Afghanistan

H

Currency and Banking

The unit of currency in Afghanistan is the afghani, which is divided into 100 puls. The exchange rate of the afghani has fluctuated widely over time. High inflation rates of up to 57 percent contributed to a drastic decrease in the purchasing power of the afghani from 1981 to 1994, a trend that continued during the Taliban regime. The afghani was so devalued by two decades of wartime inflation that the government issued a new afghani, with a higher value per note, in late 2002. The exchange rate subsequently stabilized, and in 2005 one U.S. dollar was worth about 49.50 afghanis.

Afghanistan’s central bank, founded in 1938, is the largest bank in the country. The central bank issues all notes, executes government loans, and lends money to cities and to other banks. All private banks in Afghanistan were nationalized in 1975, mostly because a lack of clear terms for borrowers and lenders had made it difficult for people to use the country’s credit resources. No stock market or other modern form of economic development exists in Afghanistan. Instead, traditional “money bazaars” exist to provide money-lending and foreign exchange dealings. This informal and largely undocumented money transfer system, called hawala, is common throughout the Middle East and South Asia, and is considered to be one of the means by which terrorism from this part of the world has been funded.

I

Transportation

Travel within Afghanistan is severely limited by the rugged terrain and by the general lack of infrastructure. About 24 percent of the country’s roads are unpaved. The most important road is a circular route connecting the major cities. Beginning at Kābul, this highway leads north through the Salang Tunnel to Kholm (Tāshkurghān) and west to Mazār-e Sharīf, continues west to Meymaneh and Herāt, then swings southeast to Kandahār, and finally goes northeast to return to Kābul. Afghanistan’s road system links the country with Pakistan; in the north the cities of Jalālābād and Peshāwar are connected, and in the south the cities of Kandahār and Chaman are connected. Another major road leads from Herāt to Iran. Damaged and neglected roads were being rebuilt and resurfaced as part of the country’s postwar reconstruction. The Salang Tunnel, which is the main route between Kābul and the north, reopened in early 2002 for the first time in ten years.

Long-distance travel by road usually involves hazardous journeys on potholed dirt roads. Some roads are temporarily impassable in winter and spring due to snowfall. Small three-wheeled vehicles, a type of gas-powered rickshaw, are a common mode of transport in cities. Horse-drawn carts are still used in many areas. In the countryside most Afghans travel by foot, donkey, horseback, and occasionally by camel. Pack animals are commonly used for transporting goods to local markets. Because Afghanistan is a landlocked country without any seaports, it depends on neighboring countries for the shipment of goods to and from its borders. Once inside Afghanistan, goods are usually transported by road due to the very limited reach of railroads in the country.

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River transport is largely limited to the Amu Darya, which has 1,400 km (900 mi) of navigable waters deep enough for large vessels. Ports on the Amu Darya include Keleft, Kheyrābād, and Shīr Khān.

Kābul and Kandahār have international airports. The Kābul airport was severely damaged by U.S. bombing raids in 2001, but it was one of the country’s first reconstruction projects. The airport is now Afghanistan’s lifeline to the outside world. Smaller airports are scattered around the country. The national carrier is Ariana Afghan Airlines, which makes international flights. The country’s first private airline, Kam Air, began domestic flights in 2003.

J

Mass Media

The first Afghan television station, built with Japanese aid, went on the air in Kābul in 1978. After the Taliban took control of the capital, they closed the country’s television stations and outlawed television and movies. Television stations began broadcasting again soon after the Taliban were driven from the capital by Northern Alliance forces in November 2001.

The history of newspapers, magazines, and other publications in Afghanistan has varied, depending upon the level of censorship in the ruling government. The first printed newspaper was distributed in 1875, and two other small newspapers were printed just after 1900. With the beginning of the reign of King Amanullah in 1919, the press flourished with the publication of more than 15 newspapers and magazines. By the 1950s, 95 percent of the nation’s printed materials came from the government. The small remainder was produced by provincial hand-operated presses.

In 1962 the Kābul Times appeared as the first English-language paper. Bakhtar News Agency subscribed to a variety of international press services and its news bulletin was available as well. Following the 1978 coup the Kābul Times was renamed the Kābul New Times and began publishing communist rhetoric that was reminiscent of the worst days of the Cold War. The newspaper was highly confrontational and hostile to the West. In reaction to the suppression of the free press, antiregime shabnamah (night letters) were secretly printed (primarily in Kābul) with uncensored news and opinions. In 1996 Afghanistan had 12 daily newspapers, but most ceased publication after the Taliban came to power. The Taliban officially revived two newspapers in 1998 to serve as organs of their regime.

In early 2002 the country’s new interim government passed a law declaring freedom of the press. Subsequently, more than 100 newspapers began to be published and distributed in Afghanistan. Kābul Weekly is the largest newspaper in circulation.

VI

Government

Afghanistan is governed under a constitution that went into effect in 2004. The constitution provides for a strong presidency, a two-chamber legislature, and an independent judiciary. It guarantees freedom of religion while recognizing Islam as the country’s official religion. It also recognizes that men and women are equal before the law, and it guarantees language rights of minorities.

A

Historical Overview

Until the 1960s Afghanistan’s king and the king’s relatives dominated the central government, although conservative ethnic and religious leaders exerted considerable influence. In 1963, for the first time, a prime minister was appointed from outside the royal family in order to distance the monarchy from policymaking. In 1964 a new constitution introduced a more democratic system of government, establishing a constitutional (rather than absolute) monarchy with an elected parliament. However, the king refused to allow the legalization of political parties, primarily to keep ethnic and leftist parties from emerging.

In 1973 a military coup overthrew the monarchy and established Afghanistan as a republic. Another coup in 1978 brought a formerly banned leftist party, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), to power. Its communist regime strengthened Afghanistan’s already close relations with the Soviet Union. However, traditionalist Islamist rebels known as mujahideen led an armed insurrection against the new regime.

To bolster the PDPA government, the Soviet Union mounted a full-scale invasion of the country in December 1979. The invasion imposed a moderate PDPA member as prime minister in an effort to conciliate the mujahideen and form a more broadly based government. However, the Soviet-installed government failed to attract the support of the mujahideen, who fought a guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation. While the PDPA government depended entirely on Soviet military and financial backing, the mujahideen received aid from the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other Muslim countries.

After Soviet troops finally withdrew in early 1989, Afghanistan was torn by civil war as mujahideen groups stepped up their offensive against the PDPA government. That government fell in 1992, but the civil war continued among the various mujahideen factions, which failed to agree on sharing power. One mujahideen faction established an Islamic fundamentalist movement known as the Taliban, which captured the capital, Kābul, in 1996 and established a brutal regime. It was toppled in November 2001 by a coalition of opposition Afghan forces known as the Northern Alliance, with the help of United States and British forces.

After the fall of the Taliban regime, the United Nations (UN) began pursuing efforts to establish a multiethnic government in Afghanistan. Afghan delegates from the country’s major ethnic, religious, and political factions—except the Taliban—met in Bonn, Germany, for UN-sponsored negotiations on the country’s political future. The resulting UN-brokered agreement established a temporary, interim government in December 2001 to run the country for six months, at which time a transitional government took over. A new constitution, adopted in January 2004, established a presidential form of government. General elections were held in October 2004 to choose Afghanistan’s first directly elected president.