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Afghanistan
Area: 251,740 square miles (652,000 sq km)
Population: estimated to be 28.7 million (UN) with an estimated total of 2 million refugees in Pakistan and 800,000 in Iran (UNHCR)
Capital City: Kabul, population estimated to be 4 million (Deputy Mayor of Kabul December 2002). Other main cities are Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar-e Sharif.
People: The population comprises numerous ethnic groups, the major ones being Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Chahar Aimaks and Turkmen.
Language: Dari (related to Farsi) and Pashto
Religion: Islam, 84% of whom are Sunni Muslim
Currency: The Afghani
Government:The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Head of State: Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Vice Presidents: Abdul Karim Khalili, Ahmed Zia Massoud
Foreign Minister: Dr Rangin Dadfar-Spanta
Defence Minister: Gen Abdul Rahim Wardak
Interior Minister: Engineer Ahmad Moqbel Zarar
Finance Minister: Dr Anwar-ul Haq Ahadi
Counter-Narcotics Minister: Engineer Habibullah Qaderi
GEOGRAPHY
Afghanistan is bordered to the west by Iran, to the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and to the east and south by China and Pakistan.
Its topography is dominated by a complex of irregular highlands which increase in height from the west to the east (where peaks over 22,965 feet (7000 metres) are found) and form part of the Hindu Kush. Almost half of the country lies at about 2,000 metres or more above sea level. Afghanistan constitutes a major watershed with the Oxus (Amu-Darya) rising on the north side of the Hindu Kush and flowing into central Asia, whereas on the south side several rivers form tributaries of the Indus. The climate is of an arid steppe type with dry summers and cold winters. Water supplies vary widely within Afghanistan. Although some areas regularly receive heavy snowfalls in winter, there has been widespread drought in recent years.
HISTORY
At the crossroads of central Asia, Afghanistan is proud of having preserved its national identity in the face of the often intrusive interests of other regional powers. The foundation of modern Afghanistan is usually attributed to Ahmad Shah Abdali (1747-72) who built an empire in Afghanistan as Mughal power declined in northern India and British influence rose. The Anglo-Russian struggle for influence in Central Asia, the ‘Great Game', in the nineteenth century fuelled three British Afghan Wars in 1839-42, 1878-81 and 1919. For much of the twentieth century successive Afghan governments worked to preserve the independence of the country amidst tumultuous changes: the advances and retreat of European influence in the Middle East; the change from Tsarist to Communist ambition in the north; and independence for, and partition of, British India.
After the Second World War (in which Afghanistan remained neutral), a liberal, largely urban government attempted to modernise a rural and traditional Muslim society. In 1973 Prime Minister Daud overthrew King Zahir Shah and established a republic. Daud was overthrown himself in 1978 by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, who tried to impose a socialist state. This led to armed resistance by conservative Islamic elements, and in 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
Soviet intervention lasted ten years and sparked a bitter civil war with anti-Soviet mujahideen forces, supported by considerable outside aid. The departure of Soviet troops in 1989 did not bring an end to the conflict, as mujahideen groups began to struggle among themselves. By 1994 the Pashtun Taliban began to emerge as the dominant power in Afghanistan, taking Kabul in October 1996 and controlling most of the country by 1998. They were opposed by mujahideen commanders Massoud, Dostum and others in the predominantly Tajik and Uzbek United Front (previously the Northern Alliance).
The Taliban were already largely isolated internationally. But after 11 September 2001 they came under immense international military pressure for their refusal to give up Usama bin Laden. After the fall of the Taliban regime in November 2001, the United Nations brought together leaders of Afghan ethnic groups in Germany. The Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan pending the Re-establishment of Permanent Government Institutions (the Bonn Agreement), signed on 5 December 2001, set out a road map for the restoration of representative government in Afghanistan.
POLITICS
The Bonn Agreement and the Loya Jirga
The main terms of the Bonn Agreement were: - the establishment of an Interim Authority consisting of an Interim Administration presided over by a Chairman;
- a Special Independent Commission for the convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga; a Supreme Court of Afghanistan; and a Human Rights Commission
- the Interim Authority was the repository of Afghan sovereignty.
- an Emergency Loya Jirga, chaired by the former King Zahir Shah, was to be convened within six months of the establishment of the Interim Authority to decide on a Transitional Authority. This would include a broad-based Transitional Administration to lead Afghanistan until a fully representative government could be elected no later than two years from the date of the Emergency Loya Jirga
- A Constitutional Commission was to be established within two months of the commencement of the Transitional Administration to draft the constitution.
- a Constitutional Loya Jirga was to be convened within eighteen months of the establishment of the Transitional Authority in order to adopt a new constitution for Afghanistan.
In June 2002 an Emergency Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) established a Transitional Administration to govern until elections could be held in 2004. The arrangements for the Loya Jirga were designed to enable a broad-based representation. Seats were reserved for women, refugees, displaced persons, nomads, businessmen, intellectuals and religious scholars. The Loya Jirga concluded on 19 June 2002 with the inauguration of Hamid Karzai as President of the Transitional State of Afghanistan. The Emergency Loya Jirga marked the first opportunity for decades for the Afghan people to play a decisive role in choosing their future.
In October 2002, President Karzai appointed a Constitutional Drafting Committee, chaired by Vice-President Shahrani, to produce a draft constitution. The draft was examined by the 35-member Constitutional Review Commission, seven of whom were women, and a final draft was published on 3 November. This was submitted for discussion and approval to an elected Constitutional Loya Jirga, under the chairmanship of former President Mojadeddi, which convened on 14 December 2003.
The new constitution was agreed on 4 January 2004 and established a presidential system of government with all Afghans equal before the law. The human rights and gender provisions are an improvement on the 1964 Constitution. A minimum number of seats for women are guaranteed in both Houses of the National Assembly. There are also provisions for minority languages and the rights of the Shia minority.
With the Bonn process nearing completion, the Afghanistan Transitional Authority (ATA) and international community met at the international Afghanistan donors' conference in Berlin on 31 March to 1 April 2004. The conference agreed a workplan setting out a series of next steps to consolidate progress to date towards a secure, stable, free, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan.
Presidential Elections
 | Female voter at the 9 Nov 2004 Presidential elections
(Copyright: Marie Frechon / UNDP) |
Key election facts: - There were 16 contenders in the presidential race, representing the full spectrum of Afghanistan's ethnic groups.
- Most eligible Afghans registered to vote: over 10.5 million people in total - of whom 41.3% were women. Claims that some people registered more than once do not affect the overall trend.
- On polling day 4,807 polling centres with 21,521 polling stations (12,354 for men, 9,187 for women) were in operation in all districts of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. Each polling station was used by an average of around 600 voters.
- Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran were able to participate in the electoral process at 125 polling centres (1,130 polling stations) established in Iran and 630 polling centres (1,672 polling stations) in Pakistan. This operation was the largest out-of-country voting process that has ever been conducted to date.
- The election was observed by 5,321 domestic and 122 international observers plus 55 members of the EU and OSCE support mission and 294 'special guests' - mainly UN personnel and diplomats based in Kabul. The UK contributed 19 British Embassy staff to the EU-led observation mission and 4 experts to the OSCE observation team.
- The UK made a significant contribution to supporting the elections, providing £13.1 million in funding support (£9.9 million to support the voter registration process, £2.7 million towards the cost of the elections themselves, £274,000 to voter education programmes and an additional £274,000 for election observation).
Parliamentary and Provincial Elections
Elections to the Lower House of Parliament (Wolesi Jirga) and to the Provincial Councils were held in Afghanistan on 18 September 2005. These were the first such elections for 36 years.
The Parliamentary elections were more complex, and a greater logistical challenge than the Presidential elections of 2004. 12.5 million registered Afghan voters used a Single Non-Transferable Vote to choose between 2,753 candidates for the 249 seats in the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) and 3,013 candidates for the 420 Provincial Council seats. Candidates stood in their own right as individuals, with no parties officially recognised in the elections. Appointments to the Upper House (Meshrano Jirga) consisted of two-thirds elected indirectly by local councils with the remaining third by presidential appointment. Under the Constitution, the Afghan President nominates one third of the seats in the Upper House and has an obligation in making nominations to ensure that minorities such as the disabled and the nomad Kuchi are represented.
51.5% of eligible voters turned out on the day to exercise their right to vote - of these 41% were women. Certified results for the Lower House were announced on 12 November 2005. Provincial election results for the Upper House followed on 27 November 2005. The electoral process was completed on 10 December 2005 when President Karzai appointed the final 34 members of the Upper House. The inaugural session of the Afghan National Assembly took place on 19 December 2005. Yunus Qanuni and Sibghatullah Mujadidi were appointed the president of the Lower House and chairman of the Upper House respectively.
The UK again offered a wide range of assistance for the Parliamentary and Provincial elections as it did for the Presidential election. We contributed £6.7 million including £5.2 million towards the UNDP coordinated central fund for the preparation of the election and vote counting, and a further £1million directly to the Afghan Civil Society Forum for voter education work. We also contributed 4 UK experts to the OSCE election support team.
The London Conference on Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Compact
With September's elections and the inaugural session of the Afghan National Assembly in December 2005 marking the formal completion of the Bonn Process, the UK hosted the London Conference on Afghanistan on 31 January - 1 February 2006. Co-chaired by the Afghan Government, the UK and the UN, the conference saw the launch of the Afghanistan Compact (an agreement between the Afghan Government and the international community led by the UN), the interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy (I-ANDS), and the National Drug Control Strategy.
The Afghanistan Compact provides the framework for international engagement in Afghanistan for the next five years, setting outcomes, benchmarks and mutual obligations that aim to ensure greater coherence of effort between the Afghan Government and the international community. The Compact supports the Afghan Government's interim National Development Strategy which lays out their vision and investment priorities. the IANDS reflects a process of national consultation, underpinning the benchmarks in the Compact and the targets set in Afghanistan's Millenium Development Goals. Under the Compact the To deliver improved co-ordination the Compact created a new mechanism called the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) to ensure coordinated international engagement in Afghanistan.
The conference was attended by over 60 delegates and demonstrated the commitment of the Afghan Government and the international community to deepen their partnership. Many delegations made new financial pledges at the Conference, making available over $10.5 billion.
In December 2005 the UK, as G8 President, co-hosted, alongside the Afghan Government, a Regional Economic Cooperation Conference (RECC) in Kabul aimed at exploring practical means for Afghanistan to increase economic cooperation and trade with it neighbours. G8 countries, India, Turkey, Gulf States and International Financial Institutions participated at Ministerial, or equivalent, level.
ECONOMY
Afghanistan’s economy has been seriously damaged by decades of war. The main activity remains agriculture (which involves around 80% of the population), both subsistence and some commercial. The main traditional crops are grain, rice, fruit, nuts and vegetables. But all have been severely affected by drought in recent years. Industry is small scale and includes handicrafts, textiles, carpets, and some food processing. Exports consist of mainly fruit, nuts, vegetables and carpets.
In January 2003, Afghanistan signed a trilateral trade agreement with Iran and India that designated the Iranian port of Chabahar as a major port for Afghan industry. Under the agreement Afghanistan and India will pay reduced rates for port fees, warehousing, etc.; they will have access to transit goods through Iran; and Iran and India further undertook to improve the Iranian infrastructure to assist with the transit of goods.
Representatives of Afghanistan and its neighbours, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan met in Dubai on 22 September 2003 to consider practical follow-up to the Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations they had previously agreed in Kabul on 22 December 2002. They agreed on the need to forge new trade dynamics and foster investment between Afghanistan and its neighbours through better co-operation at all levels of government, business associations and chambers of commerce.
In December 2005 the UK, as G8 President, co-hosted, alongside the Afghan Government, a Regional Economic Cooperation Conference (RECC) in Kabul aimed at exploring practical means for Afghanistan to increase economic cooperation and trade with it neighbours. G8 countries, India, Turkey, Gulf States and International Financial Institutions participated at Ministerial, or equivalent, level. The second RECC was hosted by India in Delhi in November 2006.
In April 2007 Afghanistan became the eighth member of the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), a regional platform for improved economic and social development in South Asia.
 | | Foreign Secretary Jack Straw greeting the Afghan Foreign Minister, Doctor Abdullah Abdullah, as he arrives for the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting (23/06/05) |
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US $5.8 billion (IMF January 2006)
Growth rate: The Afghan economy grew by an average of 25% (excluding drugs) between 2002-04. In 2004/05 its licit economy grew by 8%, rising to 14% in 2005/06.
Principal industries: Textiles, fruit and nuts, soap, furniture, shoes, fertiliser, hand woven carpets, cement, natural gas, coal and copper
Major trading partners: Exports to Pakistan, the EU, India, Russia and the United Arab Emirates; imports from Pakistan, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, India and Turkmenistan
Exchange rate: 94 Afghanis = 1GBP (xe.com August 2006)
HEALTH
The health infrastructure in Afghanistan damaged or destroyed by years of conflict, is gradually being re-established by the Afghan Government with the help of the international community. The health services inherited at the end of 2001 were limited in capacity and coverage, and while the Ministry of Health has shown leadership the health status of the Afghan people is still among the worst in the world. The majority of the population lacks access to safe drinking water and sanitary facilities. Disease, malnutrition and poverty are rife and an estimated 6.5 million people remain dependant on food aid. - average life expectancy is 44.5 years (UNDP, July 2005)
- 1 in 6 babies dies during or shortly after birth (UNDP, July 2005)
- 20% of children die before reaching the age of 5 (UNICEF, 2005)
- 17,000 women die each year from pregnancy related causes (UNICEF, 2005)
- 12% of the population have adequate sanitation (World Bank, July 2005)
- 13% of the population have clean drinking water (World Bank, 2005)
The World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and the European Community are helping the Afghan Ministry of Health, through NGOs, to provide a basic healthcare service to the entire population. The package consists of services for maternal and newborn health; child health and immunisation; nutrition; communicable disease; mental health; disability; and the supply of essential drugs. The Ministry of Health has established a Child and Adolescent Health Department and a Department of Women and Reproductive Health to tackle high infant and maternal mortality rates. There are now over 900 clinics and approximately 40% of the population have access to healthcare.
Immunisation is having a real impact. In March 2006, a Ministry of Public Health, UNICEF and World Bank nationwide campaign was launched to immunise 7 million children, in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, against polio. Since 2002 UN agencies have administered 16 million vaccinations against measles, saving an estimated 35,000 lives. Cholera and diarrhoeal diseases are being tackled through health education, water chlorination and the construction of wells throughout the country.
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