AFGHANISTAN: HISTORY – A SUMMARY

 Afghanistan, for more than 2500 years, has been a playground for various empires and armies.

Darius the Great, between 522 BC-486 BC, expanded the Achaemenid (Persian) empire to its peak, when it took over most of Afghanistan. Constant bitter plagued the Persian Empire and bloody tribal revolts from Afghans living in Arachosia (Kandahar, and Quetta).

During 329-326 BC, after conquering Persia, Alexander the Great invaded and conquered Afghanistan, but failed to really subdue its people.

In 652 AD, Arabs introduced Islam in Afghanistan.

During 1219-1221, Genghis Khan invaded Afghanistan and was responsible for destruction of its Irrigation systems, which turned fertile soil into permanent deserts.

In 1747, when Nadir Shah, who had occupied Afghanistan in 1738, was assassinated, Afghans, under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali, established modern Afghanistan.

Between 1839 and 1920s, there were three Anglo-Afghan wars.

In 1873, Russia established a fixed boundary between Afghanistan and it’s (Russia’s) new territories, Central Asian Republics.

In 1893 British fixed the Durand line defining the borders of Afghanistan with British India, splitting Afghan tribal areas, leaving half of these Afghans (Pushtuns) in what is now Pakistan.

In 1934, for the first time, the United States of America formally recognized Afghanistan.

In 1947, Pakistan was carved out of Indian and Afghan lands when British withdrew from India. 

In 1949, Afghanistan's Parliament denounced the Durand Treaty and refused to recognise the Durand line as a legal boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Pushtuns in Pushtunistan (Occupied Afghan Land) proclaimed an independent Pushtunistan, but their proclamation goes unacknowledged by the world community.

In 1953, Prince Mohammad Daoud became Prime Minister and requested US to buy military equipment to modernize its army.

The US rejection of the request in 1955, forced Daoud to turn to the Soviet Union for military aid. Khrushchev and Bulgaria agreed to help Afghanistan, leading to close ties between Afghanistan and USSR.

On July 17, 1973, when King Zahir Shah was on vacation in Europe, his government was overthrown in a military coup headed by Daoud Khan and PDPA (Afghan Communist Party).  Daoud Khan abolished the monarchy, declared himself President---Republic of Afghanistan was established.

In 1978, Daoud was killed in a bloody Communist coup: Taraki was named President, and Karmal became his deputy Prime Minister. Mass arrests, tortures, and arrests followed, Afghan flag was changed. Taraki signed treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union.

In June, Afghan guerrilla (Mujahideen) movement was born, supported by the US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

1979 was the year when there was turmoil in Afghanistan: there were mass killings, US ambassador was killed, Taraki was killed and Hafizullah Amin took the Presidency, and then he was executed and replaced with Babrak Karmal. In December, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

The Mujahideen defeated the invaders and the total withdrawal by the Soviets occurred on Feb. 15, 1989.

The various factions started fighting against each other. In September 1996, the Taleban seized control of Kabul and overthrew the government of President Burhannudin Rabbani.

The United Nations and most other countries continued to recognise the Rabbani government but did little to help them.

The Talebans were recognised only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates – all three being friends and allies of the US.

In 2001, after September 11 attack on New York and Washington, with US-led attacks on Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates withdrew their recognition, and after the fall of Kabul to US-backed Northern Alliance, Pakistan asked the Taleban to close their embassy in Islamabad.

On November 27, under the auspices of the United Nations, the different Afghanistan factions had their first meeting in Bonn, Germany, to work on arrangements to have a broad-based government.