History of Afghanistan (1992–present)

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This article on the history of Afghanistan covers the period from the fall of the Najibullah government in 1992 to the end of the international military presence in Afghanistan.

Background

After the

airport.

Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992-1996)

Seeking to resolve these differences, the leaders of the

, or grand council of Afghan elders and notables, would convene and designate an interim administration which would hold power up to a year, pending elections.

But in May 1992, Rabbani prematurely formed the leadership council, undermining Mojaddedi's fragile authority. On June 28, 1992, Mojaddedi surrendered power to the Leadership Council, which then elected Rabbani as President. Nonetheless, heavy fighting broke out in August 1992 in Kabul between forces loyal to President Rabbani and rival factions, particularly those who supported

, controlled Kabul and much of the northeast, while local warlords exerted power over the rest of the country

Islamic Emirate and the Taliban (1996-2001)

In reaction to the warlordism prevalent in the country, and the lack of

covered its terrain. Two million refugees were in camps.

Pakistan recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan in 1997. By the end of 2000, the Taliban controlled about 95% of the country, limiting the opposition to a small corner in the northeast

, prominent Afghans living outside the country, and other interested countries to bring about a peaceful solution to the continuing conflict came to nothing, largely because of intransigence on the part of the Taliban.

The Taliban sought to impose an extreme interpretation of

, killing eight diplomats and a television reporter, claiming them as spies.

In 2001, as part of a drive against relics of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, the Taliban destroyed two large statues of

International Intervention and Interim Government (2001-2004)

From the mid-1990s the Taliban provided

in the United States, among other crimes.

By September 2001 the remaining opposition to the Taliban had been confined to the

on October 7, 2001.

A period of bombing followed, which for about a month appeared to be having little effect. The US required the assistance of countries around Afghanistan to provide a route for the attack, but criticism increased as various

.

Following the Ioya Jirga in June 2002, a transitional government was put in place to govern Afghanistan, overseen by the United Nations and the Bush administration of the United States. The assembly voted Hamid Karzai as President, a position he was reelected to in successor governments until 2014.^[4]

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004-2021)

The 2003 Ioya Jirga saw an assembly vote and approve the foundations of a new republic and constitution for Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic saw NATO troops being maintained in the country while fighting the Taliban insurgency.^[5] The first election for president was held in 2004, Hamid Karzai was declared the winner and became President of the Islamic Republic. Karzai won reelection in 2009 and left office in 2014.^[6] He was succeeded by Ashraf Ghani who won the 2014 presidential election and reelected in 2019.^[7]

Reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate (2021-present)

NATO troops began to slowly withdraw international troops from Afghanistan as the war continued. Concurrently in 2021, the Taliban insurgency quickly began to see success,

References