Middle East Crisis – Afghanistan
- Before knowing about Afghanistan crisis, it is very important for us to know about Afghanistan.
- It is a land surrounded by land on all sides.
- The Hindukush hills in its mainland and the desert in the southern part.
- There is less fertile land here.
- The population here is 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik and some part Uzbek, Hazara etc.
- Founder of Afghanistan – Ahmed Shah Abdali
- The boundary line between Afghanistan and Pakistan (established in Hindu Kush) is called Durand Rekha.
Afghanistan Crisis – Soviet Invasion (1979 – 89)
- In 1978, the government of Dawood Khan of Afghanistan is toppled by the Communist Party of Afghanistan (PDPA – PEOPLE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF AFGANISTAN).
- The PDPA party initiated land reforms in Afghanistan, setting a ceiling on land, and taking land from anyone who had land in excess of the prescribed limit was given to the person who had less land.
- This decision of land reform was opposed there. People started jihad against the government.
- Since then the Afghanistan crisis begins.
Afghanistan Crisis - Invasion
- When this opposition grew too much, then the Communist Party of Afghanistan sought help from the Soviet Union (at that time it was also ruled by the Communist Party).
- The Soviet Union sent its army to Afghanistan on 24 December 1979.The Taliban supported the Al Qaeda (terrorist organization) headed by Osama bin Laden.
- In 1998 the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were attacked. The US held Al Qaeda responsible for these attacks and the US launched Operation Infinite Reach against Al Qaeda. In which missiles were attacked on Afghanistan.
- After the 9/11 attacks, when the US military launched Operation Enduring Freedom to take action against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, it resulted in the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan in December 2001.
- And the Afghanistan crisis 1979-89 ended.
