Afghanistan

Afghanistan is in a very strategic position in the Middle East and for this reason has experienced a lot of turbulence in its long history, with several world powers and neighboring countries wanting to take control of it. It was part of the ancient and legendary trade route, the Silk Road. The country was in the middle of the Great Game between the British Empire ruling in Indian and Imperial Russia during the 19th century when they vied for influence over Afghanistan. The continuing instability in Afghanistan has displaced and made the majority of its inhabitants refugees. The Taliban temporarily restored order in Afghanistan when they ruled about 90% of country from September 1996 well late into 2001. The establishment of a base camp of Osama bin Laden once again placed Afghanistan in the news and at loggerheads with world powers.

Officially Afghanistan is addressed as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and locally known as Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Its capital is Kabul.

:: Background of Afghanistan ::

The history of Afghanistan is long and turbulent, being in the crossroads of South, West and Central Asia, and a region that became the battleground between the show of might by the British and Russian empires. In ancient times, Afghanistan was a region where waves of migrants stayed and flourished, leaving behind a rich and colorful mix of ethnic languages and cultures. It was also an important base for great armies on their way to conquer Iran and parts of northern India. Being an important part of the Silk Road, trade used to flourish in the region and great empires were established in the country.

Ahmad Khan Adbali was elected ruler of the Afghans and given the title of king in 1747, the beginning of modern Afghanistan. He was given the name Durr-i-Durran. The resulting monarchy was named Durrani and their rule in Afghanistan lasted up to 1973. He was called “Ahmad Shah Durrani.” He applied his military training under Nadir Shah to conquer and increase the size of his domain and to protect his country’s boundaries.

Power struggle became one of the most frequent occurrences in Afghanistan. In 1818 the Barakzai, another Afghan tribe took over Kabul and drove the Durrani tribe out by 1826 and Afghanistan was divided and shared. The largest share went to Dost Mohammed and the rest divided among a few of his 20 other brothers. Dost Mohammed became the Amir and was recognized as such by the other Afghan tribes and foreigners.

At that time Russia was interested in establishing trade links with India and wanted to install a friendly post in Afghanistan, which alarmed the British who had established their own empire in India. The Amir showed more favor towards the Russian envoy which prompted the British to end negotiations but that led to the three attempts by the British to reinstall one of the members of the Durrani tribe as head.

Britain and Afghanistan engaged in several wars from 1838 to 1842 A.D. and again between 1878 and 1841. A difficult offensive by the British was successful and they were able to capture Kandahar and installed Shah Shuja as puppet ruler, crowned twice, first inside a mosque before being crowned again when Kabul was occupied by the British after four months of fighting. By 1840 Amir Dost Mohammed became a British prisoner and taken to India. Civil uprising by the proud tribesmen caused the British and Indian army to retreat and abandoned Shah Shuja who was later assassinated. Kabul was recaptured by the British in 1842 and restored the rule of Dost Mohammed in the succeeding year. He ruled for two centuries, enduring family in-fighting.

Sher Ali, one of the sons of Dost Mohammed ruled after him. This third son of his was pro-Russian and the British retaliated by capturing Kandahar and Jalalabad in 1878. A treaty with Sher Ali’s successor, his son Yakub Khan was signed in May 1879, with the British establishing a regular embassy in Kabul. The British rule was short-lived because all embassy personnel including the envoy were slaughtered later in the year. Yakub Khan was deported to India and the British recognized a new Amir, a grandson of Dost Mohammed, Abdurrahman Khan. He was previously expatriated by Sher Ali to Russia. This time the British were forbidden to have an emissary establishing residence in Afghanistan.

From 1880 to 1933, Afghanistan was under the rule of Abdurrahman Khan and his family. During their rule investment and technology practices gathered from the west were introduced. Habibullah Khan, a son of Abdurrahman ruled in 1901. He was able to maintain his country’s stance of non-participation during the First World War. When the war ended Abdurrahman called for the international community’s recognition of Afghanistan’s independence. The bold action caused the British to once again intercede in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Habibullah was assassinated in 1919 which left his son Amanullah to face the looming political situation on his own. Britain was unsuccessful in their campaign and was forced to recognize the country’s independence. Amanullah though was not able to stem the power struggle within his family and he was later expatriated. Nadir Khan, a cousin of Amanullah reestablished order until 1933 as he too, was assassinated and ruling Afghanistan was left to his son Zahir Shah. He was only 19 years old when Nadir Khan was assassinated.

The political trend continued. Zahir Shah proved skillful and followed his predecessors’ stand of non-participation during the war. His move gained favor from USSR and the USA which brought modernization into the country by building hospitals and highways. He had tremendous help from his influential brother-in-law, Daud Khan who was the prime minister in 1953. He resigned in 1963 amid the border tensions with Pakistan. Zahir Khan instituted reforms and Afghanistan became a constitutional monarchy in 1964. This time conflicts between the parliament and the king ensued, aggravated by a major drought and famine in the 1970s. A bloodless coup was staged by Daud Khan in 1973 which exiled Zahir Khan in Europe.

Daud Khan was pro-Russia. He became the prime minister with the help of left-leaning members in the Afghan army. He became president in 1977 but his rule did not sit well with the rest of the citizens and another civil uprising broke out.

The Khalq or the People’s Party and the Parcham or the Banner Party, both leftist parties, successfully overthrew the government of Daud Khan in 1978 and jointly ruled. Nur Mohammad Taraki of the Khalq Party was President and Prime Minister and another member, Hafizullah Amin held a deputy prime minister post together with Babrak Karmal, the leader of the Parcham Party. They introduced reforms according to the suggestions given by Moscow. Their rule was short-lived and in 1979 a jihad was again called. Members of the Parcham Party that escaped the uprising fled to Russia while the members of the Khalq Party fight for power. Taraki tried to assassinate Amin but Amin’s supporters prevailed and Taraki has a questionable death soon after his capture.

Russia increased its influence in Afghanistan and brought back Babrak Karmal. But the Afghans were undaunted and continued to fight the Russians. The USA helped in their internal struggles. It also brought about the collaboration of seven guerilla groups in Afghanistan to fight for a common cause and formed the Islami Itehad Afghanistan Mujaheddin, as an attestation to their fighting spirit and love for their country. However, the devastation due to the civil unrest sent more that 3.8 million Afghans as refugees to Iran and Pakistan. Gorbachev removed Babrak Karmal and installed Mohammad Najibullah who proved to be as ineffective as Karmal and Gorbachev decided in 1988 to withdraw the Soviet troops from the devastated country.

Civil war continued and millions of Afghans became refugees. In 1994 a new guerilla group, the Taliban, initially composed of Sunni students attracted attention as their focus was more on Muslim fundamentalism. Pretty soon they gained a massive number of recruits and their fights proved successful, until almost 90% of Afghanistan was under their control. Amidst the fighting they wanted to have a joint government with the Northern Alliance. However their strict rules in imposing a consummate Islamic society again caused unrest, basically because contact with Al-Qa’ida fundamentalists had started.

Osama bin Laden and Al-Qa’ida established a base of operation in Afghanistan due to close ties with the Taliban whose leader at that time was Mullah Omar. He refused to hand over Osama bin Laden after the attack on September 11, 2001 on US soil, which prompted the US to attack the suspected hideouts and training camps of the Al-Qa’ida with the support of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. The successive attacks weakened and destroyed most of the training camps and mountain hideouts of the Al-Qa’ida although Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar proved elusive, escaping through the numerous mountain passages created beforehand to escape the Russians.

The United States is playing a leading role in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan after more then 30 years of civil uprising, internal power struggle and corruption. They continue to struggle against the Taliban who had regrouped in Pakistan. While the US maintains a large contingent of US troops in Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that gradual troop withdrawal will start in 2012 and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan announced that he will reach out to the leaders of the Taliban for a peaceful compromise.

:: Geography of Afghanistan ::

Location
Afghanistan is located in Southern and Central Asia and landlocked by Iran on the west, Pakistan on the south and east and by Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the north, A long narrow strip of land on the extreme northeast of Afghanistan is the Wakhan corridor, about 220 kilometers long and about 16 kilometers at its narrowest and 64 kilometers at its widest. It is a land corridor that links Afghanistan to China. Geographically, Afghanistan lies 33° 00” north and 65° 00” east of the equator.

Area
In terms of size, Afghanistan is marginally smaller than Texas, with a total land area of 652,230 square kilometers.

Land Boundaries
Being landlocked, Afghanistan does not have any coastline or maritime claims. Its total boundary line measures 5.529 kilometers, with Pakistan having the longest border at 2,430 kilometers, followed by Tajikistan with 1,206 kilometers. Turkmenistan border runs for 744 kilometers, Uzbekistan for 137 kilometers and China for 76 kilometers on the extreme northeast.

Climate
Afghanistan has two distinct seasons, scorching summers and bitter cold winters. It has a sub-arctic mountain climate for the most part of the country although the lowlands can be arid to semi-arid. Some of the valleys near the Pakistan border and in the mountains experience maritime and tropical moist air during the summer months from the effects of the Indian monsoon.

Terrain
Historically and up to this time, the terrain of Afghanistan is very rugged and exceedingly mountainous. The Hindu Kush mountains cut across the center of Afghanistan from a northeast to southwest direction, making about half of the land area of Afghanistan about 2,000 meters above sea level. Plains can be found in the southwest and in the northern parts of the country. The lowest point is Amu Darya River, which is 258 meters below sea level. The highest mountain peak in Afghanistan is Noshaq, which rises to 7,485 meters. It is located in the northeast section of the border with Pakistan, with the west and north faces of the mountain in Afghanistan and the eastern and southern sides situated in Pakistan.

Natural Resources
Afghanistan has numerous natural gas fields spread out across the land with substantial yet undeveloped oil reserves in the northern part of the country. It is also rich in mineral resources although the focus of mining and exploration are coal, copper ore, gemstones and iron ore. Talc, barites, lead, salt, chromite, lead and sulfur are also available.

Land Use
Despite its vast land area, due to the rugged terrain and several mountains dotting the landscape, only 12.13% of the land is arable, located on valleys near rivers and other water sources. Only 0.21% is planted with permanent crops and about 87.66% of the land is not cultivated, consisting of dry wasteland and mountainous areas.

Natural Hazards
The country experiences weather extremes and suffers from frequent droughts. The scarcity of water and the lack of finances to buy fuel prompted the citizens to excessively cut trees that contributed to numerous flooding. Earthquakes are frequent on the mountainous regions.

Environmental Issues
There are very limited sources of natural fresh water in Afghanistan as well as sources of water for drinking. Soil had been degraded and overgrazed and deforestation is rapid due to the need for building materials as well as fuel. Desertification, air and water pollution also threatens Afghanistan.

International Agreements
Afghanistan has entered into international environmental agreements on climate change, endangered species, desertification, biodiversity, ozone layer protection, marine dumping and environmental modification. Of all the agreements, Afghanistan has signed but not yet sanctioned the agreements on law of the sea, marine life conservation and hazardous wastes.

:: People of Afghanistan ::

Population
July 2011 estimates place the population of Afghanistan at 29,835,392, a projection based on the last census held in 1979 that was not completed due to the invasion of the Soviet Union. The UN estimates that the population, according to 2010 estimates is 31,412,000. It is also estimated that the population growth is about 2.375%, with a net migration of 3.31 migrant per 1,000 nationals.

Age Structure
Majority of the population is in the 15-64 age group with 55.3%, divided into 8,460,486 males and 8,031,968 females. In the 0-14 age range, there are 6,464,070 males versus 6,149,468 females or 42.3%, while those in the 65 years and over bracket number is estimated to be about 2.4%, with 349,349 males and 380,051 females. The current median age for the whole country and for males and females is 18.2 years, based on the 2011 estimates.

Sex Ratio
The sex ratio at birth for the total population is estimated at 1.05 males for every female born in Afghanistan. The figures are the same for those under 15 years of age and those in the 15-64 age bracket. For the older generation, aged 65 years and over, there are 0.92 male for every female.

Infant Mortality Rate
Infant mortality rate in Afghanistan based on the 2009 estimates from the CIA World Factbook is 151.95/1,000 live births, placing Afghanistan in the number 222 position from the total of 224 countries. From the UN data figures for 2005-2010, Afghanistan is ranked the last at 197, with a death estimate of 135.95 for every 1,000 live births.

Life Expectancy at Birth
There are 5.39 children born for every woman of child-bearing age in Afghanistan, according to the 2011 estimate. The birth rate is 37.83 births/1,000 population while the death rate is 17.39/1,000 population. Life expectancy at birth is 44.79 years for males and 45.25 years for females, placing the life expectancy average at 45.02 years for the total population of Afghanistan.

HIV/AIDS
Data for the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan is very sparse. However, according to the World Bank Report, there were 254 cases of HIV reported in 2007. The UNAIDS and World Health Organization places the figure much higher at about 1,000 to 2,000 cases, mostly from those who are injecting drug users and those who are engaged in unsafe sex from paid sexual workers.

Nationality
Citizens of Afghanistan are called Afghans. Afghan is used as both a noun and as an adjective.

Ethnic Groups
Broadly speaking, Afghanistan comprises several ethnic groups. Majority belong to the Pashtun at 42%. The Tajik is about 27% and the Uzbek and Hazara are both around 9%, the Aimak at 4%, followed by Turkmen at 3%, the Baloch with 2% and the minor ones grouped at 4%.

Religions
While almost the majority of Afghans are Muslims, they follow different branches of the Muslim faith, with the Sunni Muslims being the majority at 80% and the Shia Muslims at around 19%. A very minor number, only about 1% follow other religions. Basically the Pashtuns and most of the Uzbeks, Turkmen and Tajiks follow the Sunni branch while the Shia branch of Islam is followed by the Hazaras, the group that suffered the most during the rule of the Taliban, composed mostly of Pashtun militant group who were partisan purists.

Languages
Fifty percent of the population speaks one of the official languages of Afghanistan, Dari (Afghan Persian or Eastern Farsi). Pashto, another official language is used by 35% of the population. Turkic is spoken basically by 11% of the Uzbek and Turkmen tribes, while about 30 minor languages, mainly Balochi and Pashai are spoken by 4% of the population.

Literacy
Afghans aged 15 years and over can read and write with literacy is placed at 28.1% of the population. Males stay for about 11 years in school so their literacy rate is higher at 43.1% while the females, staying in school for about 7 years, have a literacy rate placed at 12.6%.

:: References ::

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
http://www.afghan-web.com/
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSAREGTOPHIVAIDS/Resources/HIV-AIDS-brief-Aug07-AF.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population