Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Not to be confused with Emirate of Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan د افغانستان اسلامي امارات Da Afghanistan Islami Amarat
← 1996–2001 →
Flag Emblem
Motto lā ʾilāha ʾillà l-Lāh, Muḥammadun rasūlu l-Lāh لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah"
Capital		Kabul
Languages		Pashto, Persian
Religion		Sunni Islam
Government		Islamic theocracy, Totalitarian Dictatorship
Amir al-Mu'minin
-	1996–2001	Mohammed Omar
Prime Minister
-	1996–2001	Mohammad Rabbani
-	2001	Abdul Kabir (acting)
Legislature		Jirga
Historical era		Civil War / War on Terror
-	Rise to Power	27 September 1996
-	Fall of Kabul	13 November 2001

History of Afghanistan
Timeline
Ancient Proto-Elamite civilization 2300–1800 BCE Indus valley civilization 2200–1800 BCE Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BCE Aryans 1700–700 BCE Medes 728–550 BCE Achaemenids 550–330 BCE Seleucids 330–150 BCE Mauryans 305–180 BCE Greco-Bactrians 256–125 BCE Indo-Greeks 180–130 BCE Indo-Scythians (Sakas) 155–80? BCE Indo-Parthians 20 BCE – 50? CE Kushans 135 BCE – 248 CE Sassanids 230–565 Indo-Sassanids 248–410 Kidarites 320–465 Hephthalites 410–557 Kabul Shahi 565–879
Medieval Rashidun Caliphate 642–641 Umayyads 661–750 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Ghorids 1149–1215 Khwarezmids 1215–1231 Ilkhanate 1258–1353 Khiljis 1290–1320 Kurts 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1506 Arghuns 1479–1522 Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709
Modern Hotaki dynasty 1709–1738 Afsharid dynasty 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1826 Emirate 1826–1919 Kingdom 1919–1973 Republic 1973–1978 Democratic Republic 1978–1992 Islamic State 1992–2001 Islamic Emirate 1996–2001 Islamic Republic 2001–present
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The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي امارات, Da Afghanistan Islami Amarat), was founded in 1996 when the Taliban began their rule of Afghanistan and ended with their fall from power in 2001. Even at the peak of their influence, the Taliban never controlled the entire area of Afghanistan, as about 10% of the country in the northeast was held by the Northern Alliance.

History

The Taliban and its rule arose from the chaos of post-Soviet Afghanistan. It began as an Islamic fundamentalist politico-religious movement composed of students in the Helmand and Kandahar region of Afghanistan. Overwhelmingly local ethnic Pashtuns, the Taliban blended Pashtunwali tribal code with elements of Deobandi Islamic teaching to form an anti-Western and anti-modern Islamic ideology with which it ruled.

Spreading from Kandahar, the Taliban eventually seized Kabul in 1996. By the end of 2000, the Taliban were able to capture 90% of the country, aside from the opposition (Afghan Northern Alliance) strongholds primarily found in the northeast corner of Badakhshan Province. The Taliban sought to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and were later implicated as supporters of mujahideen, most notably by harbouring Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.

During the five-year history of the Islamic Emirate, much of the population experienced restrictions on their freedom and violations of their human rights. Women were banned from jobs, and girls were forbidden to attend schools or universities and were requested to observe purdah and to abstain from obscenities. Those who resisted were punished. Communists were systematically executed and thieves were punished by amputating one of their hands or feet. Meanwhile, the Taliban succeeded in nearly eradicating the majority of the opium production by 2001.

Following the Taliban's unappeasing treatment of Afghanistan's Shia minority, Iran stepped up assistance to the Northern Alliance. Relations with the Taliban deteriorated further in 1998 after Taliban forces seized the Iranian consulate in Mazari Sharif and executed Iranian diplomats. Following this incident, Iran almost went to war with the Taliban regions of Afghanistan but intervention by the United Nations Security Council and the United States prevented an imminent Iranian invasion.

International relations

Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban government. The state was not recognised in the UN. Turkmenistan, however, was known to have held official meetings and agreements with Taliban government ministers.

One reason for lack of international recognition was the Taliban's disregard for human rights and the rule of law as demonstrated by their actions on taking power. One of the first acts of the Taliban upon seizing power was the execution of the former Communist President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah. Before the Taliban had even taken control of Afghanistan's capital they sent out a squad to arrest Najibullah. As Najibullah was staying in the United Nations compound in Kabul, this was a violation of international law.^{[citation needed]} As a further example, the Taliban regime was also heavily criticised for the murder of Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan in 1998. The Taliban supported the Islamic militants operating in Chechnya, Kashmir and Xinjiang, thus antagonizing Russia, India and the People's Republic of China simultaneously.

Sanctions

Main article: UN Security Council Resolution 1267

In 1999, the UN Security Council established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and/or the Taliban. Since the U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the sanctions were applied to individuals and organizations in all parts of the world, also targeting former members of the Taliban government.

On January 27, 2010, a United Nations sanctions committee removed five former senior Taliban officials from this list, in a move favoured by Afghan President Karzai. The decision means the five will no longer be subject to an international travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo. The five men, all high-ranking members of the Taliban government:

• Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, former foreign minister.
• Fazal Mohammad, former deputy minister of commerce.
• Shams-us-Safa Aminzai, former Taliban foreign affairs press officer.
• Mohammad Musa Hottak, former deputy minister of planning.
• Abdul Hakim, former deputy minister of frontier affairs.

All had been added to the list in January or February 2001.

Mohammed Omar continues to speak in the name of this Emirate.

See also

• Islamic Emirate of Waziristan
• History of Afghanistan since 1992
• Mullah Kabir
• Tariq Ghazniwal, one spokesperson for the AEI.

External links

• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan website
• Interview with official representatives of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan