1994 in Afghanistan
Encyclopedia
Destructive and inconclusive fighting between forces loyal to Prime Minister Hekmatyar and troops loyal to President Rabbani
results in the disintegration of central state authority and weaken the cohesion of the multinational state. Kabul
remains divided into zones controlled by rival groups. A blockade of Kabul leads to fighting in northern Afghanistan
over a tenuous road link to neighboring Tajikistan
. The prolonged bombardment reduces most of the Afghan capital to ruins and causes 75% of Kabul's population of two million to flee the area. Outside Kabul the central government's authority all but disappears. Under the protection of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum
, an Afghan Uzbek, Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest industrial complex in Afghanistan, enjoys relative stability. In Jalalabad
local political groups and commanders cooperate to provide basic public services. In Kandahar
local rivalries slow reconstruction. Herat is generally peaceful and secure and begins to reclaim its traditional role as commercial centre along trade routes with neighbouring Iran and Turkmenistan. International rivalries continue to agitate Afghanistan's divided society. The country's large Shi`ite minority and the 1.8 million Afghan refugees in neighbouring Iran
automatically give Tehran a role in Afghan affairs. Saudi Arabia becomes involved by supporting factions it sees as a counterweight to Iranian influence. Pakistan's role is even more crucial. Not only does Pakistan give refuge to 1.5 million Afghan refugees, but it is permanent home to a section of the Pashtun
ethnic group, which traditionally plays a leading role in Afghan politics. India
and China
view the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan as a danger to their own authority in Kashmir
and Sinkiang, respectively, while other countries throughout the world are concerned about terrorists trained by Afghanistan's warring factions and the country's expanding drug trafficking. Serious international attention to Afghanistan remains distracted, however, both by the apparent unwillingness of Afghan leaders to cooperate and by attention to international crises elsewhere.
appoints former Tunisian foreign minister Mahmoud Mestiri
head of a special peace commission. He meets leaders inside and outside Afghanistan, but no formal UN peace plan is announced.
in Kabul extends his term for an additional six months. A similar extension to Hekmatyar's premiership is not granted. General dissatisfaction over the unending power struggle leads to renewed calls to convene a Loya Jirga
, or grand assembly. While many Afghans fear that a Loya Jirga would serve to reinforce traditional social structures at the expense of social progress, there is movement nonetheless toward some form of assembly that could offer legitimate leadership.
Representatives from throughout Afghanistan and prominent Afghans living abroad meet in Herat
. Although the delegates endorse Rabbani's continuance as president, they initiate measures aimed at organizing a Loya Jirga to choose a new government.
from the southern city of Kandahar
, Mohammad Omar, sets up the Taliban (Persian
for "students") movement, which quickly becomes a powerful guerrilla force. The group's first accomplishment is the defeat of local commanders who have hijacked a truck convoy traveling from Pakistan
to Central Asia
. These mainly Pashtun
students secure the release of the convoy and within days take control of Kandahar (October
); later they extend their control to neighbouring provinces. While maintaining a low profile in a council in Kandahar, the Taliban declare that their goal is to disarm all factions and create a united, Islamic government
in Afghanistan. The Taliban were recruited from schools set up among Afghan refugees in Pakistan during the years following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. From the time of the first Taliban successes, Pakistan denies any official support, but most observers discount such denials, noting the modern logistic support and sophisticated communications equipment at the disposal of the "students."
Rabbani
Rabbani is a Malaysian nasyid group. Rabbani's members currently consist of Ahmad Shafie, Zulkiflee Azman, Mohd Loqman Abd. Aziz, Rithauddeen Yaakob, and Azadan Abd Aziz....
results in the disintegration of central state authority and weaken the cohesion of the multinational state. Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
remains divided into zones controlled by rival groups. A blockade of Kabul leads to fighting in northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
over a tenuous road link to neighboring Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. The prolonged bombardment reduces most of the Afghan capital to ruins and causes 75% of Kabul's population of two million to flee the area. Outside Kabul the central government's authority all but disappears. Under the protection of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
, an Afghan Uzbek, Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest industrial complex in Afghanistan, enjoys relative stability. In Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
local political groups and commanders cooperate to provide basic public services. In Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
local rivalries slow reconstruction. Herat is generally peaceful and secure and begins to reclaim its traditional role as commercial centre along trade routes with neighbouring Iran and Turkmenistan. International rivalries continue to agitate Afghanistan's divided society. The country's large Shi`ite minority and the 1.8 million Afghan refugees in neighbouring Iran
Afghans in Iran
Afghans in Iran are mostly refugees who fled Afghanistan during the 1980s Soviet war as well as diplomats, traders, businesspersons, workers, exchange students, tourists and other visitors. As of March 2009, nearly 1 million Afghan nationals were reported to be living in Iran...
automatically give Tehran a role in Afghan affairs. Saudi Arabia becomes involved by supporting factions it sees as a counterweight to Iranian influence. Pakistan's role is even more crucial. Not only does Pakistan give refuge to 1.5 million Afghan refugees, but it is permanent home to a section of the Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
ethnic group, which traditionally plays a leading role in Afghan politics. India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
view the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan as a danger to their own authority in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Sinkiang, respectively, while other countries throughout the world are concerned about terrorists trained by Afghanistan's warring factions and the country's expanding drug trafficking. Serious international attention to Afghanistan remains distracted, however, both by the apparent unwillingness of Afghan leaders to cooperate and by attention to international crises elsewhere.
January 1, 1994
Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami forces and those of Dostum coordinate an artillery and rocket assault on Kabul. The offensive represents a major realignment of forces vying for control of the government. Dostum precipitated the surrender of Kabul to resistance forces in April 1992 by withdrawing his support from the Soviet-installed regime of Najibullah. He placed the greater part of the communist army and air force under his command and assisted the new resistance government fighting Hekmatyar's forces.March 1994
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-GhaliBoutros Boutros-Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996...
appoints former Tunisian foreign minister Mahmoud Mestiri
Mahmoud Mestiri
Mahmoud Mestiri was a Tunisian diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia in 1987-1988.-References:...
head of a special peace commission. He meets leaders inside and outside Afghanistan, but no formal UN peace plan is announced.
June 28, 1994
Rabbani refuses to relinquish the presidency when his term expires, and the Supreme CourtSupreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
in Kabul extends his term for an additional six months. A similar extension to Hekmatyar's premiership is not granted. General dissatisfaction over the unending power struggle leads to renewed calls to convene a Loya Jirga
Loya jirga
A loya jirga is a type of jirga regarded as "grand assembly," a phrase in the Pashto language meaning "grand council." A loya jirga is a mass meeting usually prepared for major events such as choosing a new king, adopting a constitution, or discussing important national political or emergency...
, or grand assembly. While many Afghans fear that a Loya Jirga would serve to reinforce traditional social structures at the expense of social progress, there is movement nonetheless toward some form of assembly that could offer legitimate leadership.
July 1994
Hamid al-Ghabid, secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, leads a peace effort, but individual OIC member states are unable to agree on an appropriate solution.Representatives from throughout Afghanistan and prominent Afghans living abroad meet in Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
. Although the delegates endorse Rabbani's continuance as president, they initiate measures aimed at organizing a Loya Jirga to choose a new government.
August 1994
A senior mullahMullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
from the southern city of Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, Mohammad Omar, sets up the Taliban (Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
for "students") movement, which quickly becomes a powerful guerrilla force. The group's first accomplishment is the defeat of local commanders who have hijacked a truck convoy traveling from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. These mainly Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
students secure the release of the convoy and within days take control of Kandahar (October
October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the...
); later they extend their control to neighbouring provinces. While maintaining a low profile in a council in Kandahar, the Taliban declare that their goal is to disarm all factions and create a united, Islamic government
Islamic government
*For the states which call themselves Islamic republics, see Islamic Republic*For the book by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called Islamic Government, or Islamic Government: Guardianship of the Jurist, see Hokumat-e Islami : Velayat-e faqih ...
in Afghanistan. The Taliban were recruited from schools set up among Afghan refugees in Pakistan during the years following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. From the time of the first Taliban successes, Pakistan denies any official support, but most observers discount such denials, noting the modern logistic support and sophisticated communications equipment at the disposal of the "students."