Afghanistan A Country Profile Compiled by: Hima Bindu, Intern, CAS 2017
Political Geography Afghanistan is a landlocked multi-ethnic country located at the crossroads of South and Central Asia. It lies along major trade routes connecting Southern and Eastern Asia to Europe and the Middle East. For centuries, Afghanistan has been sought after as an asset for building great empires, and great armies have attempted to control the land. Illustration 1: Map of Afghanistan. Source: University of Texas Libraries
The country s stubborn landscape of deserts and mountains had put many imperial ambitions to rest. However, decades of conflict have damaged the country s social fabric and rendered it vulnerable to socio-political schisms. The country covers an area of 652,230 square kilometers. It shares an international border with six countries: China, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Afghanistan does not recognize the Durand Line as the international border with Pakistan. The country s capital is in Kabul and it is administratively organized under 34 provinces known as welayats. The country is endowed with a rich natural resource base whose potential has not been fully exploited owing to lack of stability and poor infrastructure. MODERN HISTORY The modern boundaries of Afghanistan were established in the late 19 th century as a result of the rivalry between the British and Russian empires. Afghanistan often became a pawn in the struggle between Great Powers over ideology, geo-political and commercial interests. The country gained independence from British imperial control on 19 August 1919. However, under the royal regime of King Zahir Shah (1933-1973) the country attempted to leverage from geo-political competition by attracting large amounts of foreign aid for development and modernization. Monarchical rule was put to an abrupt end in July 1973 following a coup d état by the King s cousin, Sardar Mohammad Daud who established a Republican regime (1973-1978) and moved closer to the USSR. A turning point in the country s modern history came with a bloody coup initiated by the country s leftist party known as the People s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) in 1978. With the backing of the USSR, members of the PDPA in the armed forces initiated a bloody coup d état against Daud and seized power in April 1978. The new government headed by Noor Muhammad Taraki invoked suspicion and hostility owing to its avowed atheism as well as its land, marriage and education policies for
women. The PDPA government was soon faced with growing unrest and it invited Soviet intervention. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 the country has been brutalized by conflict. Soviet withdrawal in February 1989 was followed by years of incessant armed struggle between the Soviet installed government of Dr. Najibullah and the Islamic opposition known as the mujahideen, backed by the US and its allies. The demise of the Soviet Union sounded the death knell for the Najibullah government whose collapse in April 1992 ushered in mujahideen rule (1992-1996)- a period characterized by some of the most viscous fighting among various mujahideen factions and grotesque abuse of human rights. The chaos of the mujahideen period set the stage for the rise of what eventually came to be known as the Taliban movement that arose in the South of Afghanistan around 1994. Promising to put an end to the rampant lawlessness and fragmentation of authority that came to characterize the mujahideen period the Taliban backed by Pakistan as well as initial support of the local populace yearning for peace eventually drove the mujahideen from Kabul in September 1996. One of their first acts upon entering the capital was to capture and brutally execute the former Afghan president, Dr. Najibullah who had sought refuge in the UN compound in Kabul for the last four years. This was a sign of things to come. The Taliban established a theocratic government (1996-2001) that was characterized by relative order underpinned by complete disregard for rights of women and minorities. Afghanistan in the meantime had also emerged as a haven for narco-trafficking and the proliferation of violent non-state entities like the al-qaeda network. Thus, by the dawn of the 21 st century Afghanistan s infrastructure and economy were in shambles and its people too. By the 21 st century, an entire generation of Afghans raised knowing nothing but war. The attacks of the 9/11 on US soil proved to be the immediate spark for the US to lead its allies in the international community into a military offensive into Afghanistan in 2001. The US toppled the Taliban which it believed provided refuge and support to the al Qaeda leadership that had masterminded the 9/11 attacks. A new transitional leadership under Hamid Karzai was installed under the auspices of the Bonn Agreement in December 2001. In 2004 the country held
elections, which saw Hamid Karzai assume office of the President. Having served as President for two terms Karzai made way for his successor Ashraf Ghani who was elected to the office of the President in 2014 in a highly controversial election marred by claims of fraud. The ensuing political stalemate was broken by installing a National Unity Government under terms of which President Ghani shares power with his principal opponent Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. The government continues to grapple with corruption, internal squabbling, a fragile economic and security situation. In spite of these challenges this political transition marks the first peaceful transfer of power in the country- a landmark eluded neighboring Pakistan for close to six decades. Society and Culture Afghanistan is a multiethnic society and its national anthem mentions 14 ethnic groups. It has a population of approximately 32 million. Approximately 63 per cent of the population of the country is classified as youth i.e. under the age of 25 years. The population of the country is divided into a wide variety of ethno linguistic groups. Some of the major ethnic groups are as follows: Pashtun who comprise of two fifths of the population, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak, Turkman and Baloch and others.
Illustration 2: Ethno-Linguistic Map of Afghanistan. Source: Wikimedia The people of Afghanistan form a mosaic of linguistic groups. Pashto and Persian (Dari) are the two official languages of the country. More than two-fifths of the population speaks Pashto, which is the language of the major ethnic group Pashtuns. However, Dari has traditionally been the lingua franca of the elite and the medium of inter-ethnic exchange. In addition to the two official languages, Turkmen, Uzbeki, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani are some of the other languages
spoken in the country. There are also several dialects between the minor ethnic groups. Tajik, Hazara and Aimak people s dialect is closer to the Persian spoken in Iran (Farsi). Nearly, all the people of Afghanistan are Muslims, of whom three-fourths are Sunnites. The others, particularly the Hazara and Kizilbash follow Shi-ite Islam. Sufism is also practiced widely. Previously the country had a large population of Afghan Hindus, Sikhs and small community of Jews. However, following years of violent conflict all Jews, except one have left while Hindus and Sikhs now number only in a few thousands. ECONOMY The development of its economy was planned with Soviet assistance in the 1950 s where it lacked social organization and institutions and managerial and technical skills. Until 1979, the country s economic growth was guided by five-year plans and seven year plans with the financial assistance from foreign countries. During this period, many infrastructural projects were undertaken, however aid declined by the 70 s which severely affected the economy. In the subsequent war years, agricultural production was disrupted, shortage of food and stagnant industrial output hindered development with the exclusion of natural gas and some key industries. Following more than two decades of war, and in the face of the Taliban s harsh social policies, few educated Afghans with even basic technical skills remained in the country. In effect, any remains of a modern economy largely collapsed during the 1990s. Public and private investment in productive enterprises was rare. Foreign aid agencies and groups, governmental and
nongovernmental, provided what few services were available, but these met only basic humanitarian needs. During the 1990s-economic activity flourished mostly in illicit enterprises, such as growing opium poppies for heroin production and smuggling goods. The taxing of Afghan-Pakistani trade contributed much revenue to the Taliban s war chest. As the Taliban s prime source of income, it overshadowed the taxing of opium trafficking. But that part of trade involved a massive smuggling of goods which affected the local industry and revenue collections and created temporary food shortages, inflation, and increased corruption in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. Poppy cultivation was the major source of income for farmers, but they shared little in its full profits. However, the drug economy did was essential as it enabled the Taliban to pursue its war effort. By the late 1990s Afghanistan had become the world s largest producer of opium and was thought to be the main source of heroin exported to Europe, North America, and elsewhere. Although the Taliban successfully banned the growing of opium poppies in 2000, drug trafficking continued due to large reserves of opium warehoused in the country. Production returned after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and reached record levels in 2007. The revival of the opium trade enriched both corrupt government officials and the Taliban insurgency, which was believed to collect tens of millions of dollars a year from the industry. Most of the population continues to be engaged in agriculture, though the destruction caused by war has been a force for urbanization by driving many from the countryside. Many Afghans brought up in refugee camps lack the farming skills they need to survive, and the country s agricultural sector needs restoration, particularly its destroyed and degraded irrigation system. Decades of conflict devastated the Afghanistan s economy, which led to many people leaving the country. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 due to the country s high dependence on foreign aid as the international community is committed to country s development. The international community pledged over $67 billion between 2003 and 2010. In 2012, the donors at Tokyo Conference pledged $16 billion in civilian aid until
2015. Despite the aid, Afghanistan still faces several challenges with poor infrastructure and weak governance and corruption. Source: Council on Foreign Relations The Afghanistan s GDP has dramatically doubled since 2001. However, it needs to overcome several challenges, including low revenue, weak skill capacity, corruption and poor public infrastructure. The country s growth rate had slowed down in 2014-2015. The withdrawal of international security forces in 2014 has negatively affected growth as their presence significantly contributed to the service sector. In view of such shifts, President Ghani has dedicated to improving revenue collection and fighting corruption through institutional and economic reforms.
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