Afghanistan's profile

Afghanistan has suffered long years of perpetual conflicts, infighting and foreign invasions over the last three decades.

Situated between the Middle East, Indian sub-continent and Central Asia, the landlocked and mountaineous land has always been the centre of attention and fought over by world superpowers as well as neighbours.

Afghanistan served as a battlefield between the Imperial Russia and the British Empire in India in the 19th century, and subsequently between the Soviet Union and the USA in 1980s.

The last decades of devastating wars and anarchy have left the country's infrastructure, economy and political and social apparatus in ruins - a daunting challenge for the newly elected administration to rebuild them.

Karzai's adminstration, with extensive support of the west, is at pains to expand its rule all across the country, establish the rule of law and bring nationwide stability, while the Taliban and Al-Qa'idah insurgents have recently stepped up insurgency in an attempt to hamper the smooth implementation of reconstruction and development drive.


FACTS:

Population: 26 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Kabul
Area: 650,000 sq km
Major languages: Pashto, Dari (Persian)
Major religion: Islam (Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%)
Independence: August, 1919

Life expectancy: 46 years (men), 46 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Afghani = 100 puls (50 Afghani = 1 US dollar)
Main exports: Fruit and nuts, carpets, wool, opium


Chronological events at a glance:

50,000 BC - 20,000 BC: Archaeologists have discovered evidence of stone age technology in Afghanistan.

2000 BC - 1500 BC: The city of Kabul is believed to have been established during this era.

600 BC: Zoroaster introduces a new religion in Bactria (north of Afghanistan), which worships fire.

50 AD: Under King Kanishka Graeco-Buddhist Gandharan culture reaches its peak.

652 AD: Arab conquerors introduce Islam to Afghanistan.

962 - 1030: Under the Ghaznavid Dynasty (962-1140), Afghanistan becomes the centre of Islamic power and civilisation.

1219 - 1221: Genghis Khan invades Afghanistan and turns the highly civlised land of the time into a desert.

1747 - 1773 : Rule of Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani). Ahmad Shah consolidates and enlarges Afghanistan. Durrani's empire extended from Central Asia to Delhi, from Kashmir to the Arabian sea. It became the greatest Muslim empire in the second half of the 18th century. He was the first to demarcate the Afghan borders.

1839 - 1842: First Anglo-Afghan War. Afghans kills Shah Shuja, a puppet king installed by the British. Afghans rise against the British, and in January 1842, only one Britih soldier, out of 16,500, survives and returns to British-controlled India.

1893: The Durand Line Treaty is signed between Afghan leader and British India, splitting Afghan tribal areas, leaving half of these Afghans in what is now Pakistan. The treaty expired in 1993, but due to choas and anarchy in Afghanistan, the territory still remains with Pakistan.

1919 - 1929: Afghans defeat the British in the final deadly battle and gain full independence. Amanullah Khan, titled as the hero of the battle, comes to the throne.

1973: Daud Khan abolishes King Zahir's monarchy and declares himself as the president. Thereafter, the Russian influence speeds up and permeates every state department.

1978: Communist coup: Daud is killed, and a Russian-backed administration takes over. Tension, murder, arrest, torture and choas reach epidemic proportions. Afghan mujahedin groups are formed and they rise against the leadership.

1992: Mujahedin topple Dr Najibullah's regime and take over Kabul. Infighting starts and millions of Afghans leave country and take asylum in neighbouring countries and the West.

1995 - 2001: The Taliban are formed by the Pakistani harline religious groups. They take over major parts of Afghanistan and finally get to the throne. Afghanistan suffers the most brutal era of fundamentalism and attrocity.

October, 2001: US attacks Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, accused of harbouring terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attack on USA.

2002: A transitional administration led by Hamid Karzai is appointed to lead the country until the 2004 presidential election.

2004: Incumbent Hamid Karzai wins the first Afghan democratic election with a landslide majority of 54%.

2005: The first democratically parliament in 30 years is formed.

Drugs threat in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is in danger of becoming a narcotics state controlled by terrorists and drugs lords.

The multi-billion-dollar trade constitutes nearly 60% of Afghanistan's GDP. It hampers the reconstruction drive, and is very detrimental to the country’s volatile security and nascent democracy.

The looming risk is not just confined to Afghanistan, but it also poses a serious threat to the world. Approximately 85% of heroin consumed in the UK originates in Afghanistan.

Failed attempts:

Karzai has repeatedly urged the world to assist the Afghan farmers, so that they voluntarily abstain from growing illicit crops.

Britain last year took the initiative to provide the Afghan farmers with alternative livelihoods assistance. But the scheme not only brought no result, but provided the farmers with more money to grow more opium in next season.

Harsh approaches like bulldozing poppy fields by US troops not only stirred up farmers’ resentment, but also triggered to health problems in the region.

Dr Axel Klein, former head of International Unit at Drugscope, describes the spraying of herbicides as an "inexcusable down-ride" form of eradication.

Fearing potential consequences, President Karzai called a halt to use of force and aerial spray of pesticides.

Why, then, despite all massive efforts of the Afghan government and international community, is the war on drugs doomed to failure?

Corruption:

There are several reasons making the mission impossible. One is involvement of senior government officials in this lucrative business.

“The illicit business has permeated every stratum of the government apparatus,” says the spokesman of the Afghan human rights commission.

He believes the war on drugs will bring no result unless government officials involved in the business are sacked and punished.

Ali Ahmad Jalali, former Afghan interior minister, resigned after failing to convince the president to reveal the identity of senior officials allegedly involved in drugs business.

Another reason is widespread corruption crippling the state departments, especially the judiciary.

The British ambassador to Afghanistan, Dr Rosalind Marsdin, recently called on the Afghan government to form a special tribunal to prosecute those involved in drug trade. But the proposal has yet to be put into action because of lack of professional legal experts.

Ill-conceived strategy:

Many experts believe that the war on drugs lacked effective strategy. “The US-led war on drugs has failed because it is based on an unreasonable approach and wrong policy,” says Rymond Kendall, former Secretary General of Interpol.

Kendall urges the international community and the UN to rethink their counternarcotics policy in Afghanistan. He advocates "medicalising" rather than "criminalising" drugs in Afghanistan”.

Licensing scheme:

Senlis Council, an European think thank, has recently advocated licensing Afghan opium crops and diverting them from "the black market" to "legitimate medicinal markets".

“Our preliminary feasibility assessment gives a green light for licensing scheme,” says the council’s executive director Emmanuel Reinert.

He sees the licensing scheme as the mere solution to the durgs issue in Afghanistan, and warns that forced eradication will have adverse effects on security situation.

Many drug experts support the Senlis Council’s proposal because the scheme can not only boost the Afghan economy, but also address the shortage of opium-driven medicines like morphine and codeine in the world.

Some analysts and drugs experts are, however, sceptical whether the licensing programme could be successfully implemented under weak Afghan legal framework.

But despite certain constraints, the proposal for licensing warrants close attention. The council's proposal has yet to be approved by the Afghan authorities and the US.

As mentioned above, Afghanistan is facing a real danger. And if not tackled, it will soon lapse back into anarchy and a haven for international terrorist networks.

The drug problem in Afghanistan could not be a short-term fix, so the international community should devise a lonT-term, practical mechanism to wipe out the danger before it is too late.

Afghanistan's uncertain future

Four years after the ouster of the Taliban, Afghanistan is still suffering instability and choas.

Worsening security, endemic corruption and lawlessness are hampering progress and development in the wor-torn country.

Despite billions of international aid over the past four years, the country has not yet achieved security, political and economic stability. . There is growing concern that many international donor countries will stop assisting Afghanistan unless the situation is better.

Security

The Taliban and Al-Qa'idah terrorists have re-grouped and intesified attacks on the government and international forces all across the country, particularly in southern frontier regions bordered with Pakistan.

The central government has failed to expand its rule all over the country, while the Taliban insurgents are gaining control over major remote areas. Many provinces are still controlled by warlords accused of war crimes and rights abuses in the past.

The extra deployment of NATO forces has not helped pacity sourthern regions bordered with Pakistan. Terroists cross the border, carry out attacks, and return to the Pakistani tribal areas without being caught.

There is plenty of speculation that Pakistan still train and support the Taliban and terrorist groups to destabalise Afghanistan. The world should therefore rethink its approach in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. It should tack down and eliminate terrorist training camps in the Pakistan territory, rather than to fight them in vain in Afghanistan.

Unhealthy parliament:

Many Afghans had pinned their hopes on the new parliament to tackle the current shortcomings and establish the rule of law and justice.

However, their hopes vanished after they saw senior Taliban members and known criminals and rights abusers of the past in parliament.

To many Afghans, the new parliament is a combination of warlords, Taliban criminals and a handful of technocrats and reformists. After the presidential election, Presiden Karzai was hoped to sack warlords and corrupt official from key positions, but he has done little in this respect so far.

It is widely beleived that the new Afghan parliament will be one of the most controversial assemblies in world history.

Economy:

The last decades of war and choas have shattered the Afghan economy. The country's economy solely relies on the foreign aid and informal drugs trade - which makes 60$ of Afghanistan's GDP.

Corruption is rife in all the deparments, and most of the international aid has been wasted and looted. It is believed that Afghanistan could not survive for a year if donor countries stop supporting it.


Women's rights:

Majority of the Afghan women still suffer abuse, murder and forced marriages. They still have not enjoyed their fundamental rights endorsed in the constitution.

The limited number of women present in the socio-political arena in the capital and certain provinces could not represent the entire Afghan women population.

More than 90 per cent of women are still confined inside the four walls and treated as nothing more than a chattel and baby-machines.

They are still victims of ill-conceived religious and traditional codes and deprived of their basic rights. It is possible to improve women's situation only by providing education and vocational training opportunities, particularly in the remote and most underdeveloped areas.

Poverty:

Poverty is deemed to be the key factor behind Afghanistan's instability. It was poverty that helped Al-Qa'idah terrorist network to gain a foothold in the country and recruit unemployed, illiterate young people for their vicious ends.

The link between poverty and growth of terrorism has not been assessed prudently. It is observed that terrorist groups recruit people from poorest communities and take advantage of their miserable lives.

The fight aganist the Taliban may have been successful, but the battle against poverty has been an utter failure. Despite billions of the international aid, majority of the Afghan population are jobless and suffer poverty.

More than 70% of the international aid is either squandered on fruitless projects or looted by the national and international NGOs. Poverty forces the Afghan young people to quit education and work to make a living for their family.