1994 in Afghanistan

1994 In Afghanistan

Destructive and inconclusive fighting between forces loyal to Prime Minister Hekmatyar and troops loyal to President Rabbani results in the disintegration of central state authority and weaken the cohesion of the multinational state. Kabul remains divided into zones controlled by rival groups. A blockade of Kabul leads to fighting in northern Afghanistan over a tenuous road link to neighboring Tajikistan. The prolonged bombardment reduces most of the Afghan capital to ruins and causes 75% of Kabul's population of two million to flee the area. Outside Kabul the central government's authority all but disappears. Under the protection of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an Afghan Uzbek, Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest industrial complex in Afghanistan, enjoys relative stability. In Jalalabad local political groups and commanders cooperate to provide basic public services. In Kandahar local rivalries slow reconstruction. Herat is generally peaceful and secure and begins to reclaim its traditional role as commercial centre along trade routes with neighbouring Iran and Turkmenistan. International rivalries continue to agitate Afghanistan's divided society. The country's large Shi`ite minority and the 1.8 million Afghan refugees in neighbouring Iran automatically give Tehran a role in Afghan affairs. Saudi Arabia becomes involved by supporting factions it sees as a counterweight to Iranian influence. Pakistan's role is even more crucial. Not only does Pakistan give refuge to 1.5 million Afghan refugees, but it is permanent home to a section of the Pashtun ethnic group, which traditionally plays a leading role in Afghan politics. India and China view the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan as a danger to their own authority in Kashmir and Sinkiang, respectively, while other countries throughout the world are concerned about terrorists trained by Afghanistan's warring factions and the country's expanding drug trafficking. Serious international attention to Afghanistan remains distracted, however, both by the apparent unwillingness of Afghan leaders to cooperate and by attention to international crises elsewhere.