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: no functioning central government, administered by factions
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 Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August
Constitution: none
Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law)
Suffrage: NA; previously males 15-50 years of age
Executive branch: 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
Legislative branch: non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch: non-functioning as of March 1995, although there are local Shari'a (Islamic law) courts throughout the country
Political parties and leaders: Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement) [Mohammed Asif MOHSENI]; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement) [Mohammad Nabi MOHAMMADI]; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party) [Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction]; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) [Yunis KHALIS faction]; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party) [Mohammad Akbar AKBARI]; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan) [Abdul Rasul SAYYAF]; 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) [Abdul Karim KHALILI]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Afghan Mellat Party(Afghan Social Democratic Party) [leader Shams Ul Huda Shams) presently based in Peshawar Pakistan.; Peshawar, Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA [Ishaq GAILANI]; tribal elders represent traditional Pashtun leadership; Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [A. Rasul AMIN]
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?, OPCW?, UN, UNCTAD?, UNESCO, UNIDO?, UPU, WFTU?, WHO, WMO, WToO?
Diplomatic representation in the US: note: embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997 chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3770 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3516 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation: the only embassy in Kabul is the Chechen? (rebel) embassy.
Flag description: 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 or a white flag with the shahada, see http://fotw.digibel.be/flags/af.html
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