Country name
conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan
local long form : Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form: Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan

Data code AF

Government type transitional government

National capital Kabul

Administrative divisions 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

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

National holiday Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrsand Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August

Constitution none

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

Suffrage undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age

Executive branch on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government weredisplaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State ofAfghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country remainsdivided among fighting factions
note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan;the UN has deferred a decision on credentials and the Organization of theIslamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacycan be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the countryis essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capitalof Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominatelyethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing factions have theirstonghold in the ethnically diverse north - General DOSTAM's National IslamicMovement controls several northcentral provinces and Commander MASOOD controlsthe ethnic Tajik majority areas of the northeast

Legislative branch non-functioning as of June 1993

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

Political parties and leaders Taliban (Religious Students Movement), Mohammad OMAR; Supreme DefenseCouncil of Afghanistan [comprised of Jumbesh-i-Melli Islami (National IslamicMovement), Abdul Rashid DOSTAM; Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society), BurhanuddinRABBANI and Ahmad Shah MASOOD; and Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic UnityParty), Abdul Karim KHALILI]; other smaller parties are Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin(Islamic Party), Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (IslamicParty), Yunis KHALIS faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (IslamicUnion for the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami(Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad Nabi MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-MilliAfghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI;Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI; HizbiWahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party), Mohammad Akbar AKBARI; Harakat-i-Islami(Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif MOHSENI

Political pressure groups and leaders tribal elders represent traditional Pashtun leadership; Afghan refugeesin Pakistan, Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Peshawar,Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unityand Understanding in Afghanistan (CUNUA), Ishaq GAILANI; Writers Union ofFree Afghanistan (WUFA), A. Rasul AMIN; Mellat (Social Democratic Party),leader NA

International organization participation 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, UN, UNCTAD,UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission : Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Yar Mohammed MOHABBAT
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-3770, 3771
FAX: [1] (202) 328-3516
consulate(s) general : New York
consulate(s): Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to securityconcerns

Flag description three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with agold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem features a temple-likestructure with Islamic inscriptions above and below, encircled by a wreathon the left and right and by a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of whichare encircled by two crossed scimitars

NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan Government 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan Government 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.