Afghanistan, Cool Facts #185

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1. Afghanistan Flag - 17 different flags in the 1900s

- Afghanistan has the world record of having most different flags in the 1900s
- Afghanistan has had 19 different flags in the 20th century between 1900-2000
- Also the name of Afghanistan has changed several times as it has been an Emirate, a Kingdom, a Republic, Democratic Republic, Islamic State, Islamic Emirate and Islamic Republic at times 
- The current flag of Afghanistan was adopted in 2013 
- The flags of Afghanistan and Cambodia are the only two state flags in the world featuring a building 
- The building in the Afghan flag is a mosque with its mihrab facing Mecca

Flags of Afghanistan 1880-2004

2. Afghanistan Demographics 

The Afghan population is divided into several ethnolinguistic groups. 

Estimates of Afghan population: 

Pashtun 42%
Tajik 27%
Uzbek 9%
Hazara 9%
Aimaq 4%
Turkmen 3%
Baloch 2%
Others 4% (Pashayi, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri, Gurjar) 

Language of Afghanistan 

Dari 50%
Pashto 35%
Uzbek and Turkmen 11%
30 others including Balochi 4% 

Pashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan. Dari is Afghanistan's Persian and it's the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in many northern and northwestern parts of the country. Pashto is spoken in the central and eastern parts of the country. Many people are bilingual in Pashto and Dari. Some Afghans are also fluent in Urdu, English and other foreign languages. The Pashtun and Baloch are largely connected to the culture of South Asia as the remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic. 

Religion of Afghanistan

Over 99% are Muslims in Afghanistan. It's estimated that up to 90% of the people are Sunni Muslims. The remaining 7-15% adhere to Shia Islam.

Ethnolinguistic Groups in Afghanistan

3. Afghanistan Drug Trade

- Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the heroin used worldwide
- In 2007 a staggering 93% of the non-pharmaceutical-grade opiates in the world market were from Afghanistan 
- Afghanistan is also the largest producer of cannabis in the world- About 80% of the Opium plantations of the world are located in Afghanistan 
- Opium production has been in rise since the U.S. occupation started in 2001
- Before the U.S. occupation the Taliban had succeeded to eradicate poppy farming 99% in Taliban-controlled areas, which was one of the world's most successful anti-drug campaigns
- All Afghan warlords have financed their wars with drug trade 
- In 2013 it was estimated in a report that up to 3 million people were involved in the illegal drug business in Afghanistan, from a population of over 33 million people
- It's estimated that about 11% of the country's economy is derived from the cultivation and sale of opium 

4. War in Afghanistan 1978-

Saur Revolution 1978
Since 1978 there has been a constant war in Afghanistan. In 1978 there was a Communist insurrection called the Saur revolution. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan seized power in Afghanistan, which expanded into a civil war within months. The Communists installed Nur Mohammed Taraki as president and started widely unpopular modernization reforms. Anti-government forces were formed and the government itself was unstable. There was rivalry inside the party. 

Soviet involvement 1979-1989
In 1979 Nur Mohammed Taraki was assassinated in a coup led by Hafizullah Amin, who became the president. In December 1979 the Soviet Army was involved in the war and the Soviet special forces assassinated Hafizullah Amin and installed a Soviet loyalist as president. The anti-Soviet insurgents started getting a massive amount of aid and training from Pakistan and China. USA and Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf funded the mujahideens a lot. The mujahideen waged a guerrilla war in small groups operating in 80% of the country that was outside the control of the government and the Soviet forces. In 1989 Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan because the diplomatic and military cost of the war was too high and they couldn't win the American supported mujahideens.

Islamic State of Afghanistan 1992 
The Soviet backed Afghan Communist government survived until the fall of Kabul in 1992. The Islamic State of Afghanistan was established then by the Peshawar Accord. Militia leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar opposed the agreement and with Pakistani support he started the bombardment campaign against Kabul. Additionally three militias who occupied some suburbs in Kabul started a violent war against each other. Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India and Uzbekistan each supported and even controlled one of those militias in some point as they were seeking influence in Afghanistan. In the early 1995 the Islamic State was able to defeat most of the militias and restore some calm to the capital. However the Taliban emerged as a new faction threatening Kabul.

Rise of the Taliban
The Taliban had conquered many southern and central provinces in 1994, that were not controlled by the government. In 1995 they launched a failed attack against the government in Kabul, but by 1996 they had regrouped with massive military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia. In September 1996 the Taliban took power in Kabul and established the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The United Islamic Front (Northern Alliance) was created then as a military-political resistance force against the Taliban Emirate.

US invasion in Afghanistan
After the 9/11 attacks USA invaded Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power, because the US forces had the objective of defeating the Al-Qaeda operating inside Afghanistan.

Taliban insurgency 2001-present-day
The Taliban insurgency has been on-going in Afghanistan since 2001, when the Taliban government was deposed by USA. In 2010 president Hamid Karzai attempted to hold peace negotiations with the Taliban leaders. In 2014 Ashraf Ghani followed Karzai as president. In 2014 the USA war in Afghanistan ended as well, however thousands US-led Nato troops have remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces. As a result of the war up to 2 million people have died and over 6 million Afghans have left the country, but some of them have returned.

US troops combat footage in Afghanistan

5. Taliban in Afghanistan  

- Between 1996-2001 held power in Afghanistan 
- Means "students" in Pashto
- The Taliban refers itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan 
- The Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the most prominent factions of the Afghan Civil War
- During their control of Afghanistan they enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia law
- People committing adultery were stoned, the limbs of the thieves were amputated, women were forced to stay at home and the schools of girls were closed
- Flying a kite, playing cards or chess, watching television and listening to music were forbidden and people who did these were punished
- The Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues in 2000, because human pictures and statues were forbidden according to Islam
- The Taliban succeeded to eradicate poppy farming 99% in Taliban-controlled areas, which was one of the world's most successful anti-drug campaigns
- Most Taliban are Pashtun tribesmen
- Pakistan supported the Taliban, but it states that it stopped supporting Taliban after the 9/11 terrorist attacks
- Taliban got financial support by Saudi Arabia
- Al-Qaeda supported the Taliban with fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia

The life of women under the Taliban 

Taliban laws

Timeline

2000BC Semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan
500s BC Achaemenid incorporated Arachosia, Aria and Bactria after overthrowing the Medes
330BC Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived a year after defeating Darius III of Persia
305BC Maurya Empire got much of the territory from the Seleucid Empire as part of an alliance treaty
185BC The Mauryans were overthrown
0-100 Kushan Empire conquered the area and introduced Buddhism
642 Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj
870 The Saffarid dynasty conquered the area
977 Ghaznavid Empire was established and it conquered and Islamized Afghanistan, but the Ghaznavid dynasty was later overthrown by the Ghurids
1219 Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region
1370 Timur Lenk established the Timurid Empire, which conquered Afghanistan and other areas
1500s The Khanate of Bukhara, Safavids and Mughals ruled parts of the territory
1709 Mirwais Hotak of successfully rebelled against the Safavids and made Afghanistan independent
1722 Mahmud Hotak captured Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia
1729 The Hotak dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah
1738 Persians conquered Afghanistan and ended the Hotak dynasty rule
1747 Ahmad Shah Durrani became the leader of Afghanistan and his dynasty ruled until the 1970s
1776 The capital of the Durrani Empire was transferred from Kandahar to Kabul
1826 Dost Mohammad Khan declared himself emir and ended the turbulent time period with many temporary rulers
1834 The city of Peshawar was captured by Ranjit Singh
1839-1842 First Anglo-Afghan war
1878-1880 Second Anglo-Afghan war
1893 Mortimer Durand made Amir Abdur Rahman Khan sign an agreement to divide ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories by the Durand Line
1919 After the Third Anglo-Afghan war, King Amanullah declared Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state
1923 Slavery was abolished
1926 Afghanistan became a kingdom  

1929 Amanullah was forced to abdicate after rebel force leader Habibullah Katakana assumed power, who was later killed by Amanullah's cousin, who declared himself King Nadir Shah
1933 King Nadir Shah was killed by a Hazara school student after which his son Mohammed Zahir Shah succeeded to the throne

1973 King Zahir Shah was overthrown in a bloodless coup by Daoud Khan, who became the first President of Afghanistan 

1978 Saur revolution, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan seized power in Afghanistan, which expanded into a civil war within months
1979 Nur Muhammad Taraki was assassinated in a coup led by Hafizullah Amin, who assumed the presidency but was assassinated by Soviet special forces in December

1989 Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan after failing to win the American supported mujahideens
1989-1996 Afghan civil war
1992 After the fall of Najibullah's government, the post-communist Islamic State of Afghanistan was established by the Peshawar Accord
1994 The Taliban took control of southern Afghanistan 

1996 The Talibans seized Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
1996-2001 Al-Qaeda operated inside Afghanistan 

2001 USA invaded Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power 

2010 Hamid Karzai attempted to hold peace negotiations with the Taliban leaders
2014 Ashraf Ghani became President after Karzai
2014 US war in Afghanistan ended however thousands US-led Nato troops have remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Afghanistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Afghanistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saur_Revolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban
"Maailman maat - liput ja historia" by Kimmo Kiljunen