GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

The current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
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, legislative, and judiciary).
Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. While supporters have praised Karzai's efforts to promote national reconciliation and a growing economy, critics charge him with failing to rein in the country's warlords, inability to stem corruption and the growing drug trade, and the slow pace of reconstruction.

According to BBC[citation needed], Malalai Joya is one of the most popular Afghan politicians.
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% 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.
The Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi, a former university professor who had been legal advisor to the president. The previous court, appointed during the time of the interim government, had been dominated by fundamentalist religious figures, including Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. The court had issued numerous questionable rulings, such as banning cable television, seeking to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential election and limiting the rights of women, as well as overstepping its constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought before the court. The current court is seen as more moderate and led by more technocrats than the previous court, although it has yet to issue any rulings.

Politics of Afghanistan

Afghanistan
Politics and government ofAfghanistan
In recent years the politics of Afghanistan have been dominated by the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the NATO Forces and the subsequent efforts to stabilise and democratise the country. As of 2006 the system of government in Afghanistan is in transition. A new constitution has been adopted, and an executive president democratically elected, and parliamentary elections took place in September 2005.
The current president Hamid Karzai became the first ever democratically elected head of state in Afghanistan in late 2004. He now has begun the process of reconstruction. Still, the country lacks a legislature. Elections for this branch of government were supposed to have finished by mid 2005. The members of the Supreme Court were appointed recently by the president to form the judiciary. Together, this new system will provide a new set of checks and balances that was unheard of in the country. Also, the system is quite new, implementation of which began only 2004, just after decades of war between different factions and warlords. The remnants of the warlords are almost non-existent. The United Nations and other governments and organizations play a vital role rebuilding this new democracy's political environment.
Background
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 of power (executive, legislative, and judiciary) overseen by checks and balances.
Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. Before the election, Karzai led the country after being chosen by delegates of the Bonn Conference in 2001 to head an interim government after the fall of the Taliban. While supporters have praised Karzai's efforts to promote national reconciliation and a growing economy, critics charge him with failing to reign in the country's warlords, inability to stem corruption and the growing drug trade, and the slow pace of reconstruction.
The current parliament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former Mujahideen, Taliban fighters, communists, reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. Surprisingly, 28% of the delegates elected were women, 3% more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the constitution. Ironically, this made Afghanistan, long known under the Taliban for its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of female representation.
The Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. Dominated by fundamentalist religious figures, it has banned cable television, tried to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential election for questioning polygamy laws, and limited the rights of women, as well as overstepped its constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought before the court. Though many believed that Karzai would make reforming the Supreme Court a priority of his administration, as of 2006 he has yet to do so.
See also: Constitution of Afghanistan
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 officially ousted from power on 17 November 2001.
Bonn Agreement
Main article: Bonn Agreement (Afghanistan)
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. Some provisions in the agreement have expired, due to the creation of the constitution. Still, the agreement paved the way for the creation of a democratic Afghanistan.
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 had 18 months to hold a constitutional Loya jirga to adopt a constitution and 24 months to hold nationwide elections. The Loya jirga was replaced by the National Assembly.
Recent developments.

Under the Bonn Agreement the Afghan Constitution Commission was established to consult with the public and formulate a draft constitution. The meeting of a constitutional loya jirga was held in December 2003, when a new constitution was adopted creating a presidential form of government with a bicameral legislature.
Troops and intelligence agencies from the United States and a number of other countries are present, some to support the government, others assigned to hunt for remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda
. A United Nations military force called the International Security Assistance Force has been operating in Kabul since December 2001. NATO took control of this Force on August 11, 2003. Some of the country remains under the control of warlords. [1]
On March 27, 2003, Afghan deputy defense minister and powerful warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum created an office for the North Zone of Afghanistan and appointed officials to it, defying then-interim president Hamid Karzai's orders that there be no zones in Afghanistan.
Eurocorps took over the responsibility for the NATO-led ISAF in Kabul August 9, 2004.
National elections were held on October 9, 2004. Over 10 million Afghans were registered to vote. Most of the 17 candidates opposing Karzai boycotted the election, charging fraud;[2] an independent commission found evidence of fraud, but ruled that it did not affect the outcome of the poll. Karzai won 55.4% of the vote.[3] He was inaugurated as president on December 7. It was the country's first national election since 1969, when parliamentary elections were last held.
On September 18, 2005, parliamentary elections were held; the parliament opened on the following December 19. On December 20 Karzai's close ally and president of the first mujahideen government, Sibghatullah Mojadeddi, was picked to head the 102-seat upper house. On December 21, Yunus Qanuni, Afghan opposition leader and Karzai's main opponent was chosen to lead the 249-seat lower house of parliament with 122 votes against 117 for his closest challenger.
Constitution
The Bonn Agreement called for a loya jirga to be convened. This body ratified the Constitution of Afghanistan in early 2004. It creates a strong Presidency and a bicameral legislative branch.
Executive branch
Afghan Cabinet of Ministers
Legislative branch
The 2005 Parliamentary Election for the Wolesi Jirga or House of the People were conducted on 18 September 2005. This was the first parliamentary election in Afghanistan since 1969. 2707 candidates, including 328 women, competed for 249 seats. The election was conducted with multiple seat electoral constituencies. Each province is a constituency and has a varying number of seats, depending on population. Voters have a single non-transferable vote. Provisional results are not expected until 10 October.
The Meshrano Jirga or House of the Elders will consist of an undetermined amount of members. One-third of the members will be appointed by the president, while another third will be elected by the provincial councils. Elections for the provincial councils were held simultaneously with those for the Wolesi Jirga. The remaining third is supposed to be elected by district councils. However, elections for the district councils have been postponed, meaning that one-third of the seats in the Meshrano Jirga will be vacant when it assembles.
Despite Taliban and other anti-government forces stating they intended to disrupt the elections the polling day went by with minimal violence, although a number of candidates were murdered before the election. Early reports indicated that turnout was down on the Presidential Election, but still high.
Political parties and elections
2005 Parliamentary election

Afghanistan held parliamentary elections on 18 September 2005. On 9 October. Since all candidates were not listed by party and elected as non-partisans, a breakdown by party is not possible. Turnout is estimated at about 50 percent.
2004 Presidential elections
Political parties in Afghanistan are in flux and many prominent players have plans to create new parties. The government of Hamid Karzai includes members of numerous factions and parties. As of the 2005 Parliamentary Election, political parties are not legally recognised and candidates must run as independents, although parties can support candidates who are members. Main parties seem to be:
Islamic Social Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-i-Jamiat-i-Islami Afghanistan)
Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan)
National Congress Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan)
National Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan)
National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Jumbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan)
Other minor parties are:
Afghan Social Democratic Party
Communist Party of Afghanistan
Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan
Liberal Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
Social Nationalist Afghan Party
Some sources still list the following parties:
Afghan Mellat Party (Afghan Social Democratic Party) (leader: Shams ul Huda Shams)
Afghan Mellat Party (Shams Faction) Ajmal Shams
Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement) Mohammed Asif Mohseni
Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement) Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi
Hezbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party) Gulbuddin Hikmatyar
Hezbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) Yunis Khalis
Hizb-e-Wahdat (Hizbi Wahdat)-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party) Mohammad Akbar Akbari
Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan) Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front) Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
Mehez-e-Milli (Afghan National Party) Yunus Qanuni
Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front) Sayed Ahamad Gailani
Taliban (Religious Students Movement) Mohammed Omar
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, comprised of:
Jumbesh-i-Melli Islami (National Islamic Movement) Abdul Rashid Dostam
Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society) Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmed Shah Massoud (died in Sep 2001)
Hizb-e-Wahdat (Hizbi Wahdat) -Khalili faction (Islamic Unity Party) Abd ul-Karim Khalili

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
Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere have organized politically
Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National
Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA (leader Ishaq Gailani
Tribal leader represent traditional Pashtun leadership
Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [Rasul Amin]
Judicial branch
The Constitution of Afghanistan mandates a Supreme Court. Other minor courts were created too, such as high courts, appeals courts, and other district Courts.
See also: Chief Justice of Afghanistan
International organization participation
Asian Development Bank
Afghanistan has received $892.28 million in lending since joining the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at its founding in 1966 and is ADB’s 17th largest borrower. ADB suspended its operations in Afghanistan from 1992 to 2002. Significant international engagement with Afghanistan resumed in 2001 following the ouster of the Taliban regime. In 2001 and 2002, ADB, the World Bank, and the United Nations assessed the country’s critical rehabilitation and development needs: at the 2002 Tokyo Conference, ADB pledged loan and grant assistance of some $500 million over 2.5 years, beginning with a $167.18 million Postconflict Multisector Program loan, the first loan by an international financial institution to the country in more than 23 years. In 2004, ADB pledged up to $800 million in Asian Development Fund (ADF) loans and grants for 2005–2008, while at the 2006 London Conference indicated its intention to provide up to $200 million per year in ADF funding through 2010. ADB’s support has focused on building national capacity, establishing policy and institutional frameworks, and rehabilitating infrastructure. At the request of the Afghan authorities, ADB loan and grant-financed projects and programs and related technical assistance are focused on the road [transport, energy, agriculture and natural resource management, and governance and financial sectors. Private sector support has focused on loans and investments in the telecommunications and banking sectors.
The World Bank
Afghanistan became a member of the World Bank in 1955. Shortly after the Soviet invasion in 1979, World Bank operations were suspended, and the resident mission in Kabul was closed, although the Bank continued to provide assistance to Afghans through its office in neighboring Pakistan. The Bank resumed operations in Afghanistan in May 2002 to help meet the immediate needs of the poorest people while assisting the government in developing the administrative systems required for longer-term nationwide development.
Prior to 1979, the World Bank had provided 21 no-interest loans, known as "credits" to Afghanistan across a wide range of areas including education, roads, and agriculture. Of the original US$230 million in credits approved under IDA, US $83 million was disbursed and US $147 million was subsequently canceled. Afghanistan had repaid US $9.2 million to IDA and was up to date on debt service payments until June 1992, when it stopped making payments.
In 2003, Afghanistan was able to clear its debt to the World Bank, in part with the help of Japan, the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Italy, who contributed to a trust fund for this purpose. Additional funds from the multi-donor Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which is administered by the World Bank, helped to clear the remaining arrears, allowing Afghanistan to become eligible for loans for projects designed to help meet the country's longer-term development needs.
The ARTF has emerged as one of the main instruments for financing the country’s recurrent budget and investment support for Afghanistan. To date, more than US$1.37 billion has been contributed to the ARTF by 24 donors.
Since 2002, the Bank has financed 21 projects, committing around US$1.13 billion, of which US$696.8 million is in grants and US$436.4 in interest-free credits. Two budget support operations and an emergency public works project have been completed so far. commitments of approximately US$267 million for the fiscal year 2007 (July 2006 - June 2007) will be entirely in grants. The Bank-funded projects mostly support rural livelihoods by providing job opportunities, rebuilding infrastructure, education and basic health services.
Afghanistan is a member of the Colombo Plan , the Economic Cooperation Organization, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Group of 77, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Court, ICRM, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the Islamic Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

See also: Constitution of Afghanistan

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

Administrative divisions
Main articles: Provinces of Afghanistan and Districts of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four provinces (velayat), which are further subdivided into districts;

1 Badakhshan 2 Badghis 3 Baghlan 4 Balkh 5 Bamyan 6 Daykundi 7 Farah 8 Faryab 9 Ghazni10 Ghowr11 Helmand12 Herat13 Jowzjan14 Kabul15 Kandahar16 Kapisa17 Khost

18 Konar19 Kunduz20 Laghman21 Lowgar22 Nangarhar23 Nimruz24 Nurestan25 Oruzgan26 Paktia27 Paktika28 Panjshir29 Parvan30 Samangan31 Sare Pol32 Takhar33 Vardak34 Zabol

See Map (above) showing the provinces of Afghanistan.

ECONOMY AND TRADE

Economy of Afghanistan

A Business Center in Kabul
Afghanistan is an extremely impoverished country, one of the world's poorest and least developed nations. Two-thirds of the population lives on less than US$2 a day. The economy has suffered greatly from the recent political and military unrest since the 1979-80 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). While there are no official unemployment rate estimates available, it is evident that it is high. The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.

As much as one-third of Afghanistan's GDP comes from growing poppy and illicit drugs including opium and its two derivatives, morphine and heroin, as well as hashish production.
On a positive note, international efforts to rebuild Afghanistan led to the formation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) as a result of the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, where $4.5 billion was committed in a trust fund to be administered by the World Bank Group. Priority areas for reconstruction include the rebuilding of the educational system, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links.
According to a 2004 report by the Asian Development Bank, the present reconstruction effort is two-pronged: first it focuses on rebuilding critical physical infrastructure, and second, on building modern public sector institutions from the remnants of Soviet style planning to ones that promote market-led development. But macroeconomic planning and management at present is hampered by poor information, weak service delivery systems, and less than adequate law enforcement.
One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over two million refugees from neighbouring countries and the West, who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed capital to start up small businesses. What is also helping is the estimated $2-3 billion in international assistance, the partial recovery of the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions.

Afghan King (Zahir Shah) and Turkish President (Celal Bayar) inspecting the produce of Khan Nasher's Spinzar Cotton Company in 1966. Afghanistan was once a world-renowned producer of cotton.
While the country's current account deficit is largely financed with the "donor money", only a small portion – about 15% – is provided directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations. The government had a central budget of only $350 million in 2003 and an estimated $550 million in 2004. The country's foreign exchange reserves totals about $500 million. Revenue is mostly generated through customs, as income and corporate tax bases are negligible.
Inflation had been a major problem until 2002. However, the depreciation of the Afghani in 2002 after the introduction of the new notes (which replaced 1,000 old Afghani by 1 new Afghani) coupled with the relative stability compared to previous periods has helped prices to stabilize and even decrease between December 2002 and February 2003, reflecting the turnaround appreciation of the new Afghani currency. Since then, the index has indicated stability, with a moderate increase toward late 2003.
The Afghan government and international donors seem to remain committed to improving access to basic necessities, infrastructure development, education, housing and economic reform. The central government is also focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline. The rebuilding of the financial sector seems to have been so far successful. Money can now be transferred in and out of the country via official banking channels and according to accepted international norms. A new law on private investment provides three to seven-year tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption from exports tariffs and duties.
While these improvements will help rebuild a strong basis for the nation in the future, for now, the majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other problems exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. The government is not strong enough to collect customs duties from all the provinces due to the power of the warlords. Fraud is widespread and "corruption is rife within all Afghan government organs, and central authority is barely felt in the lawless south and south-west".
The real good news for Afghanistan is that it has great potentials to come out of poverty very quick and become a normal stable country. This is due to many reports showing that the country has possession of mass amounts of highly demanding natural resources and minerals. According to the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Industry, Afghanistan may be possessing 15.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 1.6 billion barrels of oil and up to 1,325 million barrels of natural gas liquids. This could mark the turning point in Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts. Energy exports could generate the revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country’s infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered and fractious population. Other reports suggest that there are huge amounts of gold, copper, coal, iron ore and other rich minerals.

See also: Opium Production in Afghanistan