conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan; note - the
self-proclaimed Taliban government refers to the country as Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan
local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form: Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan

AF

no functioning central government, administered by
factions

Kabul

30 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat);
Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni,
Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar,
Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika,
Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol
note: there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst

19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign
affairs)

Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance
Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August

none

a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions
tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law)

NA; previously males 15-50 years of age

on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the
Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban
movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning
government at this time, and the country remains divided among
fighting factions
note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government
of Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of
Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has
left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be
resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the country
is essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the
capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including
the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan;
opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse
north

non-functioning as of June 1993

non-functioning as of March 1995, although there are
local Shari'a (Islamic law) courts throughout the country

Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement)
; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic
Revolutionary Movement) ; Hizbi
Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party) ; Hizbi
Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) ; Hizbi
Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party) ;
Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the
Liberation of Afghanistan) ; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli
Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front) [Sibghatullah
MOJADDEDI]; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front) [Sayed
Ahamad GAILANI]; Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mohammad
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
Ahmad Shah MASOOD]; and Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic Unity
Party)

Afghan refugees in Pakistan,
Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Mellat
(Social Democratic Party) ; Peshawar, Pakistan-based groups
such as the Coordination Council for National Unity and Understanding
in Afghanistan or CUNUA ; tribal elders represent
traditional Pashtun leadership; Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or
WUFA

AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

note: embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:  (202) 234-3770
FAX:  (202) 328-3516
consulate(s) general: New York

the US embassy in Kabul has
been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns

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
note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag