By Thursday, August 12, 2021, the Taliban had announced its control of 10 out of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan.
Ghazni (center) is the latest province to be controlled by the Taliban, after which it is getting closer to the capital, Kabul, within a rapid advance, at a time when the major powers are seeking to push the movement towards a political solution instead of a military solution.
Other than Ghazni, the Taliban controlled most of the northern provinces: Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Jowzjan, Takhar, Samangan, Sarbul, Farah (west), and Nimroz (southwest) on the border with Iran.
Russia had confirmed that the Taliban controls the borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and the movement now controls 7 of the 10 border crossings, including the "Spin Boldak" crossing with Pakistan.
land of afghans
"Afghanistan" means the land of the Afghans, located in Central Asia, with a geostrategic location linking East, West, South and Central Asia.
On its southern border lies Pakistan, the nuclear ally of the United States of America.
It is linked to China by a narrow border called "duck's beak", in the west it is bordered by Iran, and in the north it is surrounded by 3 Central Asian countries: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Afghanistan's geographical location has put the country in a permanent state of war, as it is located on the "Silk Road", a term used to describe the road that connects Europe with India.
Afghanistan has been a target for many invading peoples and conquerors since the era of the ancient Macedonians under the rule of Alexander the Great, and through the Islamic conquests and the rule of the Mongols and others.
Afghanistan has a long history dating back to the days of Alexander the Great, who crossed Afghanistan to reach India, and built many cities in it, such as Herat, Kandahar and others. These areas were known at the time as Alexandria, after Alexander.
Afghanistan served as a source for many kingdoms, such as the Greek kingdom of Bactria, the Kushans, the Samanids, the Ghaznavids, the Timurids, and other kingdoms that appeared in Afghanistan, forming great states that dominated their neighbors from other kingdoms.
The Afghans are a well-known people in Islamic history from the Aryan peoples (brothers of the Persians, Kurds and Tajiks). A large number of historians described them as strong and fierce, including the traveler Ibn Battuta when he visited the city of Kabul and its surroundings.
In the third part of his book “The Journey of Ibn Battuta,” Ibn Battuta says about Kabul, “Then we traveled to Kabul, and in the past it was a great city, and now there is a village inhabited by a group of non-Arabs called Afghans, and they have mountains, Shaa, and a strong fork, and most of them are bandits, and their mountain The great one is called Koh Solomon, and it is mentioned that the Prophet of God Solomon, peace be upon him, ascended that mountain and looked at the land of India when it was dark, so he returned and did not enter it.
the modern history
With the emergence of the Pashtun tribes in the 18th century, the modern political history of Afghanistan began when Ahmad Shah Durrani established the Hotaki dynasty in 1709, ruling it in Kandahar, forming the Durrani Kingdom in 1747, the last of the Afghan kingdoms and the legitimate mother of modern Afghanistan.
In 1776, the capital was moved from Kandahar to Kabul, and most of its lands were ceded to the neighboring kingdoms.
In the 19th century, and despite her, Afghanistan entered the "Great Game" between the Russian Empire and the British Empire, rivals over the Indian peninsula and Central Asia.
The intense Russian-British competition over Afghanistan subsided with the beginning of the German threat to invade Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, heralding the First World War.
- Russia and Britain can no longer compete for influence in Afghanistan, but their priorities are limited to protecting their vital regions from Germany, and thus it was decided to put an end to this conflict, and this was evident in the Russo-British agreement in 1907 that established the borders known today for Afghanistan.
Russia introduced its army to Afghanistan in 1979 after the country’s ruling regime turned into the pro-Soviet People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan after two coups suffered by the country and a bloody civil war. Afghans.
Since the departure of the Soviets in 1989, many internal wars have taken place in the country.
On April 24, 1992, an agreement known as the Peshawar Agreement was signed by the seven parties of the Islamic Union of the Mujahideen of Afghanistan, the Shiite Unity Party and the Islamic Movement (Mohseni).
It was agreed to form an interim government for a period of two months, headed by Sibghatullah Mojadidi, then Burhan al-Din Rabbani for a period of 4 months.
- The Islamic party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was loyal to Pakistan, rejected the agreement despite signing it, attacked Kabul and the agreement collapsed, and Rabbani remained in the presidency.
On March 7, 1993, the warring parties reconvened in Islamabad, Pakistan, after a fierce war and fierce battles in Kabul, and an agreement known as the Islamabad Agreement was signed, in which Saudi Arabia and Pakistan participated.
- The agreement stipulated that Rabbani will head the state for a period of 18 months, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar will take over as prime minister, and that the shooting will be ceased.
- In early January 1994, Burhan al-Din Rabbani was subjected to an attempted coup by an alliance between Hekmatyar, Abd al-Rashid Dostum, Sibghatullah Mujadidi and the Shiite Unity Party, but the coup failed and Rabbani's rule was renewed for another year in July 1994.
In November 1994, the Taliban began to emerge, and within two years it controlled most of Afghanistan. It entered Kabul in 1996 and declared itself the ruler of the country by removing Rabbani and Hekmatyar, who signed an agreement with Rabbani in 1996 also stipulating joint action and power-sharing.
The Taliban's control continued until the US forces began striking the movement's forces on October 7, 2001, due to the September 11, 2001 attacks that targeted the World Trade Center in New York.
Local fighters carrying weapons to support government forces against the Taliban in Herat province (Reuters)
geography
Area: 652,860 km², with no coasts on the seas.
The nature of the land: mountainous and rugged in general, with plains in the north and southwest.
Climate: dry to semi-arid, cold in winter, hot in summer. Afghanistan is classified among the closed countries that do not overlook water areas.
Natural resources: natural gas, oil, coal, copper, chromite, talc, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious stones.
Population: about 38,928,346 people, according to 2021 statistics.
DC: cable
Independence date: 1747
Date of joining the Organization of the Islamic Conference: 1969.
Debt
Islam is the main religion in Afghanistan, where more than 99% of the population adheres to it.
About 90% of the population are Sunnis and follow the Hanafi school, while 7%-15% are Shiites, and most of them follow the Twelver sect, and there are smaller numbers of the Ismaili sect.
1% or less of other religions such as Sikhism and Hinduism.
Ethnic distribution:
Pashtuns (Ethnic Afghans): 38%-42%.
Tajiks: 25%.
Hazara: 19%.
Uzbeks: 7.5%.
Baluch: about 2%.
Turkmen: about 2%.
Other groups: about 2%.
Languages:
- Pashto.
Afghani Persian (Dari).
Turkmen.