CHAPTER 1 Introduction In size the country of Afghanistan is slightly smaller than Texas It lies in the heart of Asia and is completely landlocked enclosed by land Its longest border is with Pakistan to the east and south Afghanistan also has borders with Iran to the west and three Central Asian states to the north It has a very short border with China in the mountainous northeast Landlocked and rugged Roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan’s landscape is mountainous and rugged The ranges that dominate the center of the country include the Paropamisus and the Koh-i-Baba mountain ranges Extending northeast from the Koh-i-Baba are the ranges of the Hindu Kush the backbone of the country The airy peaks of the Hindu Kush include Mount Noshaq Afghanistan’s highest mountain see box Several high passes routes that allow people and vehicles to travel through the mountains cross this inhospitable land The most important of these is the Salang Pass which connects northern Afghanistan with Kabul to the south A tunnel constructed in the 1960s cut down the time taken by vehicles to travel across this pass from 72 hours to 10 hours At an altitude height of 11,152 ft 3,400 m the tunnel is one of the highest in the world 6 GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES Area 252,330 sq mi 647,500 sq km Border countries China Iran Pakistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Coastline none Highest mountain Noshaq Hindu Kush 24,551 ft 7,485 m Major rivers Amu Darya Hari Kabul Helmand Major cities Kabul capital Qandahar Mazar-e-Sharif Herat Source CIA World Factbook 2008 Plains and plateaus North of the central mountain ranges lie the northern plains which border Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan The Amu Darya and numerous other smaller rivers bring snowmelt from the Hindu Kush and the central mountain ranges to water fertile foothills and plains Historically this region has been a productive agricultural area but recent conflicts have forced many farmers to flee their farms and pastures The southern lowlands have an average altitude of about 2,950 ft 900 m This area covering about 50,700 sq mi 130,000 sq km forms part of the much larger Plateau of Iran which also extends into Iran and Pakistan Most of the land in this region is desert or semi-desert although the Helmand River which bisects the region provides some water for irrigation watering crops
INTRODUCTION Climate Afghanistan’s location far from the moderating influence of the sea means that it has a continental climate with some of the greatest extremes of temperatures in the world In the mountainous regions temperatures can drop as low as 13 F 25 C in the winter while on the northern plains summer temperatures in the daytime can rise as high as 115 F 46 C In addition to seasonal extremes temperatures often rise and fall rapidly between day and night The Asian monsoon brings rain during the summer months to western Afghanistan but the deserts of the southern lowlands remain hot and dry all year round UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN CHINA TURKMENISTAN Amu Darya River Mazar-e-Sharif SAMANGAN PROVINCE h s u u K Mount Noshaq Panjshir River Hind Baghlan Salang Pass K o h-i-B a b a M o u ntains Shomali Plain Kabul Bamian Hazarajat Pamir Mountains Panjshir Valley Jalalabad INDIA Ghazni PAKTIA PROVINCE Paropamisus Mountains Peshawar Khost PAKISTAN Herat AFGHANISTAN Plateau of Iran Sistan IRAN elm and Ri v er H HELMAND PROVINCE Qandahar 0 0 miles 200 kilometres 200 Key Capital city Other cities Mountain Durand Line This map shows the major towns and cities of Afghanistan and other places mentioned in this book It also shows the mountain ranges that dominate a large part of this rugged country The inset map indicates Afghanistan’s location in the world 7
People In 2014 the population of Afghanistan was estimated to be 31,822,848 However exact data for the number of people living in the country have long been unavailable because there has not been a nationwide census official population count since 1979 Even the 1979 census was unreliable because of conflict in parts of the country A new census is under way backed by the United Nations UN The people of Afghanistan come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and speak many different languages The majority of Afghans belong to one of two Indo-European ethnic groups the Pashtuns and the Tajiks The Pashtuns make up between 36 and 42 percent of the population and live mainly in the south and east The Tajiks account for between 27 and 33 percent of the population and are found mainly in the northern provinces of Afghanistan The next-largest ethnic group the Hazaras are about 9 percent of the population They live in 8 Hazara women in the town of Bamian are caught by a strong gust of wind The women run a bakery that provides rations of bread to elementary school children The central region of Afghanistan where many Hazaras live is known as Hazarajat the central mountainous regions of the country In the north are two Turkic groups the Uzbeks and the Turkmen who account for roughly 9 CASE STUDY THE PASHTUNS The Pashtuns make up the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and since the founding of the country in 1747 see page 11 they have traditionally held the balance of power Every ruler of Afghanistan from 1747 until 1978 was a Pashtun However the Pashtuns are themselves divided into tribal groups with strong loyalties within the groups Pashtun behavior is governed by an ancient set of laws called Pashtunwali the way of the Pashtuns which stresses family honor and vengeance for insults and also personal bravery and generous hospitality
INTRODUCTION and 3 percent of the population respectively Other minority groups in Afghanistan include the Aimak the Baloch the Nuristani and the Pashai Languages Both Pashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan Pashto is the language of the Pashtuns and it is spoken by approximately 35 percent of the people Dari is a form of the Persian language often known as Afghan Persian or Afghan Farsi It is used for business and government matters and is spoken by roughly 50 percent of the population There are as many as 30 other languages spoken in the country including two Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen Many people speak two or more languages Religion The dominant religion in Afghanistan is Islam 99 percent of the population is Muslim The majority about 80 percent belong to the Sunni branch of Islam while a minority of about 19 percent mostly the Hazara community are Shia Muslims There are some groups of Hindus and Sikhs the members of the small Jewish community have left the country The Islamic religion plays an important part in the life of most Afghans and mullahs religious leaders hold positions of some power in many communities A Pashtun boy sits on a hill south of Kabul It is estimated that there are roughly 60 Pashtun tribes organized into four larger groups 9
