The Great Game
The current borders of Afghanistan date back to the 1893 Durand Line Agreement concluded after the second Anglo-Afghan war of 1878–1881. The geographic boundaries were largely shaped by the struggle for regional supremacy between the British and Russian empires where Afghanistan served as a buffer zone. Future Afghanistan–Pakistan relations would be significantly influenced by tribal rivalries fueled by this “Great Game” between Britain and Russia and by the 1893 agreement, which split the Pashtun tribes between Afghanistan and British India.
The British remained in control of Afghanistan’s foreign affairs until August 1919 when they acknowledged Afghanistan’s independence through the Treaty of Rawalpindi following a month of fighting in the third Anglo-Afghan war.
1973 Coup
The most peaceful period in Afghanistan’s modern history lasted from 1933 to 1973 under King Zahir Shah. Shah was responsible for adopting a constitution in 1964, establishing a national legislature, and promoting women’s rights. It was under his leadership that Afghanistan began to foster closer relations with both the Soviet Union (USSR), in terms of arms procurement and infrastructure development, and the United States, which provided development assistance.
In 1973 former prime minister Mohammed Daud overthrew Shah in a relatively peaceful coup and declared Afghanistan a republic. Daud attempted to implement a state run economy with support from the USSR. However, tribal leaders and the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan were opposed to the regime.
1978 Saur Revolution
Daud and his family were assassinated in the 1978 Saur Revolution and Nur Mohammad Taraki, leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), formed Afghanistan’s first Marxist government. The USSR recognized the new Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and signed a Soviet-Afghan Treaty of Friendship and a collective security system agreement.
The PDPA leadership aimed to “impose radical socialist change on a traditional society, in part by redistributing land and bringing more women into government.” [1] These radical changes sparked a rebellion by Islamist parties, collectively known as the mujahedeen.
Civil War
Soviet War in Afghanistan 1979–1989
The PDPA and various short-lived regimes failed to quell the mujahedeen opposition despite Soviet assistance. The USSR invaded Afghanistan on 25 December 1979 to prevent a possible takeover and installed Babrak Karmal as president. The USSR dispatched some 120,000 troops, but failed to bring stability or “establish effective control outside Kabul.” [2]
The mujahedeen organized to oppose the Soviet-installed socialist government's plan to create a secular state. With mujahedeen leaders exiled in Pakistan, most of the groups were based in camps in neighbouring states but they attracted volunteers from across the world. The mujahedeen were backed by Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, Iran, the United States, and China. The US supported a covert military assistance program, authorized by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, while Pakistan provided training and served as an intermediary for delivery of financial aid. Saudi Arabia provided donations, which were second only to the US in terms of monetary value.
Unable to defeat the mujahedeen and having lost 14, 500 troops, the USSR signed the Geneva Accords in 1988, setting a timetable for troop withdrawal. The USSR began withdrawing their armed forces in May 1988 and finally withdrew from Afghanistan in February 1989, leaving the country under the control of President Mohammed Najibullah.
The impact of the war on the civilian population was massive. Refugee flows to Iran and Pakistan peaked at 6.2 million displaced Afghans in 1990. Today there are some 1,022,500 Afghan refugees in Iran and further 702,000 in Pakistan. The conflict had resulted in over 1 million civilian deaths by its conclusion in 1989.
Mujahedeen 1989–1994
During the post-Soviet period, various factions within the mujahedeen fought each other in efforts to consolidate power. Mohammad Najibullah, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Ahmed Shah Massoud, Burhanuddin Rabbani, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar led the most prominent factions.
Dostum and his Uzbek militia defected from President Najibullah’s Soviet-backed regime, contributing to the fall of Kabul in 1992 and marking the beginning of the mujahedeen rule. The Peshawar Accord, signed in March 1992, temporarily transferred power to a 51 person-body for two months, set the ground for the formation of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The Accord stated that Sibghatullah Mujaddidi would rule for two months followed by Rabbani.
In December 1992 Rabbani was elected president by a 1,400 member council. He remained president until 1996 despite continuing attacks on Kabul by forces loyal to Hikmatyar and a new threat, the Taliban.
The Taliban 1994–2001
Amid the infighting a new group, the Taliban, emerged. The group, led by Mullah Muhammad Omar, consisted largely of ethnic Pashtuns belonging to the Ghilzai tribes of eastern Afghanistan who were educated in Pakistan’s madrassas (religious seminaries). Their goal was to establish an Islamic state according to the conservative “Deobandi” Pashtun traditions.
The Taliban’s first military victory was the peaceful capture of Kandahar in 1994, followed by Ghazni and Herat in 1995, and finally Kabul in 1996. They established a new regime, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Taliban disbanded various militias, ruled according to the “Pashtun approach to Sharia law,” and improved security in the country.” [3] However, the repressive regime gradually alienated the Afghan population by imposing rigid fundamentalist beliefs and rules, committing atrocities against women, girls, and minority groups (particularly Shi’a Hazaras), contributing to economic deprivation and malnourishment, and eradicating opium.
Joining forces to oppose the Taliban, Dostum, Rabbani, and Massoud formed the Northern Alliance (also known as the United Front). Rabbani represented Afghanistan at the United Nations.
The Northern Alliance limited Taliban progress northward in 1997. However, in 1998 Mazar-i-Sharif fell to the Taliban, establishing their dominance across over 90 percent of the country and forcing Dostum to find refuge in Uzbekistan. Two days prior to the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, Northern Alliance leader Massoud was assassinated by al-Qaeda, thus removing a veteran and seasoned leader.
The Taliban regime attracted the attention of the international community by providing a safe haven for al-Qaeda and the group’s leader, Osama bin Laden. The presence of the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (or the Islamic Movement of Turkmenistan), systemic discrimination against women and girls, and illicit production of opium also raised concerns.
The Taliban regime never gained international recognition, although Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates did recognize the government in May 1997.
On 15 November 1999 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1267 (1999), imposing sanctions on the Taliban for their failure to hand over bin Laden, indicted in the US for his role in two embassy bombings.
War in Afghanistan 2001–
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, the United Nations issued Security Council Resolution 1368 (2001) on 12 September, which is “widely interpreted as a UN authorization for military action in response to the attacks”. [4] On 20 September, the US announced the War on Terror and demanded that the Taliban deliver the leaders of al-Qaeda and close all terrorist training camps within its borders.
The US began Operation Enduring Freedom, an international armed response, on 7 October 2001. Special Operation Forces provided support to the Northern Alliance by targeting positions through air strikes and missiles launches from US and British ships and submarines. The broad goals of the campaign was to eliminate terrorism, capture al-Qaeda leaders and operatives, destroy terrorist training camps, remove the Taliban from power, and deter state-sponsored terrorism.
Following the fall of Mazar-e-Sharif on 9 November 2001 to Dostum and his forces, the Taliban regime began to collapse. Tajik Northern Alliance troops marched into Kabul in November 2001 and Kandahar fell on 9 December 2001. The fall of these key cities signaled the demise of Taliban control; however, Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden remained at large.
The UN-sponsored Bonn conference brought together various Afghan factions, carving a path for political reconstruction, a new constitution, and presidential and National Assembly elections. The UN Security Council endorsed the resulting Bonn Agreements on 6 December 2001 in Resolution 1383 (2001). The agreements established an Afghan Interim Authority and Hamid Karzai was appointed Chairman on 22 December 2001. He continues to rule Afghanistan as the elected President.
The Bonn Agreement authorized the deployment of a UN-mandated force to maintain security and provide international assistance to establish and train Afghanistan’s own security forces. The UN established the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on 20 December 2001 through Resolution 1386 (2001).
UN-mandated ISAF troops began deploying in Afghanistan in January 2002, with NATO assuming control of ISAF forces on 11 August 2003. In October 2003, the UN expanded the mission across the country.
References
1. Katzman,Kenneth. , Washington: Congressional Research Service, 20 April 2010, p. 2.
2. Dewing Michael. -->Afghanistan: History and System of Government -->, Ottawa: Library of Parliament, 9 October 2007, p.1.
3. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Afghanistan, Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2010].
4. Katzman, p. 12.