23.04.2007 - Source: UK Home Office

Afghanistan received independence from Britain in 1921 ("Country of Origin Information Report; Afghanistan") [ID 20264]

"Located at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan has for centuries been caught in the middle of great power and regional rivalries. After besting Russia in a contest for influence in Afghanistan, Britain recognized the country as an independent monarchy in 1921. King Zahir Shah ruled from 1933 until he was deposed in a 1973 coup. Afghanistan entered a period of continuous civil conflict in 1978, when a Communist coup set out to transform this highly traditional society. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979, but faced fierce resistance from U.S.-backed mujahideen (guerrilla fighters) until troops finally withdrew in 1989. The mujahideen factions overthrew the Communist government in 1992 and then battled each other for control of Kabul, killing more than 25,000 civilians in the capital by 1995. The Taliban militia, consisting largely of students in conservative Islamic religious schools, entered the fray and seized control of Kabul in 1996. Defeating or buying off mujahideen commanders, the Taliban soon controlled most of the country except for parts of northern and central Afghanistan, which remained in the hands of the Tajik-dominated Northern Alliance coalition. In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States launched a military campaign in October 2001 aimed at toppling the Taliban regime and eliminating Saudi militant Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, al-Qaeda. Simultaneously, Northern Alliance forces engaged the Taliban from the areas under their control. The Taliban crumbled quickly, losing Kabul to Northern Alliance forces in November [2001] and surrendering the southern city of Kandahar, the movement’s spiritual headquarters, in December [2001].(Freedom House, August 2005)"

Document(s): Open document

17.07.2005 - Source: Afghanistan Justice Project

Report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law between 1978 and 2001 ("Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, 1978-2001") [#37301], [ID 185]

Document(s): Open document

03.2003 - Source: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

Calendar ("Land Rights in Crisis: Restoring Tenure Security in Afghanistan (by Liz Alden Wily)") [#13567], [ID 187]

"Laws are indicated by their Afghan date. Excepting the Taliban regime, which used the Arabic lunar calendar, Afghanistan follows a solar calendar beginning in 622 AD, the year of the Hijrat. The first day of the year coincides with the first day of spring. The approximate corresponding western date is derived by adding 621 years, two months and 21 days to the Afghan date."

Document(s): Open document

12.2001 - Source:

University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: General Chronology for Afghanistan ("12.2001 - University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: General Chronology for Afghanistan") [ID 188]

"A Guide to Afghanistan's Political Parties and Resistance Movements As noted above, most of Afghanistan's political parties and resistance movements are mostly ethnically homogeneous. Within ethnic groups, especially the Pashtuns, the various parties and resistance movements are divided along tribal and regional lines. It is unclear when many of these parties and movements were founded and unless it is otherwise noted, it can be assumed that they pre-date the 1979 Soviet invasion. Pashtuns (or Pashtoons):
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) / Hizb-i-Watan (Homeland Party): This Marxist party was founded in 1965 and ruled Afghanistan from 1978 Until mid-1992. It is divided into 2 factions, the Parcham (Banner) faction and the Khalq (Masses) faction, both of which are dominated by Pashtuns. In June 1990, it renamed itself from the PDPA to the Hizb-i-Watan.
Hizb-i-Islami (Hekmatyar faction): Radical Sunni Islamists, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. It is supported by the Saudi Arabian government and was probably the most influential and militarily powerful of the Pashtun opposition parties until it was displaced by the Taliban in 1995. Its recruits include those who were educated in the secular government schools and also some Ulama (Islamic Clergy) from the Kabul region. The party is 80-85% Pashtun and tends to transcend tribes among the Pashtun.
Hizb-i-Islami (Khalis faction): "Moderate" Sunni Islamists, led by Yunis Khalis. Its recruits include those educated in government schools and the Ulama of the Khugiani and Jadran tribes as well as in the region of Kabul and Kandahr. This faction split off from Hekmatyar's faction in 1979.
Itehad-i-Islami (Islamic Unity Party [IUP]): Fundamentalist Sunni Muslims, led by Sayuf, also known as Ahmudzey. They are backed by the Saudi government and are mostly Pashtuns.
Harakat-i-Inkilab-i-Islami (movement for Islamic Revolution [MIR]): Moderate Sunni Muslim clerical party, led by Muhammad Nabi Muhammadi. It gains recruits from the Ulama educated in private madrasa (Islamic seminaries). It is mainly Pashtun.
Jabha-i-Nejat-i-Milli (National Liberation Front [NLF]): A secular and "moderate" mostly Pashtun party led by Sebghatullah Mujaddidi. Its recruits come mainly from the tribes, the establishment of the old social order and the Naqshbandi in the south.
Mahazi-i-Islami (Islamic Front [IF]): Royalists, led by Pir Sayyad Ahmad Gaylani. Its recruits come from the old social order, the tribes and the qadiri in the south. Mostly Pashtun.
Taliban: Started by a group of Afghan refugee Islamic students studying in Pakistan. They officially oppose all other factions in Afghanistan as corrupt and as the sources of Afghanistan's current anarchic state. Originally, they sough to create an Islamic government in Afghanistan but did not wish to run that government. In areas under their control they have imposed strictly Islamic law. They also have cleared the roads of bandits, have ended the practice of extorting money from travelers at "checkpoints" and have disarmed the population in areas under their control. Despite some resentment over their imposition of Islamic law (which is especially repressive for women), they seem to be popular among Pashtuns because they have brought some order to previously anarchic regions. Exactly when they were formed is unclear but they emerged in the Kandahar province in mid-1994. Their spiritual leader is Muhammad Omar Akhund (also known as Mullah Muhammed Omar). Other leaders of the Taliban include Maulvi Muhammad Rabbani (no relation to the head of Jam'iyat-i-Islami) and Ihsanulla. In 1995, the Taliban displaced Hekmatyar's faction of the Hizb-i-Islami as the most powerful Pashtun faction and a major opposition party. In September 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul and declared itself the legitimate government of Afghanistan. There are many accusations that the Taliban is controlled by the Pakistani intelligence service, a charge which Taliban officials deny. Mainly Pashtun.
Jehadi Shoora: A militia formed in mid-1995 made up of commanders previously in control of the southern provinces now controlled by the Taliban that hoped to take control of southern Afghanistan back from the Taliban. Little information on its leadership and activities is available.
Tajiks:
Jam'iyat-i-Islami: "Moderate" Islamists, led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, who became president of Afghanistan in 1992. Ahmad Masood is also a prominent figure in the party and one of its most successful and famous military commanders, leading the militia called Shoora-i-Nazaar. Its recruits come from amongst those educated in government schools (both religious and secular), the Ulama in the north and naqshbandi in the north. Mainly Tajik.
Hazaras:
Hizb-i-Wahdat / Wahdat al Islamiya (Islamic Coalition Council of Afghanistan): An alliance of 8 Shi'i Islamic fundamentalist parties formed in 1987 in Iran (the individual parties pre-date the coalition). The party receives considerable diplomatic, material and moral support from Iran. It is mostly Hazara and is led by Abdul Karim Khalee (or Khalili) and Abdul Ali Mazari.
Uzbeks:
General Dostam / Jambush-i-Milli (National Islamic Front): General Abdul Rashid Dostam is an Uzbek warlord who, in the early 1990s, was the effective ruler of northern Afghanistan. His followers are primarily Uzbek. Dostam supported the Communist government until March 1992 and, as a consequence, controls a considerable amount of heavy weaponry including tanks and airplanes, thus making his army one of the most powerful in the country. Dostam has close ties to Turkey.
Others (including alliances):
Harakat-i-Islam: Non-Hazara Shi'i Muslims led by Shaykh Asaf Muhensi Kandahari. Its recruits are educated Shi'i from all ethnic groups.
Ismaili (or Ismeali) Moslem Faction: Ismaili Shi'i Muslims headed by Sayed Mansoor Naderi and under the spiritual leadership of Agha Khan. It was formally aligned with Dostam's Jambush movement, but, in 1996, increasing tensions drove the Ismaeli faction from Dostam's movement. (AFP, March 4, 1996)
In May 1985 several of these movements formed the Ittehad-i-Islami Afghan Mujaheddin (The Afghan Interim Government - AIG). The parties in this alliance include: Harakat-i-Inkilab-i-Islami, the National Liberation Front, the Islamic Front, both factions of the Hizb-i-Islami, the Islamic Unity Party and the Jam'iyat-i-Islami. All of these factions are Sunni Muslim parties and all but the Jam'iyat-i-Islami (which is Tajik) are Pashtun. This alliance, based in Pakistan, has not stopped fighting between the factions.
Supreme Coordination Council of the Islamic Revolution of Afghanistan (SCCIRA or SCC): An anti-Rabbani alliance formed in 1994, comprised of former premier Hekmatyar's Hizb-i-Islami, the National Liberation Front (ANF) of former president Mujaddidi, General Dostam's National Islamic Front, and the Shiite Hizb-i-Wahdat faction. (AFP, February 28, 1996)
Ittehad-i-Islami: a faction aligned with Rabbani and led by Rasool Sayyaf (AFP, July 3, 1996)
Supreme Council for the Defense of Afghanistan (or the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan [UIFSA] or the Northern Alliance): An anti-Taliban alliance formed after the Taliban took over Kabul in fall 1996, comprised of Jam'iyat-i-Islami, Jambush-i-Milli, Hizb-i-Wahdat, Harakat-i-Islami, and a few other small factions, later joined by ousted premier Hekmatyar.
Peace and National Unity Foundation Party: Founded in January 1999 by Sebghatullah Mujaddidi, formerly of NLF, and Pir Sayyad Ahmad Gaylani, formerly of IF. The goals of the new, impartial party were to secure a nationwide cease-fire and to establish a negotiated political settlement for the country. (AFP, January 5, 1999)"

Document(s): 12.2001 - University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: General Chronology for Afghanistan

03.05.2001 - Source:

Amin Farhang: Discussion paper on the state of the nation during the Taliban regime ("Amin Farhang: Strukturen und Ziele der Taliban. Zur Frage der Staatlichkeit der Taliban") [ID 189]

Document(s): Amin Farhang: Strukturen und Ziele der Taliban. Zur Frage der Staatlichkeit der Taliban

04.2001 - Source:

Afghanistan Online: History ("Afghanistan Online") [ID 190]

Afghan history from antiquity to contemporary developments; description ends in April 2001. Additionally various articles an images on Afghan history.

Document(s): Afghanistan Online

04.2001 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan ("Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan") [#2265], [ID 191]

Document(s): hcr-afgbg-0401.pdf

1999 - Source:

Barnett Rubin: Detailed background article on economical and political developments during main epochs of Afghan history ("Barnett Rubin: The Political Economy of War and Peace in Afghanistan") [ID 192]

"The 20-year old Afghan conflict has created an open war economy, affecting Afghanistan and surrounding areas. Not only has Afghanistan become the world’s largest opium producer and a center for arms dealing, but it supports a multi-billion dollar trade in goods smuggled from Dubai to Pakistan. This criminalized economy funds both the Taliban and their adversaries. It has transformed social relations and weakened states and legal economies throughout the region. Sustainable peace will require not just an end to fighting and a political agreement but a regional economic transformation that provides alternative forms of livelihood and promotes accountability."

Document(s): Barnett Rubin: The Political Economy of War and Peace in Afghanistan