Source:

Bernt Glatzer: The social groups are organised along local lineages, village clusters, valleys and occupational groups [ID 1582]

"The Tajiks are the second largest group in Afghanistan. Calling them an 'ethnic' group involves stretching the usual ethnic definitions. There is no recognisable cultural, social or political boundary between them and the others. Groups of people called 'Tajik' live all over the country: in the larger cities they form majorities or important minorities. Most of the people in the provinces north of Kabul up to Badakhshan are called Tajik and in almost all Pushtun provinces there are important pockets of Tajiks. Their social groups are organised along local lineages, village clusters, valleys and occupational groups. When asked what people they are, most Tajiks answer by naming their valley, area, or town. 'Tajik' is mainly an analytical term, used by others to designate those who do not belong to a tribal society, who speak Persian and who are mostly Sunni. There seems to be an increasing tendency of non-tribal Persian speaking Afghans to identify themselves as 'Tajik' when speaking to outsiders."

Source:
Dr. Bernt Glatzer: Is Afghanistan on the Brink of Ethnic and Tribal Disintegration? In: William Maley: Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban, London 1998, p- 167-181"

31.12.2003 - Source: Minorities at Risk

University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Background Information ("Assessment for Tajiks in Afghanistan") [#30495],  [ID 1194]

"Tajiks, who speak Dari (a Persian dialect) are concentrated in the northeast of Afghanistan, with smaller numbers in the west of the country. Like the majority of Afghans, they are primarily Sunni Muslim, although some, who live mainly in and around the western city of Herat are Ismaili Shi`i. They are the second largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, after the Pashtun, and have been the Pashtuns’ most serious rival for power in the country. However, with three brief exceptions – one in the 14th century, one for ten months in 1929 and one from 1992-1996 – they have not controlled the central government
Tajiks have a history of autonomy (AUTLOST = 1), with fairly extensive powers (AUTPOW90 = 3). Partially as a result of this history, they are strongly cohesive organizationally (ORGCOH94 = 7) and have a relatively strong identity (COHESX9 = 5).
Afghanistan’s Tajik community, as represented by the Jam'iyat-i-Islam party and under the guidance of Burhanuddin Rabbani, gained control of the country's government in 1992. Rabbani was overthrown in 1996 by the Pashtun-dominated Taliban, which has led to a protracted civil war in the country. Rabbani now heads (in exile) the Northern Alliance, comprised of Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, and non-Taliban Pashtun groups, which is challenging Taliban control of the country (REB96-98 = 7). Tajik Ahmed Masood is the military leader of the alliance, which as of 2000, held approximately 10 percent of Afghanistan’s territory in the northern reaches of the country.
The dominant role of Tajiks in the opposition has led the Taliban regime to single Tajiks out for persecution on a variety of occasions, including massacres of civilians and forced displacement of Tajik populations in Taliban-controlled areas. Additionally, Tajik-dominated areas in the northeast have seen frequent battles, and border areas have changed hands frequently, subjecting those populations to further stress.
Rabbani’s government-in-exile remains the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan. (Only three states – Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates – have recognized the Taliban as a legitimate government.) Rabbani and Masood also have close ties with their ethnic kin in bordering Tajikistan (including ties with senior Tajik governmental officials).
The primary demands of the Tajik-led Northern Alliance focus on creating a central government with political representation for all of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups in a federalized structure, with provincial areas having more control over their own affairs. The Taliban rejects this formula, instead focusing on the incorporation of the political opposition (without regard to ethnic formulas) into a Taliban-controlled government structure that is more highly centralized. And although the Tajik party, the Jam'iyat-i-Islam, does support the implementation of Shari`a law, it supports a less-strict interpretation than the Taliban, especially regarding the role of women in the public sphere.
Due to the relatively rigid negotiating stances of the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, peace processes sponsored by the six-plus-two group (the countries immediately surrounding Afghanistan plus the United States and Russia) have made little progress. Proposals from the exiled Afghan king, Zahir Shad, to convene a loya jirga (the traditional Afghan grand assembly), while accepted by the Northern Alliance and the international community, have been rejected by the Taliban."

Document(s): Open document

31.12.2003 - Source: Minorities at Risk

Tajiks are concentrated in the northeast of Afghanistan ("Assessment for Tajiks in Afghanistan") [#30495],  [ID 1583]

"Tajiks, who speak Dari (a Persian dialect) are concentrated in the northeast of Afghanistan, with smaller numbers in the west of the country. Like the majority of Afghans, they are primarily Sunni Muslim, although some, who live mainly in and around the western city of Herat are Ismaili Shi`i. They are the second largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, after the Pashtun, and have been the Pashtuns’ most serious rival for power in the country."

Document(s): Open document

18.09.2002 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR Sub-Office Central Region District Profiles: District Bamyan (Bamyan) ("UNHCR Sub-Office Central Region District Profiles: District Bamyan (Bamyan)") [#12364],  [ID 1187]

Document(s): Open document

1997 - Source:

Library of Congress: Country Studies Afghanistan: Ethnic Groups: Tajik ("Library of Congress - Country Studies Afghanistan: Ethnic Groups: Tajik") [ID 1584]

Document(s): Library of Congress - Country Studies Afghanistan: Ethnic Groups: Tajik