzai, Ehsan; Mengli, Ahmet; Picheta, Rob (19 May 2022). "Top Taliban leader makes more promises on women's rights but quips 'naughty women' should stay home". Kabul, Afghanistan: CNN. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ Zucchino, David; Akbary, Yaqoob (21 May 2022). "The Taliban Pressure Women in Afghanistan to Cover Up". The New York Times. Kabul, Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Gannon, Kathy (8 May 2022). "Taliban divisions deepen as Afghan women defy veil edict". Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ Fraser, Simon (19 May 2022). "Afghanistan's female TV presenters must cover their faces, say Taliban". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ Nader, Zahra (28 August 2023). "'Despair is settling in': female suicides on rise in Taliban's Afghanistan". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Thoms, Silja (8 July 2023). "How the Taliban are violating women's rights in Afghanistan". DW. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Ali, Rabia (1 August 2023). "Activists sound alarm over surge in suicides among Afghan women". Anadolu Ajansı. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "Taliban dissolves Afghanistan's human rights commission as 'unnecessary'". The Guardian. Reuters. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ Mehrotra, Kartikay (16 December 2013). "Karzai Woos India Inc. as Delay on U.S. Pact Deters Billions". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Field Listing :: GDP – composition, by sector of origin – The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Interest Rate Cut in Place, Says Central Bank". TOLOnews. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Afghani Falls Against Dollar By 3% In A Month". TOLOnews. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Gall, Carlotta (7 July 2010). "Afghan Companies Say U.S. Did Not Pay Them". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "DCDA | Welcome to our Official Website". dcda.gov.af. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "::Welcome to Ghazi Amanullah Khan Website::". najeebzarab.af. 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ Ephgrave, Oliver (2011). "Case study: Aino Mina". Designmena. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "A Humane Afghan City?" by Ann Marlowe. Forbes. 2 September 2009. Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Michael Sprague. "Afghanistan country profile" (PDF). USAID. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Economic growth". USAID Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ Nickel, Rod (12 April 2018). "Sales of Afghanistan's renowned carpets unravel as war intensifies". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Afghanistan trade balance, exports and imports by country 2019". World Integrated Trade Solution. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Taliban blames U.S. as 1 million Afghan kids face death by starvation". CBS News. 20 October 2021. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023.
- ^ Fisher, Max; Taub, Amanda (29 October 2021). "Is the United States Driving Afghanistan Toward Famine?". The Interpreter. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023.
- ^ "Afghanistan's hunger crisis is a problem the U.S. can fix". MSNBC. 10 November 2021.
- ^ "Two Years into Taliban Rule, New Shocks Weaken Afghan Economy". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Taliban Controls the World's Best Performing Currency This Quarter". Bloomberg.com. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Agriculture". USAID. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Unlocking the Potential of Agriculture for Afghanistan's Growth". World Bank.
- ^ Burch, Jonathon (31 March 2010). "Afghanistan now world's top cannabis source: U.N." Reuters.
- ^ Sultan, Abid. "Taliban leader bans cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan". Taliban leader bans cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Afghanistan's red gold 'saffron' termed world's best". Arab News. 22 December 2019.
- ^ "Afghan Saffron, World's Best". TOLOnews.
- ^ "Saffron production hits record high in Afghanistan". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019.
- ^ Bryan Denton; David Zucchino; Yaqoob Akbary (29 May 2022). "Green Energy Complicates the Taliban's New Battle Against Opium: The multibillion-dollar trade has survived previous bans. Now, the Taliban are going after solar-powered water pumps to try to dry up poppy crops in the middle of a national economic crisis". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
Do not destroy the fields, but make the fields dry out.... We are committed to fulfilling the opium decree.
- ^ David Mansfield (23 May 2022). "When the Water Runs Dry: What is to be done with the 1.5 million settlers in the deserts of southwest Afghanistan when their livelihoods fail?". areu.org.af. The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
- ^ "Poppy Cultivation in South of Afghanistan Down by 80%: Report". ToloNews. 7 June 2023. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "Afghan opium poppy cultivation plunges by 95 percent under Taliban: UN". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "Opium cultivation declines by 95 per cent in Afghanistan: UN survey | UN News". United Nations. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ a b Peters, Steven G. (October 2007). Preliminary Assessment of Non-Fuel Mineral Resources of Afghanistan, 2007 (PDF) (Technical report). USGS Afghanistan Project/US Geological Survey/Afghanistan Geological Survey. Fact Sheet 2007–3063. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Minerals in Afghanistan" (PDF). British Geological Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Afghans say US team found huge potential mineral wealth". BBC News. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ O'Hanlon, Michael E. "Deposits Could Aid Ailing Afghanistan" (Archived 23 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine), The Brookings Institution, 16 June 2010.
- ^ Klett, T.R. (March 2006). Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of Northern Afghanistan, 2006 (PDF) (Technical report). USGS-Afghanistan Ministry of Mines & Industry Joint Oil & Gas Resource Assessment Team. Fact Sheet 2006–3031. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Afghanistan signs '$7 bn' oil deal with China". 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Mineral Fortune". Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security Report. 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Tucker, Ronald D. (2011). Rare Earth Element Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Preliminary Resource Assessment of the Khanneshin Carbonatite Complex, Helmand Province, Afghanistan (PDF) (Technical report). USGS. Open-File Report 2011–1207. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "China, Not U.S., Likely to Benefit from Afghanistan's Mineral Riches". Daily Finance. 14 June 2010 Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "China Willing to Spend Big on Afghan Commerce". The New York Times. 29 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011.
- ^ "Indian Group Wins Rights to Mine in Afghanistan's Hajigak" (Archived 10 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine). Businessweek. 6 December 2011
- ^ Risen, James (17 June 2010). "U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ a b Hosp, Gerald (31 August 2021). "Afghanistan: die konfliktreichen Bodenschätze". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Country Trends". Global Footprint Network. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Lin, David; Hanscom, Laurel; Murthy, Adeline; Galli, Alessandro; Evans, Mikel; Neill, Evan; Mancini, MariaSerena; Martindill, Jon; Medouar, FatimeZahra; Huang, Shiyu; Wackernagel, Mathis (2018). "Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018". Resources. 7 (3): 58. doi:10.3390/resources7030058.
- ^ "Taliban Sign Multibillion-Dollar Afghan Mining Deals". Voice of America. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) – Afghanistan | Data". World Bank. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "Access to electricity (% of population) – Afghanistan". World Bank.
- ^ "Afghanistan Has Capacity To Produce 310,000MW Power". TOLOnews.
- ^ "Afghanistan Resurrects its Largest Hydropower Plant Toward a Brighter Future". World Bank.
- ^ a b "Power to the People: How to extend Afghans' access to electricity". Afghanistan Analysts Network – English. 3 February 2015.
- ^ "The Power of Nature: How Renewable Energy is Changing Lives in Afghanistan". UNDP in Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Navid Ahmad Barakzai, ed. (27 September 2016). "20,000 foreign tourists visit Afghanistan annually". Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN). Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ "Coronavirus shatters tourism hopes in Afghanistan's Bamyan province". The National. 26 April 2020.
- ^ Basharat, Hakim (3 September 2017). "More than 200,000 tourists visit Bamyan this year". pajhwok.com.
- ^ "Where Instagramers and Taliban play". South China Morning Post. 14 July 2018.
- ^ "Origins of the hippie trail". richardgregory.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "The hippie trail". richardgregory.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Smith, Oliver (20 April 2018). "When Afghanistan was just a laid-back highlight on the hippie trail". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
- ^ "Bamyan, First Ever Cultural Capital of South Asia: A big party, but what else?". Afghanistan Analysts Network – English. 8 June 2015.
- ^ Dupree 1997, p. 115.
- ^ Kumar, Ruchi. "The Afghan artefacts that survived Taliban destruction". BBC Travel.
- ^ "The Taliban are working to woo tourists to Afghanistan". AP News. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Photos: Tourist numbers up in post-war Afghanistan". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "'A remarkable development': How Western tourism is on the rise in this controversial nation". Sky News. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Attack on tourists rocks fledgling Afghanistan tourism sector". France 24. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Connecting Afghanistan: The rise of technology in governance and society – The Embassy of Afghanistan in London". afghanistanembassy.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ Qayoom Suroush (16 January 2015). "Going in Circles: The never-ending story of Afghanistan's unfinished Ring Road". Afghanistan Analysts Network. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ Gopalakrishnan, Ramamoorthy (13 June 1982). "The Geography and Politics of Afghanistan". Concept Publishing Company.
- ^ "Going in Circles: The never-ending story of Afghanistan's unfinished Ring Road". Afghanistan Analysts Network – English. 16 January 2015.
- ^ Cary Gladstone (2001). Afghanistan Revisited. Nova Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-59033-421-8.
- ^ Azimy, Yousuf (9 February 2010). "Afghan avalanches kill dozens, trap hundreds". Reuters.
- ^ "Afghan bus crash kills 45". The Guardian. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ "Driving in Afghanistan". Caravanistan. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ "EU To Impose Ban on Afghan Planes". Airwise News. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
Kabul-based Safi is the country's No. 2 airline after national carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines
- ^ "Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway – Railways of Afghanistan". andrewgrantham.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Salehai, Zarghona (28 November 2016). "Afghan-Turkmenistan railroad inaugurated". pajhwok.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ "Khaf-Herat railroad to be launched in Iran soon". 7 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
"Iran-Afghanistan railway networks through Khaf-Herat Railroad will be completed in the next few months," Yazdani said, according to Mehr news agency on 3 August
- ^ "Iran Strongly Condemns Herat Railway Mine Blast". Iran Front Page. 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Rail Linkup With Afghanistan by March 2018". 25 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Khaf-Herat railway". RaillyNews | Dailly Railway News in English. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ Rahmat, Mohibullah; Mizokami, Shoshi; Fujiwara, Akimasa (2018). "The Possibility of Introducing a Regular Bus System in Kandahar". Asian Transport Studies. 5 (2): 292–309.
- ^ Porter, Valerie; Alderson, Lawrence; Hall, Stephen J.G.; Phillip Sponenberg, D. (9 March 2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding, 2 Volume Pack. ISBN 9781845934668.
- ^ Glatzer, Bernt (2002). "The Pashtun Tribal System" (PDF). New Delhi: Concept Publishers. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
- ^ "NSIA Estimates Afghanistan Population at 32.9M". TOLOnews.
- ^ "Afghanistan Population 2020 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)". 2020 World Population by Country. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "United Nations and Afghanistan". UN News Centre. Archived 31 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Afghan Population Estimates 2020". Worldmeters. 2020. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Afghanistan – Population Reference Bureau". Population Reference Bureau. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ^ Wickramasekara, Piyasiri; Sehgal, Jag; Mehran, Farhad; Noroozi, Ladan; Eisazadeh, Saeid. "Afghan Households in Iran: Profile and Impact" (PDF). United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2018.
- ^ Nasir, Jamal Abdul; Akhtar, Sohail; Zaidi, Syed Arif Ahmed; Rani, Andleeb; Bano, Hina; Hinde, Andrew (16 October 2019). "Is recent Afghanistan survey data suitable for fertility analysis? A regional investigation based on fertility inhibiting determinants". PLOS ONE. 14 (10): e0223111. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1423111N. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0223111. PMC 6795489. PMID 31618275.
- ^ "Gini Index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 11 May 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ Karimi, Ali (20 March 2015). "Can Cities Save Afghanistan?".
- ^ a b "Unravelling the Afghan art of carpet weaving". Al Jazeera.
- ^ "Afghan Population Estimates 1398" (PDF). Central Statistics Organization. 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "Distribution of Afghan population by ethnic group 2020". 20 August 2021.
- ^ "The roots of Afghanistan's tribal tensions". The Economist. 31 August 2017.
- ^ "The Constitution of Afghanistan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani and Pamiri are – in addition to Pashto and Dari – the third official language in areas where the majority speaks them
- ^ The Encyc. Iranica makes clear in the article on Afghanistan — Ethnography that "The term Farsiwan also has the regional forms Parsiwan and Parsiban. In religion they are Imami Shia. In the literature they are often mistakenly referred to as Tajik." Dupree, Louis (1982) "Afghanistan: (iv.) Ethnography", in Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition 2006.
- ^ Bodetti, Austin (11 July 2019). "What will happen to Afghanistan's national languages?". alaraby.
- ^ a b Afroz, Nazes; Najib, Moska; Smart!, Culture (1 December 2013). Afghanistan – Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture. Kuperard. ISBN 9781857336801.
- ^ The Asia Foundation. Afghanistan in 2018: A Survey of the Afghan People. Archived 7 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Khan, M. Ilyas (12 September 2015). "Pakistan's confusing move to Urdu". BBC News.
- ^ a b "Religion in Afghanistan". The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA).
- ^ "Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation". The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 9 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ Majumder, Sanjoy (25 September 2003). "Sikhs struggle in Afghanistan". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ Lavina Melwani. "Hindus Abandon Afghanistan". Hinduism Today. Archived from the original on 11 January 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Sikhs rebuilding gurdwaras". Religioscope. 25 August 2005.
- ^ Chabba, Seerat (8 September 2021). "Afghanistan: What does Taliban rule mean for Sikhs and Hindus?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ N.C. Aizenman (27 January 2005). "Afghan Jew Becomes Country's One and Only". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ "Last Jew in Afghanistan en route to US: report". The New Arab. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Ben Zion Gad (1 December 2021). "'Last Jew in Afghanistan' loses title to hidden Jewish family". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Gebauer, Matthias (20 March 2006). "Christians in Afghanistan: A Community of Faith and Fear". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ USSD Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2009). "International Religious Freedom Report 2009". Archived from the original on 30 November 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Girls excluded as Afghan secondary schools reopen". BBC News. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ Blue, Victor J.; Zucchino, David (20 September 2021). "A Harsh New Reality for Afghan Women and Girls in Taliban-Run Schools". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Education". USAID. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ Adina, Mohammad Sabir (18 May 2013). "Wardak seeks $3b in aid for school buildings". Pajhwok Afghan News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ "UNESCO UIS: Afghanistan". UNESCO. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "Taliban reverses decision, barring Afghan girls from attending school beyond 6th grade". NPR. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Six provinces keep schools open for girls despite nationwide ban". AmuTV. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Neda Safi, Tooba (17 February 2023). "Girls return to high school in some regions of Afghanistan". Geneva Solutions. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "UN is seeking to verify that Afghanistan's Taliban are letting girls study at religious schools". The Seattle Times. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ "Afghanistan" (PDF). World Health Organization (WHO). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan". UNESCO. 27 November 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017.
- ^ Peter, Tom A. (17 December 2011). "Childbirth and maternal health improve in Afghanistan". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ "Afghanistan National Hospital Survey" (PDF). Afghan Ministry of Health. August 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Gul, Ayaz (20 April 2019). "Pakistan-funded Afghan Hospital Begins Operations". VOA News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
It opens a new chapter in the friendship of the two countries... This is the second-largest hospital [in Afghanistan] built with your support that will serve the needy," Feroz told the gathering.
- ^ "Health". United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ DiNardo, Anne-Marie; LPA/PIPOS (31 March 2006). "Empowering Afghanistan's Disabled Population – 31 March 2006". Usaid.gov. Archived from the original on 8 May 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (13 February 2008). "Afghanistan's refugee crisis 'ignored'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ "Afghanistan: People living with disabilities call for integration". The New Humanitarian. 2 December 2004. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ Haussegger, Virginia (2 July 2009). "Mahboba's Promise". Australia: ABC News. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Afghanistan Way of Life | Afghanistan's Web Site". afghanistans.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Blood, Peter R., ed. (1998). "Pashtun". Afghanistan: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. OCLC 904447770. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ Dupree 1997, p. 126.
- ^ Barfield 2012, p. 59.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Kuchi nomads seek a better deal". IRIN Asia. 18 February 2008. Archived 10 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Barfield 2012, p. 40–41.
- ^ Dupree 1997, p. 104.
- ^ Bahgam, S; Mukhatari (2004). "Study on Child Marriage in Afghanistan" (PDF). Medica Mondiale: 1–20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Afghanistan Has a Tougher Law on Child Marriage than Florida". Human Rights Watch. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
In Afghanistan girls can marry at 16, or at 15 with permission from their father or a judge.
- ^ Dupree 1997, p. 122, 198.
- ^ Amer, Sahar (2 September 2014). What Is Veiling?. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469617763.
- ^ "Karzai heads for hat trouble". BBC News. 28 April 2002.
- ^ "Traditional Afghan Clothes". 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Hats Proliferate as Symbol of Pashtun Protest Movement". Voice of America.
- ^ "Afghanistan Art and Architecture | Afghanistan's Web Site". afghanistans.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ G.V. Brandolini. Afghanistan cultural heritage. Orizzonte terra, Bergamo. 2007. p. 64.
- ^ ud-Din, Hameed (1960). "THE AFGHAN ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA: An historical study, 1451–1526". Rivista degli studi orientali. 35: 149–155. ISSN 0392-4866.
- ^ Habib, Irfan (2007). Medieval India the study of a civilization. National Book Trust, India. p. 228. ISBN 978-81-237-5255-6.
- ^ "In Afghanistan, weaving ancient industry back into global market". The Christian Science Monitor. 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Selling war: commodifying the (in)security of Afghan women". SPERI. 15 January 2020.
- ^ "Weaving Culture through the Afghan rug". 7 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Rug Weavers and Bride Prices in the Northwest: Still expensive in spite of government and Taleban rules". Afghanistan Analysts Network – English. 12 May 2019.
- ^ "Giving Back – Seret and Sons".
- ^ "The Potter: Crafting Afghanistan's future". The Khaama Press News Agency. 27 January 2015.
- ^ Fahim, Kareem (18 August 2016). "War and Pillaging Couldn't Break an Afghan Village, but a Tumbling Economy May". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
- ^ Wilkinson, Isambard (14 June 2018). "How the quest for the 'perfect blue' changed art forever". CNN.
- ^ "First-ever oil paintings found in Afghanistan". CNN. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ "World's Oldest Oil Paintings Found in Afghanistan". Fox News. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ "Gandhara art". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ "FEATURE: In Western Afghanistan, an ancient love of poetry thrives again". UN News. 5 October 2017.
- ^ Fee, Christopher R.; Webb, Jeffrey B. (29 August 2016). American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore (3 Volumes). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610695688.
- ^ "Afghanistan: 10 facts you may not know". BBC News. 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "Classical Dari and Pashto Poets". Afghan-web.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Afghanistan – The Rough Guide to World Music". Songlines.
- ^ "Ahmad Zahir: The Voice of Afghanistan". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com.
- ^ "Artist Biographies". Afghanland.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Traditional Dance-Attan". 7 July 2012.
- ^ "Attan – the fascinating national dance of Afghanistan". Afghan Zariza. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Suspects Sentenced To Death For Killing Journalist in Kandahar". TOLOnews. 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Dupree 1997, p. 405.
- ^ Monica Whitlock (24 October 2003). Land Beyond the River: The Untold Story of Central Asia. St. Martin's Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-312-27727-7.
- ^ "Freedom of the Press 2016: Afghanistan". Freedom House. 2016. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Encounters with Bollywood in Kabul". Himal Southasian. 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Bollywood's Panipat irks Afghans over founding father's portrayal". Al Jazeera.
- ^ "Vilifying Afghans in Bollywood". The Telegraph. India.
- ^ Ali, Tanveer (31 July 2012). "Everything You Need To Know About Afghan Food". foodrepublic. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013.
- ^ Brittin, Helen (2011). The Food and Culture Around the World Handbook. Boston: Prentice Hall. pp. 20–21.
- ^ "Rare Heirloom Seeds – Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds". Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- ^ "Afghanistan Holidays and Festivals". iexplore.com.
- ^ Rezaian, Lachin (20 December 2015). "Yalda: Iranian celebration of winter solstice". Mehr News Agency.
- ^ Roessing, Lesley (2012). No More "us" and "them": Classroom Lessons and Activities to Promote Peer Respect. R&L Education. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-61048-812-9.
- ^ Hamedy, Saba (20 December 2013). "In ancient tradition, Iranians celebrate winter solstice". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Foltz, Richard (2013). Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present. Oneworld Publications. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-78074-307-3.
- ^ Alavi, Nasrin (8 November 2015). We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs. Soft Skull Press. p. 135.
- ^ Mahbob, Mahbob Shah (11 April 2013). "Sikhs throng temples to celebrate Vaisakhi". pajhwok.com.
- ^ "Afghan Hindus and Sikhs celebrate Diwali without 'pomp and splendour' amid fear". The National. 19 October 2017.
- ^ "International Workers Day 2024: List of Countries that Celebrate Labor Day on 1st May, Check Here". Jagranjosh.com. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ Ellingwood, Anselma (11 March 2024). "International Women's Day: Afghan Women Endure Gender Apartheid". Feminist Majority Foundation. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Nowruz celebration in Afghanistan". Mehr News Agency. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Traditional Dambora Musical Festival organized in Bamyan province". Khaama Press. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ Uthra Ganesan (11 January 2016). "Cricket is now the biggest sport in Afghanistan". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "Sport in Afghanistan". Top End Sports. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "South Asian Games: Shooters, swimmers shine as India consolidate dominance". The Times of India. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ a b Lyse, Doucet (12 September 2013). "Precious moments of unity touch Afghans after football triumph". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "2009–10 Intercontinental Cup". CricketEurope. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan Makes History in Cricket World Cup, Despite Debut Loss to Bangladesh". 20 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Statistics: Iran". Team Melli. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan's buzkashi horses prepare for the game of courage". The Hindu. 17 January 2018.
- ^ Abi-Habib, Maria; Fazly, Walid (13 April 2011). "In Afghanistan's National Pastime, It's Better to Be a Hero Than a Goat". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ Stewart, Rory (2007). The Places in Between. HMH Books. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-15-603593-4.
General and cited sources
- Mehta, Jaswant Lal (January 2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813. Sterling Publishers. ISBN 9781932705546.
Further reading
- Barfield, Thomas (2012). Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-15441-1.
- Bleaney, C. H; Gallego, María Ángeles (2006). Afghanistan: a bibliography. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-14532-0.
- Clements, Frank (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-402-8.
- Dupree, Louis (1997). Afghanistan (2nd ed.). Oxford Pakistan Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-19-577634-8.
- Ewans, Martin (2002). Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics. Curzon Press. ISBN 0060505087.
- Fowler, Corinne (2007). Chasing Tales: Travel Writing, Journalism and the History of British Ideas About Afghanistan. Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-2262-1.
- Griffiths, John C (2001). Afghanistan: a History of Conflict. Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84222-597-4.
- Habibi, Abdul Hai (2003). Afghanistan: An Abridged History. Fenestra Books. ISBN 978-1-58736-169-2.
- Hopkins, B.D. (2008). The Making of Modern Afghanistan. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-55421-4.
- Johnson, Robert (2011). The Afghan Way of War: How and Why They Fight. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-979856-8.
- Levi, Peter (1972). The Light Garden of the Angel King: Journeys in Afghanistan. Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-211042-6.
- Malleson, George Bruce (2005). History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 (Elibron Classic Replica ed.). Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4021-7278-6.
- Olson, Gillia M (2005). Afghanistan. Capstone Press. ISBN 978-0-7368-2685-3.
- Omrani, Bijan; Leeming, Matthew (2011). Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide (2nd ed.). Odyssey Publications. ISBN 978-962-217-816-8.
- Reddy, L.R. (2002). Inside Afghanistan: End of the Taliban Era?. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7648-319-3.
- Runion, Meredith L. (2007). The History of Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33798-7.
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
Travel information from Wikivoyage
- Afghanistan. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Afghanistan web resources provided by GovPubs at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries
- Template:Curlie
Wikimedia Atlas of Afghanistan- Research Guide to Afghanistan Archived 23 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- Afghanistan
- 1709 establishments in Asia
- Central Asian countries
- Countries in Asia
- Emirates
- Iranian Plateau
- Islamic states
- Landlocked countries
- Least developed countries
- Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
- Member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- Member states of the United Nations
- Pashto-speaking countries and territories
- Countries and territories where Persian is an official language
- South Asian countries
- States and territories established in 1709
- States and territories established in 1747
- Theocracies
- Totalitarian states