Abstract

Afghanistan plays a pivotal role in shaping the geopolitics of the world specifically Asia. This paper aims to explore various facets of the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan like its historical background, and economy. Geographical setup, politics, demography, present-day challenges etc. This study is completely based on secondary sources. The study has highlighted the history of modern Afghanistan, looked into the current economic scenario, analysed its demography, explained the existing political system along with a comparison to the previous system and examined the myriad of existing challenges faced by the country under the Taliban regime. Although there have been few positive changes on the political and economic front, the severity of human rights violations and the impoverished condition of the majority of the population along with the Taliban’s reluctance to adhere to the conditions of foreign countries reflects a bleak future for the country.

Keywords: Afghanistan, Taliban

Introduction

The Islamic emirate of Afghanistan, also known as the graveyard of empires, has always been a land of conflicts. Looking back in history, we can see that present-day Afghanistan, according to various Indian sources, was originally named Gandhara. Over time the names changed and the currently used term Afghanistan came up when it means the land of Pashtuns. Afghan is a synonym for the word Pashtuns. Its unique positioning in central Asia made it attractive to the foreign powers who aimed to have a foothold in Asia. On the one hand where Afghanistan has a unique history, a mineral-rich geography, and a diverse cultural background (that evolved with the cultural integration of various empires that ruled that nation), on the other hand, its location, terrain, socio-religious – ethnic structure, and several other factors led to the foreign powers not being able to control the region for a long time earning it the nickname of the graveyard of empires.

Even in the 21st century, Afghanistan is still a hotly debated region or topic in diplomacy and international relations. Currently, under the Taliban regime, the country is going through turmoil on all fronts. The country is facing a complete shift in policies and ideas from the previous republican regime along with an economic crisis, lack of global support, and severe human rights violations. Undertaking all these factors, this document aims to provide a meaningful understanding of the country in historical, geographical, demographic, political, economic, and social spheres with a key emphasis on the present context.

History

Afghanistan has the earliest traces of humans from the Paleolithic age 1973. After centuries of rule under various empires in 1921, after the 3rd Anglo-Afghan War, Afghanistan was declared an independent nation under the Barakzai empire by King Amanullah Khan. After the tumultuous rule of 5 more decades in 1973, Mohammed Daoud Khan, cousin of the then king Zahir Shah established a republic country under his People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan by overthrowing the centuries-old monarchical system through a military coup.

Cold war era

The Cold War officially began on 12th June 1947, but the Afghan-USSR relations can be traced before the beginning of the Cold War. The Russian monarchical empire during the Great Game period itself tried to influence Russia which irked the British and this grudge led to the 3 Anglo British wars. Post the Third anglo Anglo-Afghan War USSR became the first country to officially establish diplomatic ties with Afghanistan. In 1921 the countries signed a friendship treaty where they agreed upon a nonaggression pact and friendly relations, especially economic and technological terms. For the USSR it was a chance to remain in proximity to Britain-ruled India. Throughout the Second World War too it remained neutral while being benefited by soviet aid. Coming to the cold war era, Gen. Mohammed Daoud Khan, became the prime minister of the state in 1953. He was always in favour of ussr. The Soviet Union had three primary long-term goals when it started its intervention in Afghanistan in 1953. The first was to either threaten or position themselves to harm the Iranian oil fields in the years to come. Increasing influence in the Indian Peninsula was the second goal. The final objective was to redirect Western armaments to places that were not producing anything. The relations further grew when Nikita Khrushchev signed a treaty for the economic and technological development of Afghanistan. During the 50s Afghanistan also received US assistance for technology and infrastructure though they declined for defense. In 1973 under the then-prime minister’s leadership and support of the Afghan communist party, the king was overthrown and Afghanistan was declared as a republic under his presidency. Once he came to power he introduced several reforms among which were bringing women to the mainstream which received severe backlash, along with this his attempts like trying to have closer ties with the West to stop Afghanistan from being a puppet of ussr and suppressing his opposition led to bitterness in the relation. The culmination of all these steps taken under the Daoud Government along with the death of the parcham faction of the communist party’s leader Mir Akbar Khyber, paved the way for the Saur Revolution in Afghanistan. Although there are speculations on the role of the USSR and Iran in the revolution there is no concrete evidence to prove so. The revolution was triggered due to fear that Khyber was murdered under Daoud‘s orders and he could do the same to wipe out the communist party. The revolution in 1978 led to the death of Daoud and the communist leader Nur Mohammad Taraki became the new president. Although he didn’t prefer much soviet influence still under his rule Afghanistan maintained good relations with them,  he also signed the 20-year friendship treaty which provided Afghanistan with military and economic support. 

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