Kingdom of Afghanistan

### Government

Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy under a Pahlavi Statist One Party Dictatorship

### Region

Southeast Asia

The **Kingdom of Afghanistan** is a nation located east of the Empire of Iran, south of the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara, north of the Khanate of Kalat and the Kingdom of Pakistan. Afghanistan used to be prosperous and the closest to stability that it could have ever been under the rule of Mohammad Zahir Shah. Sadly after his passing, Afghanistan had become unstable as the elderly son of Mohammad Zahir Shah is doing everything he can to keep the nation unified.

## History

### First Kingdom

Emir Amanullah Khan was keen on modernizing Afghanistan, provoking several uprisings led by his conservative opponents. One such rebellion broke out while he was visiting Europe in 1927. He abdicated in favour of his brother Inayatullah Khan, who only ruled for three days before the leader of the rebellion Habibullāh Kalakāni took power and reinstated the Emirate.

After 10 months, Amanullah Khan's Minister of War, Mohammed Nadir, returned from exile in India. His British-supported armies sacked Kabul, forcing Kalakāni to discuss a truce. Instead, Mohammed Nadir's forces apprehended and subsequently executed Kalakāni. Mohammed Nadir reinstated the kingdom, was proclaimed King of Afghanistan as Mohammed Nadir Shah in October 1929, and went on to revert the reformist path of the last king, Amanullah Khan. He was succeeded by his son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, whose rule started in 1933 and lasted for 39 years. Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan, was eventually overthrown by his own cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan who successfully ended the centuries-old monarchy and established a republic. It was under the leadership of Zahir Shah that the Afghan government sought relationships with the outside world, most notably with the Soviet Union, France, Great Britain, and the United States.

On 27 September 1934, during the reign of Zahir Shah, the Kingdom of Afghanistan joined the League of Nations. During World War II, Afghanistan remained neutral and pursued a diplomatic policy of non-alignment. Though being neutral in World War II, Afghanistan had relations with Nazi Germany, but that was severed after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

Afghanistan was admitted into the United Nations on 29 August 1946. In 1947, Afghanistan was the only United Nations member to vote against admitting Pakistan into the United Nations. This was mostly done because of the Kingdom's call for Pashtunistan. Nikita Khrushchev visited the capital of Kabul and endorsed the Afghan claims to Pashtunistan in 1955. Afghanistan also became a member of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. Daoud Khan, Prime Minister of Afghanistan at the time, worked hard for the development of modern industries, and education in the country. In July 1973, Daoud Khan staged a bloodless *coup d'état* while Zahir Shah was not in the country. The next month, Zahir Shah abdicated, hoping to avoid a civil war, which officially marked the end of the Kingdom of Afghanistan and the beginning of the Republic.

### Era of the Unstable Republic

After General Daoud's 1973 establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan, members of the People's Democratic Party (PDPA) were given positions in the government. In 1976, President Daoud established a seven-year economic plan for the country. He started military training programs with India and commenced economic development talks with Iran. Daoud also turned his attention to oil rich Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait among others for financial assistance.

But during Daoud's presidency, relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated. They saw his shift to a more Western-friendly leadership as dangerous, including Daoud's criticism of Cuba's membership in the Non-aligned Movement and Daoud's expulsion of Soviet military and economic advisers. The suppression of political opposition furthermore turned the Soviet-backed PDPA, an important ally in the 1973 coup against the King, against him.

Daoud in 1978 had achieved little of what he had set out to accomplish. The Afghan economy had not made any real progress and the Afghan standard of living had not risen. Daoud had also garnered much criticism for his single party constitution in 1977 which alienated him from his political supporters.

When Afghans by 1978 had grown disappointed with the "do nothing" Daoud government, the PDPA government officials alone were identified by some with economic and social reform. By this time, the two main factions of the PDPA, previously locked in a power struggle, had reached a fragile agreement for reconciliation. Communist-sympathizing army officials were by then already planning a move against the government. According to Hafizullah Amin, who became Afghan head of state in 1979, the PDPA had started plotting the coup in 1976, two years before it materialized.

### Saur Revolution

The PDPA seized power in a brutal military coup in 1978, which is best known as the Saur Revolution. On April 27, troops from the military base at Kabul International Airport started to move towards the center of the capital. It took only 24 hours to consolidate power, with the rapid push including an air raid on the Arg (the Presidential palace), and insurgent army units quickly seized critical institutions and communication lines. The deposed Daoud and most of his family were executed the following day. Nur Muhammad Taraki, General Secretary of the PDPA, was proclaimed Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council and effectively succeeded Mohammed Daoud Khan as head of state. He simultaneously became head of government of the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

### War

After the Khalq–Parcham struggle, another power struggle arose between Taraki and Amin within the Khalq faction, in which Amin gained the upper hand and later had Taraki killed on his orders. Due to earlier reforms, Amin's rule proved unpopular within both Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. A Soviet intervention supported by the Afghan government had begun in December 1979, and on 27 December, Amin was assassinated by Soviet military forces; Karmal became the leader of Afghanistan in his place. The Karmal era, which lasted from 1979 to 1980, was marked by the height of the Soviet–Afghan War, in which Soviet and Afghan government forces fought against the Afghan mujahideen in order to consolidate control over Afghanistan.

Iran and America started to back the monarchist mujahideen as Pakistan and China started to back the Islamist mujahideen as they tried to kick out the Soviet Union. However the monarchist mujahideen was strong due to Iran and America backing them which weakened the Islamic Mujahideen which was trouble for Pakistan as they did not want the monarchy of Afghanistan to return due to Mohammad Zahir Shah due to his desire to annex Pashtunistan as a part of Afghanistan. Sadly both China and Pakistan had to deal with India who was helping the Soviet Union get Afghanistan as a puppet state in order for India to have an ally in destroying Pakistan and annex all the regions of Pakistan as regions of India to establish "Greater Hindustan" and this would result the Muslims of Pakistan and Islamic Mujahideen to flee to the Xinjiang region of China which would cause instability in the region and the Soviets might try to back them in order to destroy communist China and prevent aid from being given to the Khmer Rouge and which would result in a Vietnamese victory in the Cambodian Vietnam war.

Due to this the Monarchist Mujahideen were able to gain influence with the opposition against the Soviets and this resulted in a victory for them. Iran due to this decided to restore the monarchy and they restored the Barakazi Dynasty as monarchs of Afghanistan. This had really motivated the Afghan people into fighting the Communists as Iran had invaded Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to cut off contact between the Afghan communists and Soviet Union. India tried to invade Afghanistan through Pakistan, but Iran and its allies invaded Pakistan to prevent India from making their job hard. India tried to invade, but Iran had seized Pakistan's nuclear weapons and threatened a nuclear war with India which made India back off from invading Pakistan.

### Restoration of the Monarchy, establishing a new Constitutional Government

After the war against the Soviet Union, the Kingdom had established a stable government with a parliament run by the Mahaz-i Milli (*National (Islamic) Front*) as the ruling party of Afghanistan since they were the strongest organization in Afghanistan as they were backed by both America and Iran. However the other Mujahideen groups had protested this move which resulted in a horde of instability, but America and Iran went on with the plan to restore the Afghan monarchy and this caused instability in the region. Iran had moved the Jamiat-i Islami organization into Bukhara as a political party of the Emirate. The other Islamic Mujahdeen groups had fled to Saudi Arabia which resulted in Saudi Arabia becoming a hub for terrorists.

### World War III and helping with Iran's expansionism in South Asia

Afghanistan had fought with Iran against the Soviet Union in order to repel the Leftist groups in its master state in order to prevent having borders with a Soviet Satellite State which could cause internal instability in Afghanistan itself. The Soviet Union had lost Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia to Iran and the Soviets were nuked by America for Nuking Britain and this resulted in Afghanistan easily purging all of the leftists out of the country. Afghanistan had helped Iran in its expansionist conquest of South Asia in order to weaken India severely and prevent them from trying to conquer Pakistan. After the Expansion Afghanistan decided to focus on domestic reforms.

### Death of Mohammad Zahir Shah and Aftermath

Mohammad Zahir Shah, the famous and iconic King of Afghanistan had died in the year of 2007. He was buried later on and his son Ahmad Shah had become King Ahmad Shah of Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah was not as Iconic as his father and the Afghan people had seen him as a puppet of Afghanistan's master state. He had implemented hordes of domestic reforms to reform the urban areas which caused problems with rural areas of Afghanistan that were in desperate need of reform, however Ahmad Shah ignored them in order to not piss off the tribes and tribal warlords in those areas.

The King had married his paternal grandsons to various Afghan women from various powerful tribes and Muslim royals. The King's paternal grandson Prince Mohammad Amanullah Khan who is the son of Crown Prince Muhammad Zahir Khan and Farahnaz Pahlavi, Crown Princess of Afghanistan had married the daughter of Saif Ali Khan, Sara Ali Khan who was one year younger than Prince Mohammad Khan. The two married March 12 in the year of 2015. The royal family because of these marriages had resulted in growing big and large unlike anything before and this had resulted in the Barakazi Dynasty gaining a stronger and longer hold on the country of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is glad that it does not have to deal with external threats, especially if they are having to deal with internal instability with the warring tribes and their rural subjects which is constantly a thing in the rural areas and the urban areas are demanding more reforms and the chaos is so chaotic that the elderly Ahmad Shah literally can't handle the craziness.

## Government

Afghanistan is a Autocratic Monarchy under a Tribal Confederacy in which the Monarch rules as a full on Autocrat, but he cannot enforce the law or make decisions without the permission of the Afghan Majilis, which consists of the tribes of Afghanistan led by various Warlords. The Tribes and Warlords elect the politicians who become the political entity of Afghanistan under the Sovereign Monarch of Afghanistan.

The system of government in Afghanistan is dubbed an oppressive aristocracy as the Rich people in Urban areas and Tribes loyal to the King lived like aristocrats. People from the Tribes loyal to the King and people in the Urban areas are the only people allowed to get an education, get jobs and earn a living. The Warlords of the loyalist tribes and Urban civilians have the right to levy taxes upon the rural population. The Rural population however does not have those rights and they have to pay taxes to the tribes who dominate their villages and towns. The government plans to make them starve and die of hunger and have them go extinct so that only the prosperous areas remain in Afghanistan. The privileged are even allowed to buy orphans from the rural areas as slaves. The Monarchy of Afghanistan is hated by commoners and rural peasants who see them as an oppressive force that treats them like crap.

### Cabinet

* **King:** Ahmad Shah
* **Prime Minister:** Hedayat Amin Arsala
* **Chairman of the Council of Warlords:** Abdul Ghani Alipur
* **Speaker of the Afghan Tribal Majilis:** Ahmad Massoud
* **Foreign Minister:** Zalmai Rassoul
* **Industry Minister:** Mohammed Isa Akhund
* **Minister of Defense:** General Abdul Rahim Wardak
* **Minister of Intelligence:** Asadullah Khalid
* **Chief of Staff:** General Abdullah Habibi
* **Chief of Army:** General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi
* **Chief of Air Force:** Air Marshall Abdul Fahim Ramin

## Military

### Army

The army of Afghanistan under the banner of Mohammad Zahir Shah was known as the Prussians of the Orient and a strong Army. This was the case despite the Army consisting of tribal militias and royal guardsmen trained by Imperial Iran. The Afghan Army has gained 1,000 Tanks from Iran that Iran imported from America.

### Air Force

A military air programme was created by the Imperial Iranian Air Force and drilled by Air Force Pilots of Imperial Iran and it uses 200 planes given to them by Iran who gained them from America. The Air Force's main fleet consists of An-32 and An-26 aircraft and hordes of Blackhawk Helicopters.

### Navy

Since Afghanistan is a landlocked country no Navy currently exists. The Amu Darya river could theoretically support smaller armed vessels but because of Afghanistan's dry periods, it's practically impossible to have a Navy.

## Economy

Afghanistan's economy has steadily improved in the last decade due to the return of a large number of wealthy expats, the modernization of the nation's agriculture sector, and the establishment of more trade routes with neighboring and regional countries such as Iran, Kalat, the Mughal Empire and Jammu and Kashmir. Despite holding over $1-3 trillion in proven untapped mineral deposits, Afghanistan remains one of the least developed countries in the world. Its unemployment rate is over 23% and about half of its population lives below the poverty line. Many of the unemployed men join the Iranian-funded militant groups that are part of the Royal Army or become criminals. Afghanistan has long sought foreign investment from the other nations of the Indo-Persian Co-Prosperity Sphere order to improve its crappy economy.

### Agriculture

Afghanistan currently produces roughly 1.5 million tons of fresh fruits annually, which could be increased significantly. It is known for producing some of the finest fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes as well as sweet melons and mulberries. Other fruits grown in the country are apricots, apples, figs, peaches, cherries and strawberries. The number of farms are steadily increasing. Building and using modern greenhouses is also expanding throughout the country.

The northern and western Afghan provinces are known for pistachio cultivation. In recent years, farmers in the southern provinces have also begun cultivating pistachios. Provinces in the east of the country are famous for pine nuts. The northern and central provinces are also famous for almonds and walnuts. The Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan is known for growing superior quality potatoes.

Nangarhar and Kunar provinces are famous for lemons, oranges, olives, peanuts and dates. Cultivation of these products have spread to other provinces of the country. In recent years the government planted a small number of banana trees in Helmand Province.

### Fishing

Afghanistan is landlocked with no direct access to an ocean but it has a number of reservoirs, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, which make it a suitable climate for fish farming. Historically, fish constituted a smaller part of the Afghan diet because of the unavailability of modern fish farms. Fishing only took place in the lakes and rivers, particularly in the Kunar, Amu and Helmand rivers. Consumption of fish has increased sharply due to the establishment of many fish farms. There are over 2,600 of them in the country. The largest one is at the Qargha, which supplies fish eggs to the other fish farms. Fish farming has also been launched in the Afghan-India Friendship Dam.

### Mining

Mining in Afghanistan is controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion of untapped minerals.

There are six lapis mines in Afghanistan, the largest being located in Badakhshan province. There are around 12 copper mines in the country, including the Aynak copper deposit located in Logar province. Afghanistan's significance from an energy standpoint stems from its geographical position as a transit route for oil, natural gas, and electricity exports from Central Asia to South Asia and the Arabian Sea.

### Tourism

Tourism in Afghanistan was at its peak in 1977. Many tourists from around the world came to visit Afghanistan, including from as far away as Europe and North America. All of that ended with the start of the April 1978 Saur Revolution. However, it is again gradually increasing despite the insecurity. The country has four international airports, including the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul; the Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport in Mazar-i-Sharif; the Khwaja Abdullah Ansari International Airport in Herat; and the Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar. It also has several smaller airports throughout the country. The city of Kabul has many guest houses and hotels, including the Serena Hotel, the Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul, and the Safi Landmark Hotel. Small number of guest houses and hotels are also available in other cities such Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, etc.

### Energy

Energy in Afghanistan is provided by hydropower followed by fossil fuel and solar power. According to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), approximately 35% of Afghanistan's population has access to electricity. This covers the major cities in the country. Many rural areas do not have access to 24-hour electricity but this should change after the major CASA-1000 project is completed. Afghanistan currently generates over 600 megawatts (MW) of electricity from its several hydroelectric plants as well as using fossil fuel and solar panels. Over 670 MW more is imported from neighboring Iran.

Due to the large influx of expats from neighboring Kalat, the Mughal Empire, Jammu and Kashmir and Iran, Afghanistan may require as much as 7,000 MW of electricity in the coming years. The Afghan National Development Strategy has identified renewable energy alternatives, such as wind and solar energy, as a high value power source to develop. As a result, a number of solar and wind farms have been established, with more currently under development.

## Demographics

### Ethnic Groups

Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostly tribal society. The population of the country consists of numerous ethnolinguistic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, Qizilbash, Pamiri, Kyrgyz, Sadat and others. Altogether they make up the Afghan people.

### Languages

Dari and Pashto are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common. Dari, which is a variety of and mutually intelligible with Persian (and very often called 'Farsi' by some Afghans like in Iran) functions as the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in much of the northern and northwestern parts of the country. Native speakers of Dari, of any ethnicity, are sometimes called Farsiwans. Pashto is the native tongue of the Pashtuns, although many of them are also fluent in Dari while some non-Pashtuns are fluent in Pashto. Despite the Pashtuns having been dominant in Afghan politics for centuries, Dari remained the preferred language for government and bureaucracy. Dari Persian is spoken by 78% (L1 + L2) and functions as the lingua franca, while Pashto is spoken by 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, and Balochi 1% (2021 est). Data represent the most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language.There are a number of smaller regional languages, including Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani. When it comes to foreign languages among the populace, many are able to speak or understand Hindustani (Urdu-Hindi), partly due to returning Afghan refugees from Pakistan and the popularity of Bollywood films respectively.

### Religion

An estimated 99.7% of the Afghan population is Muslim and most are thought to adhere to the Sunni Hanafi school. According to Pew Research Center, as much as 90% are of the Sunni denomination, 7% Shia and 3% non-denominational. The CIA Factbook variously estimates up to 89.7% Sunni or up to 15% Shia. Michael Izady estimated 70% of the population to be followers of Sunni Islam, 25% Imami Shia Islam, 4.5% Ismaili Shia Islam, and 0.5% other religions.

## Culture

Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between the regions of Afghanistan, each with distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country. Family is the mainstay of Afghan society and families are often headed by a patriarch. In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (the Pashtun way). Key tenets of Pashtunwali include hospitality, the provision of sanctuary to those seeking refuge, and revenge for the shedding of blood. The Pashtuns are largely connected to the culture of Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau. The remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic. Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali in a process called Pashtunization, while some Pashtuns have been Persianized. Those who have lived in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 years have been further influenced by the cultures of those neighboring nations. The Afghan people are known to be strongly religious.

Afghans, particularly Pashtuns, are noted for their tribal solidarity and high regard for personal honor. One writer considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult, and in a society that, from a materialistic point of view, has an uncomplicated lifestyle. There are various Afghan tribes, and an estimated 2–3 million nomads. Afghan culture is deeply Islamic, but pre-Islamic practices persist. One example is *bacha bazi*, a term for activities involving sexual relations between older men and younger adolescent men, or boys. Child marriage is prevalent in Afghanistan; the legal age for marriage is 16. The most preferred marriage in Afghan society is to one's parallel cousin, and the groom is often expected to pay a bride price.

In the villages, families typically occupy mudbrick houses, or compounds with mudbrick or stone walled houses. Villages typically have a headman (*malik*), a master for water distribution (*mirab*) and a religious teacher (*mullah*). Men would typically work on the fields, joined by women during harvest. About 15% of the population are nomadic, locally called *kochis*. When nomads pass villages they often buy supplies such as tea, wheat and kerosene from the villagers; villagers buy wool and milk from the nomads.

Afghan clothing for both men and women typically consists of various forms of shalwar kameez, especially *perahan tunban* and *khet partug*. Women would normally wear a *chador* for head covering; some women, typically from highly conservative communities, wear the *burqa*, a full body covering. These were worn by some women of the Pashtun community well before Islam came to the region, however married women wear them to avoid men trying to have affairs with them, especially if they are already married.

Another popular dress is the *chapan* which acts as a coat. The *karakul* is a hat made from the fur of a specific regional breed of sheep. The *pakol* is another traditional hat originating from the far east of the country. The *Mazari hat* originates from northern Afghanistan.