AfghanistanDefinition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary Jump to: navigation, search Wikipedia has an article on: AfghanistanProper nounAfghanistan
Related termsFrom Wiktionary under the GNU Free Documentation License. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south-central Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. In addition; India claims a border with Afghanistan at the eastern Wakhan corridor as part of its claim on the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Kashmir currently controlled by Pakistan. The territories now comprising Afghanistan have been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. The land is at an important geostrategic location, connecting East, South, West and Central Asia, and has been home to various peoples through the ages. The region has been a target of various invaders since antiquity, including Alexander the Great, the Mauryan Empire, Muslim armies, and Genghis Khan, and has served as a source from which many kingdoms, such as the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Timurids, and many others have risen to form empires of their own. The political history of modern Afghanistan begins in the 18th century with the rise of the Pashtun tribes (known as Afghans in Persian language), when in 1709 the Hotaki dynasty established its rule in Kandahar and, more specifically, when Ahmad Shah Durrani created the Durrani Empire in 1747 which became the forerunner of modern Afghanistan. Its capital was shifted in 1776 from Kandahar to Kabul and most of its territories ceded to neighboring empires by 1893. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in "The Great Game" between the British and Russian empires. On August 19, 1919, following the third Anglo-Afghan war, the nation regained controlled over its foreign affairs from the British. Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has experienced a continuous state of civil war punctuated by US secret operation in 1979 and following 6 months later occupations in the forms of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the October 2001 US-led invasion that overthrew the Taliban government. In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help maintain security and assist the Karzai administration. The country is being rebuilt slowly with support from the international community and dealing with Taliban insurgency. Origin of the nameThe first of the name, "Afghan", is, at least since the 16th century AD, the Persian alternative name for the Pashtuns who are the founders and the largest ethnic group of the country. According to W. K. Frazier Tyler, M. C. Gillet and several other scholars "the word Afghan first appears in history in the Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam in 982 AD." Al-Biruni referred to Afghans as various tribes living on the western frontier mountains of the Indus River, which would be the Sulaiman Mountains. The famous Moroccan travelling scholar, Ibn Battuta, visiting Kabul in 1333 writes: We travelled on to Kabul, formerly a vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of Persians called Afghans. However, it is unknown whether these historical Afghans were identical with the Pashtuns. Summarizing the available information, the Encyclopædia Iranica states: From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afghān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paštō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paštūn. The equation [of] Afghan [and] Paštūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paštūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically. It further explains: The term "Afghān" has probably designated the Paštūn since ancient times. Under the form Avagānā, this ethnic group is first mentioned by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in the beginning of the 6th century CE in his Brihat-samhita. By the 17th century AD, it seems that some Pashtuns themselves began using the term as an ethnonym - a fact that is supported by traditional Pashto literature, for example, in the writings of the 17th-century Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak: Pull out your sword and slay any one, that says Pashtun and Afghan are not one! Arabs know this and so do Romans: Afghans are Pashtuns, Pashtuns are Afghans! The last part of the name, -stān is an ancient Iranian languages suffix for "place", prominent in many languages of the region. The term "Afghanistan", meaning the "Land of Afghans", was mentioned by the 16th century Mughal Emperor Babur in his memoirs, referring to the territories south of Kabul that were inhabited by Pashtuns (called "Afghans" by Babur). Until the 19th century the name was only used for the traditional lands of the Pashtuns, while the kingdom as a whole was known as the Kingdom of Kabul, as mentioned by the British statesman and historian Mountstuart Elphinstone. Other parts of the country were at certain periods recognized as independent kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Balkh in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. With the expansion and centralization of the country, Afghan authorities adopted and extended the name "Afghanistan" to the entire kingdom, after its English translation had already appeared in various treaties between the British Raj and Qajarid Persia, referring to the lands subject to the Pashtun Barakzai Dynasty of Kabul. "Afghanistan" as the name for the entire kingdom was mentioned in 1857 by Friedrich Engels. It became the official internationally recognized name in 1919 after the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed to regain full independence over its foreign affairs from the British, and was confirmed as such in the nation's 1923 constitution. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License GlobalPost report: Scandal sparks rush on top bank | Dispatches ...
Jean MacKenzie Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:47:52 GM KABUL, . Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai has tried to reassure his worried countrymen that their deposits in the troubled Kabul Bank are safe, blaming any panic on the Western media. The Western press is printing out our decisions ... From Google Blog Search: "Afghanistan" Raw Video: Marines Fight Taliban in
Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:39:11 PDT Missiles, machine guns and strafing runs from fighter jets destroyed much of a Taliban compound, but the insurgents had a final surprise for a ... youtube.com. "Krieg" in - Guttenberg rechnet mit weiteren Opfern
Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:19:44 PDT 43 getoetete Bundeswehrsoldaten - Verteidigungsminister zu Guttenberg rechnet mit weiteren Opfern und ruettelt die deutsche Bevoelkerung wach ... n24.de. The New American Century .mpg
Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:16:03 PDT the creation of a pipeline through Afghanistan and how their exact needs were fulfilled through the US invasion of Afghanistan. This film shows ... video.google.com. From Google Video Search: "Afghanistan" See also:
War heroes 'to be forced out of armed forces' - Telegraph.co.uk
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:31:25 GMT+00:00 Telegraph.co.uk Soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be forced out of the armed forces with some receiving one-off payments of as little as 6000, it has emerged ... UK charities struggle to cope with wounded soldiers Independent Catholic News UK's Wounded War Vets Axed myfoxny.com The Crisis in Afghanistan - TIME (blog)
Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:41:45 GMT+00:00 TIME (blog) Here's what to watch for now: The Administration wants to keep Afghanistan on the back burner for the next two months, until after the election. ... Afghan candidate wounded in grenade attack - The Associated Press
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:03:58 GMT+00:00 The Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan A candidate in this month's Afghan parliamentary elections was wounded in a grenade attack amid growing political violence and ... Afghan parliamentary candidate wounded CNN From Google News Search: "Afghanistan" Afghanistan Jews Picture
372px x 437px | 42.00kB [source page] Iran Lebanon and Asia China India Afghanistan Teimanim Jews from Yemen Maghrebim Jews from parts of North Africa and North West Africa Afghanistan
480px x 320px | 74.10kB [source page] door Pakistaanse en Saoedische militaire steun een grootschalige interventie in Afghanistan aan de kant van de ontzette landheren reactionaire stamhoofden mullahs en opiumsmokkelaars Een hoge functionaris binnen de regering was Hafizulla Amin door velen ervan verdacht door de CIA gerekruteerd te zijn tijdens de jaren die hij als student in de Verenigde staten spendeerde Afghanistan 1 jpg
508px x 700px | 135.10kB [source page] Royal marines enter the battle zone report by Iain Ballantyne Mike Barlow Additional material by Dave Billinge and AFPS reporters Above Royal Marines under training before their deployment to Afghanistan Photo Royal Navy Below The men of 42 Commando Royal Marines board a Chinook helicopter From Yahoo Image Search: "Afghanistan" How much postage do I need to send a letter to Afghanistan? Q. I am sending a letter to a friend serving in Afghanistan and was wondering how much postage I need? It is just a letter. I'm not sure how much it weighs (probably only a few ounces) about how much will I need and about how much will it cost? Asked by Christine M - Tue Sep 16 12:37:08 2008 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments A. Here's some good news: It won't cost more than if you'd sent a letter to a friend in Florida or California. One stamp should do it! What happens is that the postal service will send it to the appropriate Fleet or Army post office (hence the APO or FPO in big capital letters somewhere near the end of your friend's address), those are inside the country, so you don't have to pay wacky international rates. Once the military has it, they take care of the rest! Answered by boreduninspired - Tue Sep 16 13:11:36 2008 How much would a paratrooper in the British army serving in Afghanistan be paid while on tour? Q. How much would a paratrooper(private rank) in the British army serving in Afghanistan be paid after while on tour? Asked by Dean H - Wed Apr 1 13:44:02 2009 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments A. Private, Pay Level 1 is 1,352 PCM... Plus any allowances ect, but really not much more than light role, mech on PL1 ect Answered by Santa In Your Panties - Thu Apr 2 13:09:32 2009 Have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq contibuted globally to the refugee problem?
Q. I was against Iraq but for Afghanistan, and while the news in Britain constantly details about how many Soldiers have been killed it never seems to touch on how many civilians have been killed/displaced. What I wonder is, we have always been very accepting to political refugees in this country, but have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed to the overall problem of refugees globally? If a family from Iraq/Afghanistan move to Britain, would we be shirking our responsibilities if we didn't house them? Asked by Benjamin Barton for MP - Mon Mar 8 12:04:59 2010 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments A. Most refugees tend to be internally displaced and those that do flee the carnage to another country tend to end up in neighbouring countries. In Afghanistan at the moment the situation is that people are starting to return to their homes. Very few actually leave the locality entirely either because they want to go home or that they are simply unable to get out. When I worked in Afghanistan many refugees fled to other parts of that country or into Pakistan to the areas around Peshawar. While it's true that some Afghans and Iraqi's have managed to get into Europe, including the UK, most stay where they are. Answered by Wolfie - Mon Mar 8 12:17:27 2010 From Yahoo Answer Search: "Afghanistan" AfghanistanFrom Wikiquote Jump to: navigation, searchAfghanistan is a country in Asia. Sourced
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Taliban
Eyewitness Accounts of Taliban Massacre in Yakaolang




