The nine year war that ravaged the country up to 1988 was a direct result of the "Cold War" superpower rivalry between the Soviet Union and the USA. In the period up to the Taliban taking control in 1996 there was intense internal ethnic conflict. Most recently the conflict continues between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, which controls between 10% and 15 % of the country's north-east. The legal, political and social intentions of the Taliban were to return the entire population of Afghanistan to distant centuries. These retrograde steps, where possible, were resisted by the majority of the population who were conventional Muslims and had a strong dislike of the Muslim fundamentalism being forced upon them. This situation particularly applied to the Hazara Shiite Muslims who made up a minority in a predominantly Sunni Muslim country.
The recent history of Afghanistan is a tragic one. It is a country full of victims and refugees. People began to leave their homelands because a desperate situation required a desperate response. The people had seen their homeland reduced to rubble and anarchy.
"If all the Americans and their allies (did )... (was) to smash the Taliban, destroy bin Laden's terrorist network and then promptly forget about (Afghanistan) all over again, then they won't have achieved very much that's serious or worthwhile".(Source: John Simpson, "Afghanistan: The age of darkness", Foreign Correspondent, ABC TV 10/10/01)
Note: John Simpson is the BBC's international editor who has been reporting from Afghanistan for twelve years. In the highlighted program he presented a heart rending personal portrait of a desperate country. He showed how the leaders remained defiant even after the bombing attacks. He expressed considerable fear that more superpower foreign meddling, this time from the USA, like that which occurred when the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, would just prolong the people's misery unless there was real international efforts to assist Afghanistan after the war.
The bombing of Afghanistan and the resulting refugee crisis had an impact on all neighbouring countries but the greatest impact was experienced in Pakistan. It is worth considering some of the characteristics of this country and its links with Afghanistan.
 |  |
| The impact on Aziz and Muhammad (from Kabul) | Mother and child in Jalozai |
| Credit: Mathias Heng - Caritas | Credit: L. Boscardi - UNHCR |
Like Afghanistan, Pakistan is steeped in a rich, colourful and at times violent history. Today it is a complex amalgamation of culture, tradition and innovation. In most of the cities of Pakistan old and new worlds collide in streets, marketplaces and public domains. Internet cafes can be seen alongside century old mosques. With a population of well over 140 million Pakistan is one of the world's most populous countries and 97% of its population are Muslims. Its extremely high rate of population growth (2.8%) is caused by a falling death rate and a continuing high birth rate (up to an average of 6 children born to women during their lifetime). It is one of the few countries in the world with an inverse sex ratio - official statistics show that there are 111 men for every 100 women. Pakistan's GNP per capita (US$500 in 1997) is ten times as large as when the nation was first established in 1947, but is hindered by its high population growth rate. Governments have traditionally prioritised economic growth above investment in people and development. Economic strength and stability is made difficult by high unemployment and the fact that 35% of the population live in poverty. Pakistan, like many of its neighbouring South Asian and Middle Eastern countries has been through regular periods of political upheaval and social change. Since independence, martial law or the rule of a military general, has been declared numerous times culminating in 27 years of non-democratic rule. In 2001 Pakistan's President was a military leader, General Pervez Musharraf. The years of fighting in Afghanistan (almost continuous since 1979) had brought the following to Pakistan:
Pakistan was the main country that supported the rise of the Taliban (the name derives from the Arabic for "student") in Afghanistan. During the 1980's and 1990's it provided a secure home for groups of militant Islamic students. Children of Afghan refugees were educated in religious schools (madrassas) in the provinces of North-West Frontier and Baluchistan, bordering on Afghanistan. Pakistan also provided the battle plans, guns, training and transport that the Taliban used to conquer Afghanistan in the mid 1990's. Many of Pakistan's Muslims, particularly those who were followers of a fundamentalist and militant form of Islam, supported the extremist Islamic group, al-Qáida headed by Osama bin Laden. Many in Pakistan also had other motives in supporting Afghanistan and in particular its ruling group the Taliban. These included the:
Firstly, Afghanistan was an excellent place to recruit and train mujahideen to fight Indian rule in Kashmir which is largely Muslim in its religious adherence. The occupation of much of Kashmir by India had angered Pakistanis for decades, since their country became an independent state in 1947 (see Heinemann Atlas Third Edition and Heinemann eAtlas page 132 "South Asia - Kashmir region")
Secondly, Afghanistan is also Pakistan's land-bridge to the five "Stans" - the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Pakistan believed that if there was greater stability in Afghanistan (achieved by supporting the Taliban who had brought some "peace" to Afghanistan after the continuous civil war between 1988 and 1996) then it could gain access to the resources of Central Asia. In particular pipelines could deliver natural gas to South Asia, and the outside world, from the gas-rich country of Turkmenistan and oil from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (see Heinemann Atlas Third Edition and Heinemann eAtlas page 210 "World Economic activity")
Thirdly, Pakistan was interested in enhancing its links with the Muslim populations in the "Stans" on Afghanistan's northern border and Iran on Afghanistan's western border. In all of these countries the Muslim population is more than 70% of the total population and in some cases it is much higher - for example,
For the Afghani people to leave their homes and become refugees, and in the case of millions, to abandon their country, was a very difficult decision. Sometimes the decision was made quickly because of the immediate threat to life. Often the decision was made after a period of agonising appraisal, economic hardship and extended periods of injustice and threats to personal safety. All of the Afghanis who became refugees were convinced that a move to another part of their homeland or to a another country was their only chance of survival.
Even though the bombing of October 2001 created an immediate factor, in the years before this date there were a group of other factors which were having a major impact on millions of Afghanis. They included:
Economic (human deprivation that interacted with other circumstances to heighten social instability and aggravate conflicts)
"Even the poorest Afghan farmer (had) five to 10 kg of opium. Wealthy families may have as much as 40 kg," says UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Bernard Frahi...the decree that saw Afghanistan output drop from 4,500 tonnes in 1999, or 75 per cent of the world's supply, to virtually zero (in 2001 was) unlikely to last...and even if it did hold out, the opium banks (kept) supplies flowing as people... (knew) no better way of insuring against an uncertain future..."(Source: John Zubrzycki, "Opium banks the Wall St of Afghanistan", The Australian, 15/10/01, page 8.
Environmental (natural hazards, disasters and hazards created when people destroyed the natural environment)
"...it (is) all the more difficult to understand why the US (used) cluster bombs which make no serious pretence at precision. A cluster bomb releases 200 mini-bombs well above the intended target. These bomblets then drift down on small parachutes, becoming scattered over a wide area in the process. Not all the bomblets explode on impact with the ground, but they will readily detonate if touched. As a result, just like the landmines, cluster bombs leave a terrible legacy for future generations. After a cluster bomb scattered unexploded canisters around a village near Heart in western Afghanistan on 23/10/01, UN mine clearance experts asked for technical advice from the Pentagon on how to deal with the problem. With millions of mines still posing a threat from more than two decades of war in Afghanistan, the best solution (was) not to add to the problem by using cluster bombs anywhere near a village."(Source: Brian Toohey, "US strategy in Afghanistan may have missed its target", The Australian Financial Review Weekend, 27-28/10/01, page 28.)
Ethnic (tensions between different ethnic groups)
Human - rights violations
Persecution based on beliefs (religion or political opinion)
Persecution based on race or membership of a particular social group
Political (civil war and armed conflict with invading forces from neighbouring countries)
"The blowing apart of these facilities...had almost no bearing on the destruction of (Bin Laden and) al-Qáida, but (was) most effective at increasing the flood of refugees trying to escape Afghanistan".(Source: Brian Toohey, "US strategy in Afghanistan may have missed its target", The Australian Financial Review Weekend, 27-28/10/01, page 28.)
