SAARC Country Profiles

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is variously designated as geographically located within Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. It has religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighbouring states.

It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The name Afghanistan means the “Land of Afghans.”

Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration.

It has an important geostrategical location, connecting South, Central and Southwest Asia.

During its long history, the land has seen various invaders and conquerors, while on the other hand, local entities invaded the surrounding vast regions to form their own empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani created the Durrani Empire in 1747, with its capital at Kandahar. Subsequently, the capital was shifted to Kabul and most of its territories ceded to former neighbouring countries.

In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in “The Great Game” played between the British Indian Empire and Russian Empire. On August 19, 1919, following the third Anglo-Afghan war, the country regained full independence from the United Kingdom over its foreign affairs.

Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war, which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the recent 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government.

In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship.

In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.

Though the modern state of Afghanistan was founded or created in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the land has an ancient history and various timelines of different civilizations. Excavation of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree, the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Institution and others suggests that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the area were among the earliest in the world.

Afghanistan is a country at a unique nexus point where numerous Indo-European civilizations have interacted and often fought, and was an important site of early historical activity.

Through the ages, the region has been home to various people, among them the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes, such as the Kambojas, Bactrians, Persians, Pashtuns, etc.

It also has been conquered by a host of people, including the Median and Persian Empires, Alexander the Great, Kushans, Hepthalites [White Huns], Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. In recent times, invasions from the British, Soviets, and most recently by the United States and their allies have taken place.

On the other hand, native entities have invaded surrounding regions in Iranian plateau and Indian subcontinent to form empires of their own.

Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, bloody coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic, theocracy and communist state.

The constitution ratified by the 2003 Loya jirga restructured the government as an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, (executive, legislature and judiciary).

Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. The current parliament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former mujahadeen, Taliban members, communists, reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. 28% of the delegates elected were women, 3 points more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the constitution.

This made Afghanistan , long known under the Taliban for its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of female representation. Construction for a new Parliament building began on August 29, 2005 .

Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats), and for each province there is a capital. Each province is then divided into many provincial districts, and each district normally covers a city or several townships.

Afghanistan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). It is an impoverished country, one of the world’s poorest and least developed.

Two-thirds of the population lives on fewer than 2 US dollars a day.

Its economy has suffered greatly from the 1979 Soviet invasion and subsequent conflicts, while severe drought added to the nation’s difficulties in 1998-2001. The economically active population in 2002 was about 11 million (out of a total of an estimated 29 million).

As of 2005, the official unemployment rate is at 40%.The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.

The nation’s economy began to improve since 2002 due to the infusion of multi-billion US dollars in international assistance and investments, as well as remittances from expats. It is also due to dramatic improvements in agricultural production and the end of a four-year drought in most of the country.

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Capital (and largest city) - Kabul

Official languages - Dari (Persian) and Pashto

Afghan Government - Islamic Presidential Republic

First Afghan state - October, 1747

Independence from the United Kingdom - August 19, 1919

Population 2007 estimate - 31,889,923

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President Hamid Karzai

Born on 24th A December 1957 Hamid Karzai is the current President of Afghanistan, since December 7, 2004. He became a prominent political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

From December 2001, Hamid Karzai had been the Chairman of the Transitional Administration followed by the Interim President from 2002 until he won the 2004 Presidential election of Afghanistan. Karzai is known for his trademark Karakul hat.

Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun of the Popalzai clan of the Durrani tribe, was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He comes from a family that were strong supporters of the former king, Zahir Shah.

He has six brothers and one sister. Karzai is well-versed in several languages, including Pashto, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, English and French.[5] >From 1979 to 1983, Karzai took a postgraduate course in political science at Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.

He then returned to work as a fund-raiser by supporting anti-Soviet Mujahideen in Afghanistan during the Soviet intervention for the rest of the 1980s. After the fall of Najibullah’s Soviet-backed government in 1992, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister in the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Karzai was a member of the Mujahideen and took active part in driving the Soviets out of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s.

When the Taliban emerged in the 1990s, Karzai was at first one of their supporters but later he broke with them and refused to serve as their UN ambassador.

Karzai was a candidate in the October 9, 2004 presidential election. He won 21 of the 34 provinces, defeating his 22 opponents and became the first democratically elected leader of Afghanistan .

As incumbent President Karzai held high name recognition among voters, and was admired by his supporters for his steady leadership during an uncertain post-war period. Karzai was officially sworn in as President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on December 7, 2004 at a formal ceremony in Kabul . Many interpreted the ceremony as a symbolically important “new start” for the war-torn nation.

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Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Pakistan displays some of Asia’s most magnificent landscapes as it stretches from the Arabian Sea, its southern border, to some of the world’s most spectacular mountain ranges in the north. Pakistan is also home to sites that date back to world’s earliest settlements rivalling those of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Located in South Asia, Pakistan shares an eastern border with India and a north-eastern border with China. Iran makes up the country’s south-west border, and Afghanistan runs along its western and northern edge.

The Arabian Sea is Pakistan’s southern boundary with 1,064 km of coastline. The country has a total area of 796,095 sq km and is nearly four times the size of the United Kingdom. From Gwadar Bay in its south-eastern corner, the country extends more than 1,800 km to the Khunjerab Pass on China’s border.

Pakistan emerged on the world map on August 14,1947 . It has its roots into the remote past. Its establishment was the culmination of the struggle by Muslims of the South-Asian subcontinent for a separate homeland of their own and its foundation was laid when Muhammad bin Qasim subdued Sindh in 711 A.D. as a reprisal against sea pirates that had taken refuge in Raja Dahir’s kingdom.

The advent of Islam further strengthened the historical individuality in the areas now constituting Pakistan and further beyond its boundaries. In or about 1500 B.C., the Aryans descended upon the Punjab and settled in the Sapta Sindhu, which signifies the Indus plain.

They developed a pastoral society that grew into the Rigvedic Civilization. The discovery of the Gandhara grave culture in Dir and Swat will go a long way in throwing light on the period of Pakistan ‘s cultural history between the end of the Indus Culture in 1500 B.C. and the beginning of the historic period under the Achaemenians in the sixth century B.C.

The Gandhara grave culture has opened up two periods in the cultural heritage of Pakistan: one of the Bronze Age and the other of the Iron Age. It is so named because it presents a peculiar pattern of living in hilly zones of the Gandhara region as evidenced in the graves.

The first followers of prophet Muhammad to set foot on the soil of the South-Asian subcontinent, were traders from the coast land of Arabia and the Persian Gulf , soon after the dawn of Islam in the early seventh century A.D. The first permanent Muslim foothold in the subcontinent was achieved with Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest of Sindh in 711 A.D.

It was in the early thirteenth century that the foundations of the Muslim rule in India were laid with extended boundaries and Delhi as the capital. The impact of Islam on the South-Asian subcontinent was deep and far-reaching.

A new language, Urdu, derived mainly from Arabic and Persian vocabulary and adopting indigenous words and idioms, came to be spoken and written by the Muslims and it gained currency among the rest of the Indian population.

Apart from religion, Urdu also enabled the Muslim community during the period of its ascendancy to preserve its separate identity in the subcontinent.

British Expansionism and Muslim Resistance Meanwhile, starting with the East India Company, the British had emerged as the dominant force in South Asia.

Their rise to power was gradual extending over a period of nearly one hundred years. They replaced the Shariah by what they termed as the Anglo-Muhammadan law whereas Urdu was replaced by English as the official language.

The uprising of 1857, termed as the Indian Mutiny by the British and the War of Independence by the Muslims, was a desperate attempt to reverse the adverse course of events.

The 1930s witnessed awareness among the Muslims of their separate identity and their anxiety to preserve it within separate territorial boundaries. During 1937-39, several Muslim leaders and thinkers, inspired by Allama Iqbal’s ideas, presented elaborate schemes for partitioning the subcontinent according to two-nation theory.

The Pakistan demand became popular during the Second World War. Every section of the Muslim community - men, women, students, Ulema and businessmen - were organized under the banner of the All-India Muslim League. In October 1946, an Interim Government was formed.

The Muslim League sent its representative under the leadership of its General Secretary, Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan, with the aim to fight for the party objective from within the Interim Government. After a short time, the situation inside the Interim Government and outside convinced the Congress leadership to accept Pakistan as the only solution of the communal problem.

The British Government, after its last attempt to save the Cabinet Mission Plan in December 1946, also moved towards a scheme for the partition of India . The last British Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, came with a clear mandate to draft a plan for the transfer of power.

After holding talks with political leaders and parties, he prepared a Partition Plan for the transfer of power, which, after approval of the British Government, was announced on June 3,1947 . As a result, on August 14,1947 , the new state of Pakistan came into existence.

Pakistan is a land of many splendours. The scenery changes northward from coastal beaches, lagoons and mangrove swamps in the south to sandy deserts, desolate plateaus, fertile plains, dissected upland in the middle and high mountains with beautiful valleys, snow-covered peaks and eternal glaciers in the north.A

The variety of landscape divides Pakistan into six major regions A the North High Mountainous Region A the Western Low Mountainous Region A the Baluchistan Plateau, the Potohar Uplands, the Punjab and the Sindh Plains.

Pakistan is divided into four provinces viz., North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab , Sindh and Baluchistan. The tribal belt adjoining NWFP is managed by the Federal Government and is named FATA i.e., Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas have their own respective political and administrative machinery, yet certain of their subjects are taken care of by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas.

Currency Pak. Rupee. Imports Industrial equipment, chemicals, vehicles, steel, iron ore,A petroleum, edible oil, pulses, tea.

Exports Cotton, textile goods, rice, leather items carpets, sports goods, handicrafts, fish and fish prep. and fruit Languages Urdu (National) and English (Official)

Literacy rate 53%

Parliament consists of two Houses i.e., the Senate (Upper House) and the National Assembly (Lower House). The Senate is a permanent legislative body and symbolises a process of continuity in the national affairs. It consists of 100 members.

The four Provincial Assemblies, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Federal Capital form its electoral college. The National Assembly has a total membership of 342 elected through adult suffrage (272 general seats, 60 women seats and 10 non-Muslim seats).

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Official Name - Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Father of the Nation - Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)

Head of the State - Pervez Musharraf, President

Prime Minister - Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani,

Capital - Islamabad

Area Total - 796,095 Sq. km.A

Population - 165 million (estimated)- 132 million (1998 census)

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Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani

Syed Makhdoom Yousaf Raza Gillani is the twenty-sixth and current Prime Minister of Pakistan. He was a former Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (1993-1997) and former Federal Minister (1985-1986).

Born on 9th June 1952 in Karachi, Prime Minister Gilani hails from an influential A political family in Multan. His political journey began during General Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law in 1978. He joined the Central Working Committee of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML).

He was also a cabinet member in the three-year government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo, and served as Minister of Housing and Works from April 1985 to January 1986 and as Railways Minister from January 1986 to December 1986.

After a short stint with the Muslim League, Gilani joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1988. In the Benazir Bhutto government of 1988-1990, he was Minister of Tourism from March 1989 to January 1990 and Minister of Housing and Works from January 1990 to August 1990. In the Bhutto government of 1993-1996, he was Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan until February 1997.

He has been elected various times as the Member of National Assembly from Multan. In the 2008 general election, he beat Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) leader Sikandar Hayat Bosan.