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Afghanistan

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Asian Countries;
Countries

   د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت
   Da Afġānistān Islāmī jomhoriyat
   جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان
   Jamhorīyē Eslāmī-ye Afġānistān
   Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

   Flag of Afghanistan Emblem of Afghanistan
   Flag                Emblem
   Anthem: Suroudi Milli
   Location of Afghanistan
   Capital
   (and largest city) Kabul
                      34°31′N 69°08′E
   Official languages Pashto
                      Persian ( Darī)
   Government         Islamic Republic
    - President       Hamid Karzai
    - Vice President  Ahmad Zia Massoud
    - Vice President  Karim Khalili
      Independence    from the United Kingdom
    - Declared        August 8, 1919
    - Recognized      August 19, 1919
                         Area
    - Total           652,090 km² ( 41st)
                      251,772 sq mi
    - Water (%)       n/a
                      Population
    - 2005 estimate   29,863,000 ( 38th)
    - 1979 census     13,051,358
    - Density         46/km² ( 150th)
                      119/sq mi
       GDP ( PPP)     2006 estimate
    - Total           $31.9 billion ( 91st)
    - Per capita      $1,310 ( 162nd)
      HDI  (2003)     n/a (n/a) ( unranked)
        Currency      Afghani (Af) ( AFN)
       Time zone      ( UTC+4:30)
    - Summer ( DST)   ( UTC+4:30)
      Internet TLD    .af
      Calling code    +93

   Afghānistān, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto:د
   افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت , Persian: جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان ), is a
   landlocked country at the crossroads of Asia and the Middle East.
   Generally considered a part of Central Asia, it is sometimes ascribed
   to a regional bloc in either South Asia or the Middle East, as it has
   religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its
   neighbours. It is largely bordered by Pakistan in the south and east,
   Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north,
   and the People's Republic of China in the far east. The name
   Afghanistan means "Land of the Afghans".

   Afghanistan is a mosaic of ethnic groups, and a crossroads between the
   East and West. It was an ancient focal point of trade and migration.
   The region of modern Afghanistan has seen many invaders come and go,
   including the Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, British and the
   Soviets. Afghanistan was created as a nation in 1747 by Ahmad Shah
   Durrani. In 1919, following the Anglo-Afghan wars, the country gained
   full independence from the UK over its foreign affairs.

   Since 1979, Afghanistan has suffered almost continuous conflict,
   beginning with the Soviet invasion followed by a civil war and finally
   by the 2001 US invasion, in which the ruling Taliban government was
   toppled. In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council
   authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force.
   This force, composed of US and NATO troops, has been involved in
   assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing
   authority across the country.

Name

   The name Afghānistān literally translates to Land of the Afghans. Its
   modern usage derives from the word Afghan. The Pashtuns began using the
   term Afghan as a name for themselves from at least the Islamic period
   and onwards. According to W. K. Frazier Tyler, M. C. Gillet and several
   other scholars, "The word Afghan first appears in history in the
   Hudud-al-Alam in 982 AD." The last part of the name Afghānistān
   (-istān) originates from the Persian suffix -stān (country or land).

   The Encyclopædia Iranica states:


   Afghanistan

   From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afghān" is the term
            by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the
  non-Paštō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paštūn. The
    equation [of] Afghan [and] Paštūn has been propagated all the more,
  both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paštūn tribal confederation
        is by far the most important in the country, numerically and
  politically [...] The term "Afghān" has probably designated the Paštūn
  since ancient times. Under the form Avagānā, this ethnic group is first
    mentioned by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in the beginning of
                the 6th century A.D. in his Brahat-samahita.


   Afghanistan

   The term "Afghanistan" was mentioned by Mughal Emperor Babur in his
   memoirs of AD 1525, referring to the areas south of Kabul which were
   inhabited by Pashtuns (called "Afghans" by Babur). Later, the English
   word "Afghanland" that appeared in various treaties in the 19th
   century, dealing with the Pashtun territories in Kandahar as well as
   south of Kabul, was translated as "Afghanistan" by Afghan authorities
   and was extended to the entire kingdom during the reign of Abdur Rahman
   Khan. It became the official name of the country in 1919, after
   Afghanistan gained its full independence from the British, and was
   confirmed as such in 1964 by Afghanistan's first national constitution.

   Regarding the nation's name "Afghanistan", the Encyclopædia Of Islam
   states:


   Afghanistan

     Afghānistān has borne that name only since the middle of the 18th
      century, when the supremacy of the Afghan race ( Pashtuns) became
    assured: previously various districts bore distinct apellations, but
   the country was not a definite political unit, and its component parts
      were not bound together by any identity of race or language. The
   earlier meaning of the word was simply “the land of the Afghans”, a
   limited territory which did not include many parts of the present state
    but did comprise large districts now either independent or within the
                            boundary of Pakistan.


   Afghanistan

   In the Middle Ages, up to the 18th century, the region was known as
   Khorāsān. Several important centers of Khorāsān are thus located in
   modern Afghanistan, such as Balkh, Herat, Ghazni and Kabul.

History

   Excavation of prehistoric sites suggests that humans were living in
   what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming
   communities of the area were among the earliest in the world.

   Afghanistan is a country at a unique nexus point where numerous
   Eurasian civilizations have interacted and often fought, and was an
   important site of early historical activity. Through the ages, the
   Hindu Kush has been home to the Aryans ( Indo-Iranians: Indo-Aryans,
   Persians, Medes, Parthians, etc.). It also has been invaded by a host
   of people, including the Greeks, Mauryans, Kushans, Hepthalites, Arabs,
   Mongols, Turks, British, Soviets, and most recently by the Americans.
   On other occasions, native entities have invaded surrounding regions to
   form empires of their own.

   Between 2000 and 1200 BC, waves of Indo-European-speaking Aryans are
   thought to have flooded into this part of Asia which now consists of
   modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
   Pakistan and others, setting up a nation that during the rule of Medes
   and the Persian Empire became known as Aryānām Xšaθra or Airyānem
   Vāejah. Later, during the rule of Ashkanian, Sasanian and after, it was
   called Erānshahr ايرانشهر (Irānshæhr) meaning "Dominion of the Aryans",
   which included large parts of Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Armenia,
   Azerbaijan, Iran and modern-day Central Asia (Afghanistan,
   Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the western part of Pakistan,
   etc.).
   Buddhas of Bamyan were the largest Buddha statues in the world, dating
   back to 1st century A.D.
   Enlarge
   Buddhas of Bamyan were the largest Buddha statues in the world, dating
   back to 1st century A.D.

   It has been speculated that Zoroastrianism might have originated in
   what is now Afghanistan between 1800 to 800 BC. Ancient Eastern Iranian
   languages, such as Avestan, may have been spoken in this region around
   a similar time-line with the rise of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of
   the 6th century BC, the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids supplanted
   the Median Empire and incorporated what was known as Persia to Greeks
   within its boundaries; and by 330 BC, Alexander the Great had invaded
   Afghanistan and conquered the surrounding regions. Following
   Alexander's brief occupation, the Hellenistic successor states of the
   Seleucids and Greco-Bactrians controlled the area, while the Mauryas
   from India annexed the southeast for a time and introduced Buddhism to
   the region until the area returned to the Bactrian rule.

   During the 1st century AD, the Tocharian Kushans created a vast dynasty
   in Khorasan, bringing the Buddhism culture into this territory.
   Kushanians were then defeated by Sassanids in the 3rd century AD.
   Sassanids ruled up to the 7th century, when Muslim Arab armies
   conquered the Sassanid Empire in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah.

   The Arab Empire initially annexed parts of western Afghanistan in 652
   AD, then conquered north of Afghanistan by 809 AD and administered that
   region as Khorasan. Over time much of the local population converted to
   Islam. The region of modern Afghanistan became the centre of various
   important empires, including the Ghaznavid Empire (962-1151), founded
   by a local Afghan ruler from Ghazni named Mahmud Ghaznavi. This empire
   was replaced by the Ghorid Empire (1151-1219), founded by another local
   Afghan ruler, Muhammad Ghori, whose domains laid the foundations for
   the Delhi Sultanate in India.

   In 1219, the region was overrun by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, who
   devastated the land. Their rule continued with the Ilkhanates, and was
   extended further following the invasion of Timur Lang, a ruler from
   Central Asia. In 1504, Babur, a descendant of both Timur Lang and
   Genghis Khan, established the Mughal Empire with its capital at Kabul.
   By the early 1700s, the region of present-day Afghanistan was
   controlled by three ruling groups: Uzbeks to the north, Safavids to the
   west and the remaining larger area by the Mughals.

   In 1709, Mirwais Khan Hotak, a local Afghan (Pashtun) from the Ghilzai
   clan, overthrew and killed Gurgin Khan, the Safavid governor of
   Kandahar. Mirwais Khan successfully defeated the Persian Safavids, who
   were attempting to convert the local population of Kandahar from Sunni
   to Shia sect of Islam. Mirwais held the region of Kandahar until his
   death in 1715 and was succeeded by his son Mahmud Hotak. In 1722,
   Mahmud Hotak led an Afghan army to Isfahan, sacked the city and
   proclaimed himself Shah of Persia (meaning King of Persia). The Afghan
   dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, Nadir Shah of
   Persia.

   In 1738, Nadir Shah conquered Kandahar; in the same year he occupied
   Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. On June 19, 1747, Nadir Shah was
   assassinated, possibly planned by his nephew Ali Qoli. In the same
   year, one of Nadir Shah's high-ranking military generals, Ahmad Shah
   Abdali, a Pashtun from the Abdali clan, called for a loya jirga
   following Nadir Shah's assassination. The Afghans came together at
   Kandahar and unanimously chose Ahmad Shah to be the King, who changed
   his last name to Durrani (meaning Pearl).

   By 1751, Ahmad Shah Durrani managed to conquer and rule the entire
   present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Khorassan region of Iran, along
   with Delhi in India. In 1772, Ahmad Shah retired to his home in Maruf,
   Kandahar, where he died peacefully. He was succeeded by his son, Timur
   Shah Durrani, who transferred the capital from Kandahar to Kabul. Timur
   died in 1793 and was finally succeeded by his son Zaman Shah Durrani.

   During the 19th century, following the Anglo-Afghan wars (fought
   1839-1842, 1878-1880, and lastly in 1919) and the ascension of the
   Barakzai Pashtun dynasty, Afghanistan saw much of its territory and
   autonomy ceded to the United Kingdom. The UK exercised a great deal of
   influence, and it was not until King Amanullah Khan acceded to the
   throne in 1919 (see " The Great Game") that Afghanistan regained
   complete independence. During the period of British intervention in
   Afghanistan, ethnic Pashtun territories were divided by the Durand
   Line, and this would lead to strained relations between Afghanistan and
   British India – and later the new state of Pakistan – over what came to
   be known as the Pashtunistan debate.

   The longest period of stability in Afghanistan was between 1933 and
   1973, when the country was under the rule of King Zahir Shah. However,
   in 1973, Zahir's brother-in-law, Sardar Mohammed Daoud launched a
   bloodless coup. Daoud and his entire family were murdered in 1978 when
   the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan launched a coup
   known as the Great Saur Revolution and took over the government.

   Opposition against, and conflict within, the series of communist
   governments that followed, was considerable. As part of a Cold War
   strategy, in 1979 the United States government under President Jimmy
   Carter and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski began to
   covertly fund and train anti-government Mujahideen forces through the
   Pakistani secret service agency known as Inter Services Intelligence
   (ISI), who were derived from discontented Muslims in the country who
   opposed the official atheism of the Marxist regime. In order to bolster
   the local Communist forces, the Soviet Union—citing the 1978 Treaty of
   Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborliness that had been signed
   between the two countries —intervened on December 24, 1979. The Soviet
   occupation resulted in a mass exodus of over 5 million Afghans who
   moved into refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. More than 3
   million settled in Pakistan alone. Faced with mounting international
   pressure and the loss of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers as a
   result of Mujahideen opposition forces trained by the United States,
   Pakistan, and other foreign governments, the Soviets withdrew ten years
   later, in 1989. For more details, see Soviet war in Afghanistan.

   The Soviet withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was
   seen as an ideological victory in the US, which had backed the
   Mujahideen through three US presidential administrations in order to
   counter Soviet influence in the vicinity of the oil-rich Persian Gulf.
   Following the removal of the Soviet forces in 1989, the US and its
   allies lost interest in Afghanistan and did little to help rebuild the
   war-ravaged country or influence events there. The USSR continued to
   support President Najibullah (formerly the head of the secret service,
   Khad) until his downfall in 1992. However, the absence of the Soviet
   forces resulted in the downfall of the pro-communist government as it
   steadily lost ground to the guerrilla forces.
   Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988.
   Enlarge
   Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988.

   The result of the fighting was that the vast majority of the elites and
   intellectuals had escaped to take refuge abroad, a dangerous leadership
   vacuum thereby coming into existence. Fighting continued among the
   various Mujahideen factions, eventually giving rise to a state of
   warlordism. The most serious fighting during this growing civil
   conflict occurred in 1994, when 10,000 people were killed in Kabul. The
   chaos and corruption that dominated post-Soviet Afghanistan in turn
   spawned the rise of the Taliban, who were mostly Pashtuns from
   Kandahar.

   The Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, and eventually
   seized Kabul in 1996. By the end of 2000, the Taliban were able to
   capture 95% of the country, aside from the opposition ( Afghan Northern
   Alliance) strongholds primarily found in the northeast corner of
   Badakhshan Province. The Taliban sought to impose a strict
   interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and were later implicated as
   terrorists, most notably by harbouring and supporting Osama bin Laden's
   Al-Qaeda network.

   During the Taliban's seven-year rule, much of the population
   experienced restrictions on their freedom and violations of their human
   rights. Women were banned from jobs, girls forbidden to attend schools
   or universities. Those who resisted were punished. Communists were
   systematically eradicated and the strict Islamic Sharia law was
   imposed. The Taliban also managed to nearly eradicate the majority of
   the opium production by 2001.

   Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States launched
   Operation Enduring Freedom, a military campaign to destroy the Al-Qaeda
   terrorist network operating in Afghanistan and overthrow their host
   (the Taliban). The US made common cause with the Afghan Northern
   Alliance to achieve its ends.

   In December 2001, major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and
   diaspora met in Bonn, Germany, and agreed on a plan for the formulation
   of a new democratic government that resulted in the inauguration of
   Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun from Kandahar, as Chairman of the Afghan
   Interim Authority.

   After a nationwide Loya Jirga in 2002, Karzai was chosen by the
   representatives to assume the title as President of Afghanistan. In
   2003, the country convened a Constitutional Loya Jirga (Council of
   Elders) and ratified a new constitution the following year. Hamid
   Karzai was elected President in a nation-wide election in October 2004.
   Legislative elections were held in September 2005. The National
   Assembly--the first freely elected legislature in Afghanistan since
   1973--sat in December 2005, and was noteworthy for the inclusion of
   women as voters, candidates, and elected members.

   As the country continued to rebuild and recover, as of late 2006, it
   was still struggling against widespread poverty, continued warlordism,
   poor infrastructure, possibly the largest concentration of land mines
   and other unexploded ordinance on earth, as well as a huge illegal
   poppy and heroin trade. Afghanistan also remains subject to
   occasionally violent political jockeying. The landmine problem
   persists; in 2002, the Red Cross recorded 409 landmine deaths in
   Afghanistan, one of the highest mine tolls anywhere. The country
   continues to grapple with the Taliban insurgency, the threat of attacks
   from a few remaining al-Qaeda, and instability, particularly in the
   north, caused by the remaining semi-independent warlords.

Politics

   The current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
   Enlarge
   The current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.

   Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles,
   bloody coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a
   military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of
   government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic,
   theocracy and communist state. The constitution ratified by the 2003
   Loya jirga restructured the government as an Islamic republic
   consisting of three branches, ( executive, legislative, and judiciary).

   Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected
   in October 2004. While supporters have praised Karzai's efforts to
   promote national reconciliation and a growing economy, critics charge
   him with failing to rein in the country's warlords, inability to stem
   corruption and the growing drug trade, and the slow pace of
   reconstruction. The current parliament was elected in 2005. Among the
   elected officials were former mujahadeen, Taliban members, communists,
   reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. 28% of the delegates elected
   were women, 3% more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the
   constitution. This made Afghanistan, long known under the Taliban for
   its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of
   female representation.

   The Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice
   Abdul Salam Azimi, a former university professor who had been legal
   advisor to the president. The previous court, appointed during the time
   of the interim government, had been dominated by fundamentalist
   religious figures, including Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. The
   court had issued numerous questionable rulings, such as banning cable
   television, seeking to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential
   election and limiting the rights of women, as well as overstepping its
   constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought
   before the court. The current court is seen as more moderate and led by
   more technocrats than the previous court, although it has yet to issue
   any rulings.

Administrative divisions

   Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four provinces
   (velayat), which are further subdivided into districts.

     1 Badakhshan
     2 Badghis
     3 Baghlan
     4 Balkh
     5 Bamyan
     6 Daykundi
     7 Farah
     8 Faryab
     9 Ghazni
   10 Ghowr
   11 Helmand
   12 Herat
   13 Jowzjan
   14 Kabul
   15 Kandahar
   16 Kapisa
   17 Khost

                 18 Konar
                 19 Kunduz
                 20 Laghman
                 21 Lowgar
                 22 Nangarhar
                 23 Nimruz
                 24 Nurestan
                 25 Oruzgan
                 26 Paktia
                 27 Paktika
                 28 Panjshir
                 29 Parvan
                 30 Samangan
                 31 Sare Pol
                 32 Takhar
                 33 Vardak
                 34 Zabol

                             Map showing the provinces of Afghanistan.
                             Enlarge
                             Map showing the provinces of Afghanistan.

Geography

   Afghanistan is a land-locked, mountainous, central Asian country, with
   plains in the north and southwest. The highest point, at 7485 m (24,557
   ft) above sea level, is Nowshak. Large parts of the country are dry,
   and fresh water supplies are limited. Afghanistan has a continental
   climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The country is frequently
   subject to earthquakes.

   At 249,984 mi² (647,500 km²), Afghanistan is the world's 41st-largest
   country (after Burma). It is comparable in size to Somalia, and is
   somewhat smaller than the US state of Texas.

   The country's natural resources include copper, zinc and iron ore in
   central areas; precious and semi-precious stones such as lapis, emerald
   and azure in the north-east and east; and potentially significant oil
   and gas reserves in the north. However, these significant mineral and
   energy resources remain largely untapped due to the effects of the
   Soviet invasion and the subsequent civil war.

Economy

   A Business Center in Kabul
   Enlarge
   A Business Centre in Kabul

   Afghanistan is an extremely impoverished country, one of the world's
   poorest and least developed nations. Two-thirds of the population lives
   on less than US 2 dollars a day. The economy has suffered greatly from
   the recent political and military unrest since the 1979-80 Soviet
   invasion and subsequent conflicts, while severe drought added to the
   nation's difficulties in 1998-2001.

   The economically active population in 2002 was about 11 million (out of
   a total of an estimated 29 million). While there are no official
   unemployment rate estimates available, it is evident that it is high.
   The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which
   is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.

   As much as one-third of Afghanistan's GDP comes from growing poppy and
   illicit drugs including opium and its two derivatives, morphine and
   heroin, as well as hashish production.

   On a positive note, international efforts to rebuild Afghanistan led to
   the formation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) as a result of the
   December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors
   Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, where US 4.5
   billion dollars were committed in a trust fund to be administered by
   the World Bank Group. Priority areas for reconstruction include the
   rebuilding of the educational system, health, and sanitation
   facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of
   the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and
   telecommunication links.

   According to a 2004 report by the Asian Development Bank, the present
   reconstruction effort is two-pronged: first it focuses on rebuilding
   critical physical infrastructure, and second, on building modern public
   sector institutions from the remnants of Soviet style planning to ones
   that promote market-led development. But macroeconomic planning and
   management at present is hampered by poor information, weak service
   delivery systems, and less than adequate law enforcement.

   One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return
   of over 4 million refugees from neighbouring countries and the West,
   who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and
   wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up
   businesses. What is also helping is the estimated US 2-3 billion
   dollars in international assistance every year, the partial recovery of
   the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market
   institutions. Private developments are also beginning to get underway.

   While the country's current account deficit is largely financed with
   the "donor money", only a small portion – about 15% – is provided
   directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to
   non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the
   United Nations system and non-governmental organizations. The
   government had a central budget of only $350 million dollars in 2003
   and an estimated $550 million in 2004. The country's foreign exchange
   reserves totals about $500 million. Revenue is mostly generated through
   customs, as income and corporate tax bases are negligible.

   Inflation had been a major problem until 2002. However, the
   depreciation of the Afghani in 2002 after the introduction of the new
   notes (which replaced 1,000 old Afghani by 1 new Afghani) coupled with
   the relative stability compared to previous periods has helped prices
   to stabilize and even decrease between December 2002 and February 2003,
   reflecting the turnaround appreciation of the new Afghani currency.
   Since then, the index has indicated stability, with a moderate increase
   toward late 2003.

   The Afghan government and international donors seem to remain committed
   to improving access to basic necessities, infrastructure development,
   education, housing and economic reform. The central government is also
   focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure
   discipline. The rebuilding of the financial sector seems to have been
   so far successful. Money can now be transferred in and out of the
   country via official banking channels and according to accepted
   international norms. A new law on private investment provides three to
   seven-year tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption
   from exports tariffs and duties.

   While these improvements will help rebuild a strong basis for the
   nation in the future, for now, the majority of the population continues
   to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and
   other problems exacerbated by military operations and political
   uncertainties. The government is not strong enough to collect customs
   duties from all the provinces due to the power of the warlords. Fraud
   is widespread and "corruption is rife within all Afghan government
   organs, and central authority is barely felt in the lawless south and
   south-west".

   The real good news for Afghanistan is that it has great potentials to
   come out of poverty very quick and become a normal stable country. This
   is due to many reports showing that the country has possession of mass
   amounts of highly demanding natural resources and minerals. According
   to the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and
   Industry, Afghanistan may be possessing 15.6 trillion cubic feet of
   natural gas, 1.6 billion barrels of oil and up to 1,325 million barrels
   of natural gas liquids. This could mark the turning point in
   Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts. Energy exports could generate the
   revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country’s
   infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered
   and fractious population. Other reports suggest that the country has
   huge amounts of gold, copper, coal, iron ore and other rich minerals.

People

Demographics

   The population of Afghanistan is divided into a wide variety of ethnic
   groups. Because a systematic census has not been held in the country in
   decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various
   ethnic groups are not available. Therefore most figures are
   approximations only. According to the CIA World Factbook, an
   approximate ethnic group distribution is as follows:

   The Encyclopædia Britannica gives a slightly different list for various
   ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan :
     * 49% Pashtun
     * 18% Tajik (including Farsiwan and Qezelbash)
     * 9% Hazara
     * 8% Uzbek
     * 4% Aimak
     * 3% Turkmen
     * 9% other

   Based on official census numbers from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well
   as information found in main - mostly scholarly - sources, the
   Encyclopædia Iranica gives the following list:
     * 36.4% Pashtun
     * 33.6% Tajik (including Farsiwan and Qezelbash)
     * 8.0% Hazara
     * 8.0% Uzbek
     * 3.2% Aimak
     * 1.6% Baloch
     * 9.2% other

Languages

   The CIA factbook on languages spoken in Afghanistan is as follows:
   Pashto 35% (in gray) and Persian ( Dari) 50% (in pink), both
   Indo-European languages from the Iranian languages sub-family. Others
   include Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 9% (in green),
   as well as 30 minor languages 4% (primarily Balochi (in orange) and
   Pashai (in blue) and Nuristasni (in purple). Bilingualism is common.

   According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, the Persian language is the
   mother tongue of roughly 1/3 of Afghanistan's population, while - at
   the same time - it is the most widely used language of the country,
   spoken by ca. 90% of the population. It further states that Pashto is
   spoken by ca. 50% of the population.

Religions

   Religiously, Afghans are over 99% Muslims: approximately 74-89% Sunni
   and 9-25% Shi'a (estimates vary). Afghanistan was once home to an
   ancient Jewish community, numbering approximately 5,000 in 1948 . (See
   Bukharan Jews.) Most Jewish families fled the country after the 1979
   Soviet invasion, and only one individual, Zablon Simintov, remains
   today. With the fall of the Taliban, a number of Sikhs have returned to
   Kabul, Kandahar, Nangarhar and Ghazni provinces of Afghanistan.

Largest cities

   The only city in Afghanistan with over one million residents is its
   capital, Kabul. The other major cities in the country are, in order of
   population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazari Sharif, Jalalabad, Ghazni and
   Kunduz.

Culture

   Afghans display pride in their religion, country, ancestry, and above
   all, their independence. Like other highlanders, Afghans are regarded
   with mingled apprehension and condescension, for their high regard for
   personal honour, for their clan loyalty and for their readiness to
   carry and use arms to settle disputes. As clan warfare / internecine
   feuding has been one of their chief occupations since time immemorial,
   this individualistic trait has made it difficult for foreign invaders
   to hold the region.

   Afghanistan has a complex history that has survived either in its
   current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments.
   However, many of the country's historic monuments have been damaged in
   recent wars. The two famous statues of Buddha in the Bamyan Province
   were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. Other
   famous sites include the very cities of Kandahar, Herat, Ghazni and
   Balkh. The Minaret of Jam, in the Hari Rud valley, is a UNESCO World
   Heritage site. The cloak worn by Prophet Mohammad is stored inside the
   famouse Khalka Sharifa in Kandahar City.

   The people of Afghanistan are prominent horsemen as the national sport
   is Buzkashi, similar to Polo, but instead which a goat carcass is used
   instead of a ball. Afghan hounds (a type of running dog) also
   originated from Afghanistan.

   Although literacy levels are very low, classic Persian poetry plays a
   very important role in Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of
   the major educational pillars in Iran and, consequently, Afghanistan,
   to the level that it has integrated itself into culture. Persian
   culture has, and continues to, exert a great influence over Afghan
   culture. Private poetry competition events known as “musha’era” are
   quite common even among ordinary people. Almost every home owns one or
   more poetry collection of some sort, even if it is not read often.

   The eastern dialects of the Persian language are popularly known as "
   Dari" outside of Iran. The name itself derives from "Pārsī-e Darbārī",
   meaning Persian of the royal courts. The ancient term Darī - one of the
   original names of the Persian language - was revived in the Afghan
   constitution of 1964, and was intended "to signify that Afghans
   consider their country the cradle of the language. Hence, the name
   Fārsī, the langue of Fārs, is strictly avoided."

   Many of the famous Iranian poets of 10th to 15th centuries stem from
   where is now known as Afghanistan. They were mostly also scholars in
   many disciplines like languages, natural sciences, medicine, religion
   and astronomy. Examples are Mowlānā Rumi, who was born and educated in
   Balkh in the 13th century and moved to Konya in modern-day Turkey,
   Sanaayi Ghaznavi (12th century, native of Ghazni provice), Jāmī of
   Herāt (15th century, native of Jam-e-Herat in western Afghanistan),
   Nizām ud-Dīn Alī Sher Navā'ī, (15th century, Herat province). Most of
   these individuals were of Persian ( Tājīk) ethnicity who still form the
   second-largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Also, some of the
   contemporary Persian language poets and writers, who are relatively
   well-known in both Iran and Afghanistan include Ustad Betab,
   Khalilullah Khalili, Sufi Ghulam Nabi Ashqari,, Qahar Asey, Parwin
   Pazwak and others. In 2003, Khaled Hosseini published The Kiterunner
   which though fiction, captured much of the history, politics and
   culture experienced in Afghanistan from the 1930s to present day.

   In addition to poets and authors, numerous Iranian scientists have had
   their origins lie in where it's now called Afghanistan. Most notable
   was Avicenna (Abu Alī Hussein ibn Sīnā) whose father hailed from Balkh.
   Ibn Sīnā, who travelled to Isfahan later in life to establish a medical
   school there, is known by some scholars as "the father of modern
   medicine". George Sarton called ibn Sīnā "the most famous scientist of
   Islam and one of the most famous of all races, places, and times." His
   most famous works are The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine,
   also known as the Qanun. Ibn Sīnā's story even found way to the
   contemporary English literature through Noah Gordon's The Physician,
   now published in many languages.

   Before the Taliban gained power, the city of Kabul was home to many
   musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music,
   especially during the Nauroz-celebration. Kabul in the middle part of
   the 20th century has been likened to Vienna during the 18th and 19th
   centuries.

   The tribal system, which orders the life of most people outside
   metropolitan areas, is potent in political terms. Men feel a fierce
   loyalty to their own tribe, such that, if called upon, they would
   assemble in arms under the tribal chiefs and local clan leaders
   (Khans). In theory, under Islamic law, every believer has an obligation
   to bear arms at the ruler's call ( Ulul-Amr).

   Heathcote considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing
   large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult,
   and in a society that has an uncomplicated lifestyle - from a
   materialistic point of view.

Education

   In the spring of 2003, it was estimated that 30% of Afghanistan's 7,000
   schools had been very seriously damaged during more than two decades of
   civil war. Only half of the schools were reported to have clean water,
   while fewer than an estimated 40% had adequate sanitation. Education
   for boys was not a priority during the Taliban regime, and girls were
   banished from schools outright.

   As regards the poverty and violence of their surroundings, a study in
   2002 by the Save the Children Fund said Afghan children were resilient
   and courageous. The study credited the strong institutions of family
   and community.

   Up to four million Afghan children, possibly the largest number ever,
   are believed to have enrolled for class for the school year beginning
   in March of 2003. Education is available for both girls and boys.

   Literacy of the entire population is estimated at 36%, the male
   literacy rate is 51% and female literacy is 21%.

   Another aspect of education that is rapidly changing in Afghanistan is
   the face of higher education. Following the fall of the Taliban, Kabul
   University was reopened to both male and female students. In 2006, the
   American University of Afghanistan will open its doors, with support
   from USAID and other donors. With the aim of providing a world-class,
   English-language, co-educational learning environment in Afghanistan,
   the university will take students from Afghanistan and the region.

Communications and technology

   Afghanistan has rapidly increased in communications technology, and has
   embarked on wireless companies, television channels, and commercial
   international airlines. Afghan telecommunications companies, Afghan
   Wireless and Roshan, have boasted increase in rapid cellular phone
   usage. Afghanistan's commercial airlines, Ariana Afghan Airlines, now
   serves flights to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Dubai and
   Istanbul to and from Kabul and Herat.
     * Afghanistan's local television channels include:
          + Aina TV
          + Ariana TV
          + Ariana Afghanistan TV
          + Lamar TV
          + Shamshad TV
          + Tolo TV

   Afghanistan has also improved in vehicle conditions with Toyota, Land
   Rover, BMW and Hyundai dealerships all over Kabul, and a huge import of
   fine second-hand vehicles from UAE on display in Kandahar. Afghanistan,
   however, still is a long way from major modern technological
   advancements, but is on the fast road to that goal.

Views of Afghanistan

                     Bamyan

                             Ghazni

                                          Herat

                                                   Kabul

                     Kandahar

                             Mazari Sharif

                                          Tora Bora

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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