Landlocked and mountainous, Afghanistan has suffered from such power instability and warfare during its brand new historical past that its economy and infrastructure are in ruins, and lots of of its people are refugees.
The Taliban, who imposed strict Islamic rule following a devastating civil conflict, were ousted via a US-led invasion in 2001 however have recently been making a comeback.
The internationally-acknowledged govt arrange following the adoption of a new constitution in 2004 has struggled to extend its authority past the capital and to forge national unity.
Nato-led foreign fight troops had the principle duty for keeping up security after 2001, and the formal finish of Nato’s combat challenge in December 2014 used to be followed by way of an upsurge in Taliban process.
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FACTS
Image copyright Getty Pictures
President Ghani, right, heads a harmony govt at the side of former rival and now chief govt Abdullah Abdullah, left. He was sworn in as president in September 2014.
He changed Hamid Karzai, who led the rustic for twelve years after the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.
MEDIA
Symbol copyright Tolo TV Image caption Afghans now have access to a large vary of media, in contrast to whilst the Taliban used to be up to the mark and destroyed TELEVISION sets
Media shops – personal TV stations and newspapers specifically – mushroomed following the ousting of the Taliban in 2001.
Some 27 in keeping with cent of families have no less than patchy get right of entry to to the internet and laptop literacy and ownership charges are low.
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TIMELINE
Some key dates in Afghanistan’s historical past:
Image copyright Getty Images Symbol caption Soviet troops withrew after a bloody decade fighting the Afghan resistance
1979 – Soviet Army invades and props up communist executive. more than a million other people die within the ensuing warfare.
1989 – Ultimate Soviet troops depart. US- and Pakistan-sponsored mujahideen push to overthrow Soviet-installed Afghan ruler Najibullah triggers devastating civil conflict.
1996 – Taliban clutch control of Kabul and impose hard-line version of Islam.
2001 – US intervenes militarily following September ELEVEN assaults on the U.s.a.. Taliban are ousted from Kabul and Hamid Karzai becomes head of an intervening time power-sharing executive.
2002 – Nato assumes responsibility for keeping up safety in Afghanistan.
2004 – Loya Jirga adopts new charter which supplies for strong presidency. Hamid Karzai is elected president.
2014 – Ashraf Ghani elected president. NATO officially ends its battle mission in Afghanistan, turning in to Afghan forces, who face a growing insurgency.
Image copyright Getty Photographs Image caption Western troops did not stabilise the battle-ridden usa Learn full timeline
