President Hamid Karzai is said to govern the capital and not much else in Afghanistan. The country remains very unstable, with Taliban forces on the resurgence and various warlords looking to maintain or increase their regional and ethnic power bases.
There is no new constitution, with the Afghan Constitutional Commission failing to meet its September 1, 2003, deadline for releasing a draft, and many critics wondering how a consultation process that took place before a draft was released could even be called a consultation.
The United Nations and other organizations play a vital role in attempting to rebuild the country, but it remains to be seen what structures will be put in place and how successful they will be in the long term.
Historical background
The Former Taliban Regime
On September 27, 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement. The Taliban declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN continued to recognize the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy could be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions.
By the time of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 terrorist attacks only Pakistan recognized the Taliban government, though Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had in the past.
The Taliban occupied 95% of the territory, called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The remaining 5% belonged to the rebel forces constituting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which the United Nations had recognized as the official government in exile.
U.S.-led Invasion
After the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US for his suspected involvement in the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, a US-led international coalition was formed; after several weeks of aerial bombardment by coalition forces and military action on the ground, including Afghan opposition forces, the Taliban was ousted from power on 17 November 2001.
Country names:
Government type: transitional
Capital: Kabul
Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere have organized politically;
Afghan Mellat Party(Afghan Social Democratic Party) [leader Shams Ul Huda Shams) presently based in Peshawar, Pakistan;
Peshawar, Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA [Ishaq GAILANI];
tribal elders represent traditional Pashtun leadership;
Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [A. Rasul AMIN]
Bonn Agreement
In December 2001, a number of prominent Afghans met under UN auspices in Bonn, Germany, to decide on a plan for governing the country; as a result, the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) - made up of 30 members, headed by a chairman - was inaugurated on 22 December 2001 with a six-month mandate to be followed by a two-year Transitional Authority (TA), after which elections are to be held.Approval by the Loya Jirga
The structure of the Transitional Authority was announced on 10 June 2002, when the Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) convened establishing the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA), which has 18 months to hold a constitutional Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and 24 months to hold nationwide electionsMiscellaneous
Former names:
ISO 3166-1 country code: AFAdministrative divisions
32 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat,
Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol.Chief officials
According to a list provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website:Elections
Nationwide elections are to be held by June 2004, according to the Bonn Agreement.Legislative Branch
Non-functioning as of June 1993.Constitution
Under the Bonn Agreement the Afghan Constitution Commission was established to draft a new constitution in consultation with the public. As of September 2003 these consultations are continuing, with a constitutional loya jirga (grand council) likely to be convened in December, later than the scheduled October date. The Bonn Agreement called for a loya jirga to be convened within 18 months of the establishment of the Transitional Authority and for the use of the 1964 constitution as the basis for a new constitution.Legal system
The Bonn Agreement calls for a judicial commission to rebuild the justice system in accordance with Islamic principles, international standards, the rule of law, and Afghan legal traditions. Judicial branch
The Bonn Agreement called for the establishment of a Supreme Court. Political Parties and Leaders
NA; note - political parties in Afghanistan are in flux and many prominent players have plans to create new parties; the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA) is headed by President Hamid KARZAI; the TISA is a coalition government formed of leaders from across the Afghan political spectrum; there are also several political factions not holding positions in the Transitional government that are forming new groups and parties in the hopes of participating in 2004 elections Political pressure groups and leaders
NA; note - ministries formed under the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA) include former influential Afghans, diaspora members, and former political leaders International organization participation
AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol,IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW(signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToOHolidays
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands;
the emblem features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two
crossed scimitars.External Links