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Naseerullah Babar

Naseerullah Babar

General Naseerullah Babar is a former Pakistan army general. He was the interior minister during the Benazir Bhutto regime from 1993-1996. It is believed that General Naseerullah Babar was one of the major proponents of backing what eventually became the Taliban. This support was not driven by any religious feelings since General Babar was a secular man, but by a desire to influence the future of Afghanistan, and to provide some stability on Pakistan's Western border. General Babar was also involved in a crackdown on some die-hard activists of the MQM who were involved in terrorism. This operation was successful due to its specific goals, and brought relative peace in Karachi. General Babar was also a supporter of Benazir's father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and famously threw away his army medals when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. Category:Pakistani people

Interior minister

An interior minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. In some countries, matters relating to the maintenance of law and order and the administration of justice are the responsibility of a separate justice minister. In countries with a federal constitution, an interior minister will often be found at both the federal and state levels. Similarly, autonomous entities and dependent territories may also have interior ministers; an example is Hong Kong (a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China), which has a Secretary for Security. The United States Secretary of the Interior is primary concerned with managing lands owned by the federal government, mainly the administration of natural resources such as parks and wildlife. National security is the responsibility of the US Secretary of Homeland Security, while the US Attorney General is responsible for federal law enforcement.

Benazir Bhutto

2004.]] Benazir Bhutto (Born 21 June 1953 in Karachi) became the first woman to lead a Muslim country in modern times when she was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, only to be deposed 20 months later by the President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan using the 8th Amendment to dissolve the parliament and allowing for re-elections within 90 days. She was re-elected in 1993 but was dismissed three years later amid various corruption scandals by the then President of Pakistan Farooq Leghari again using his discretionary powers under the 8th Amendment. Some of these scandals involve contracts awarded to Swiss companies during her regime. She was convicted by a Swiss court and has filed a petition on the decision which remain unresolved. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, has been implicated as well, and remained in jail until November 2004.

Early years

Benazir Bhutto - the eldest child of former Pakistani premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, son of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto (an ethnic Sindhi) and Begum Nusrat Bhutto (who was of Kurdish-Iranian origin), was born in June 21, 1953 in Karachi. Bhutto attended Lady Jennings Nursery School and then the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. After two years of schooling at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she was sent to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. She passed her O-level examination at the age of 15. In April 1969, she received admission to Harvard University's Radcliffe College. In June 1973, Benazir graduated from Harvard University with a degree in political science. After graduating from Harvard, Benazir joined Oxford University in the fall of 1973. Just before graduation, Benazir was elected to the standing committee of the prestigious Oxford Union Debating Society. In 1976, she graduated with a masters degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. In the autumn of 1976, Benazir returned once again to Oxford to do a one-year postgraduate course. In January 1977, she was elected president of the Oxford Union.

Imprisonment, elections and exile

After graduating, she returned to Pakistan, but in the course of her father's imprisonment and execution, she was placed under house arrest. Having been allowed in 1984, to go back to the UK, she was leader in exile of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), her father's party, but was unable to make her political presence felt in Pakistan until the death of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Then in the first open election in more than a decade, on November 16, 1988, Benazir's PPP won the single largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of a coalition government on December 2, becoming the youngest (35 years old) and first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state in modern times. After being dismissed by the then President of Pakistan under charges of corruption, her party lost the elections held in October 1990. She served as the leader of the opposition while Nawaz Sharif became PM for the next 3 years. Again in October 1993 elections were held which were won by the PPP coalition, thus returning Bhutto back into office till 1996 when once again her government was dismissed on corruption charges. Bhutto has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999 when she left Pakistan to avoid arrest in a corruption case.

Charges of corruption

She is charged in many corruption cases in Pakistan. Most Pakistanies believe these charges are politicaly motivated, she is also charged with laundaring state owned money in Swiss banks by bogus companies. She is currently on trial by a Swiss court. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent seven years in prison even though he wasn't convictedd of a crime, he was kept in solitary confinement and claims to have been tortured. Human rights groups have agreed that Zardari's rights have been violated. Former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif has recently apologized for his involvement in the prolonged imprisonment of Zardari and the filing of false cases against Bhutto. As a result all convictions have been dropped and cases set for a re-trial. Zardari was released in November 2004 [http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=99541®ion=2]. It is alleged that they stole hundreds of millions of dollars by demanding 'commissions' on all types of government contracts and other dealings.

Afghanistan policy

It was during Bhutto's rule that the Taliban gained prominence in Afghanistan whether or not with the assistance of her government is still unclear. She and her government have said that they only provided moral support and nothing more. The Taliban took power in Kabul in September 1996 and Bhutto's government became one of three nations to recognize it (The other two being Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates).

Policies for women

Despite many allegations of inept governance and corruption, Ms Bhutto gave importance to women while in power. Social issues of women, health and discrimination against women were all given importance. She aimed to set up women's police stations, courts and women's development banks. These policies have been continued in letter and spirit by the Musharraf government.

Current scenario

In 2002 Pakistan's current President, Pervez Musharraf introduced a new amendment to Pakistan's constitution, banning Prime Ministers from serving more than two terms. This disqualifies Bhutto from ever holding the office again, and some said it was largely implemented due to the President desire to exclude previously failed leaders from future politics. Bhutto is currently (as of September 2004) based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she cares for her children and her mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and from where she travels around the world giving lectures and keeping in touch with the Party faithful. Benazir and her three children (Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa) were reunited with her husband and their father in December 2004 after a period of more than five years.

Books by Ms Bhutto

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External links

- [http://www.ppp.org.pk/index.html Pakistan Peoples Party website]
- [http://pakistanspace.tripod.com/47.htm Chronicles of Pakistan]
- [http://www.benazirbhutto.net/ Benazir Bhutto website]
- [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FK03Df03.html Benazir Bhutto on Al-Qaeda]
- [http://www.sindhtoday.net/interview_mbb.htm Personal side]
- [http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Pakistan+%26+Sub-Continent&month=November2005&file=World_News2005112924136.xml Legal woes worsen]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4032997.stm Asif Zardari Profile] http://www.famousmuslims.com/benazir%20bhutto.htm Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Category:Pakistani people Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Category:Kurdish people

Taliban

The Taliban (Persian and Pashto طالبان (plural), from the Arabic طالب (singular), meaning "seeker" or "student"), also transliterated as Taleban, is an Islamist and Pashtun nationalist movement which effectively ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, despite having diplomatic recognition from only three countries: the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. The most influential members, including Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the movement, were simple village ulema (Islamic religious scholars). The Taliban movement derived mainly from Pashtuns of Afghanistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, but also included many non-Afghan volunteers from the Arab world, as well as Eurasia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. In Winston Churchill's story of the Malakand Field Force (1897) the 'Taliwan', a warlike group of tribes on the North-West Frontier are mentioned.

Rise to power

After the fall of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, Afghanistan was thrown into civil war between competing warlords. The Taliban eventually emerged as a force capable of bringing order to the country. The rise of the Taliban helped the economy by eliminating the payments that warlords demanded from business people; it brought political benefits by reducing factional fighting (although the Taliban fought aggressively against its enemies, its relative hegemony reduced the number of factions) and brought relative stability by imposing a set of norms on a chaotic society. Although the radical ideology of the Taliban would later alienate many, several observers initially considered its emergence as a positive development. warlord Taliban legend has it that in the spring of 1994, upon hearing of the abduction and rape of two girls at a mujahideen checkpoint in the village of Sang Hesar near Kandahar, local mullah Mohammed Omar, a veteran of the Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami faction of the mujahideen, gathered thirty other taliban into a fighting force, rescued the girls and hanged the commander of the mujahideen. After this incident, Taliban legend goes, the services of these pious religious fighters were in much demand from villagers plagued by unruly mujahideen, and thus the Taliban were born. (Note: This is legend. The Taliban were already making international news in such papers as the Irish Times as early as first quarter 1990. The part about Omar's involvement may be true, but not about it causing the rise of the Taliban movement as a whole.) Following this incident, Omar fled to the neighboring Balochistan province of Pakistan, from where he emerged in the fall of 1994, reportedly with a well-armed and well-funded militia of 1,500 followers, who would provide protection for a Pakistani trade convoy carrying goods overland to Turkmenistan. However, many reports suggest that the convoy was in fact full of Pakistani fighters posing as Taliban, and that the Taliban had gained considerable arms, military training, and economic aid from the Pakistanis. Some claim that support also came from the U.S., which would have preferred a Pakistan-installed government over the Russian-backed Northern Alliance. After gaining power in and around Kandahar through a combination of military and diplomatic victories, the Taliban attacked, and eventually defeated, the forces of Ismail Khan in the west of the country, capturing Herat from him on September 5, 1995. That winter, the Taliban laid siege to the capital city Kabul, firing rockets into the city and blockading trade routes. In March, the Taliban's opponents, Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ceased fighting one another and formed a new anti-Taliban alliance. But on September 26, 1996 they quit the city of Kabul and retreated north, allowing the Taliban to capture the seat of government and establish the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

On May 20, 1997, brother Generals Abdul Malik Pehlawan and Mohammed Pehlawan mutinied from under Uzbek warlord Rashid Dostum's command and formed an alliance with the Taliban. Three days later, Dostum abandoned much of his army and fled from his base in Mazar-i-Sharif into Uzbekistan. On May 25, Taliban forces, along with those of the mutinous generals, entered the undefended Mazar-i-Sharif. That same day, Pakistan recognised the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, followed by recognition from Saudi Arabia the following day. However, on May 27, fierce street battles broke out between the Taliban and Malik's forces. The Taliban, unused to urban warfare, were soundly defeated, with thousands losing their lives either in battle or in mass executions afterward. Nearly fifteen months passed before the Taliban re-captured Mazar-i-Sharif on August 8, 1998. On August 20, 1998, US President Bill Clinton ordered the United States Navy to fire cruise missiles on four sites in Afghanistan, all near Khost (and one in Sudan), which the U.S. claimed were terrorist training camps. This was known as Operation Infinite Reach. The sites included one run by Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, who allegedly directed the August 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa. Three other villages, whose legitimacy as targets was strongly disputed by many sources, were also struck. At its height, the Emirate was diplomatically recognised by Pakistan, by the United Arab Emirates and by Saudi Arabia. It then controlled all of Afghanistan, apart from small regions in the northeast which were held by the Northern Alliance. Most of the rest of the world, and the United Nations continued to recognize Rabbani as Afghanistan's legal Head of State, although it was generally understood that he had no real influence in the country. The Taliban received logistical and humanitarian support from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). An estimated $2 million came each year from Saudi Arabia's major charity, funding two universities and six health clinics and supporting 4,000 orphans. The Saudi King Fahd sent an annual shipment of dates as a gift. The relationship with Iran was considered poor due to the Taliban's strong anti-Shia policy.

Culture

In the languages spoken in Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan, (Persian and Pushtu), Taliban means those who study the book (referring to the Qur'an). It is derived from the Arabic word for seeker or student, talib. The Taliban belong to the Deobandi movement, a Sunni Islam movement which emphasizes piety, austerity, and the family obligations of men. They emerged from the ethnically Pashtun areas of Afghanistan. Many of Taliban grew up in refugee camps in Pakistan.

Life under Taliban rule

Islamic law

Once in power, the Taliban instituted a form of Sharia (Islamic law). The Taliban's reform of government was in part directed by scholars of Islamic law. Among the laws applied were criminal punishments, administered by a religious police force, including amputation of one or both hands for theft and stoning for adultery. The Taliban banned all forms of television, imagery, music and sports. In response to this ban the IOC suspended Afghanistan from participation in the 2000 Summer Olympics. Wearing white shoes - the color of the Taliban flag - was illegal and men were required to keep their beards at a specified length.

Opium trade

Although the Taliban reportedly banned opium poppy cultivation in late 1997, opium production in Afghanistan may have increased through the year 2000, accounting for 72% of the world's illicit opium supply, according to U.S. government sources. Most Afghan opium is sold in Europe and not the United States. On July 27, 2000, the Taliban again issued a decree banning opium poppy cultivation. The announcement of the ban caused prices to rise from $30 per kilogram to $500 per kilogram. There was comment from the international human rights community on the brutality of the Taliban's anti-drug interdictions, including violent punishment of offenders. The U.S. State Department noted in 2001 that "Neither the Taliban nor the Northern Alliance has taken any significant action to seize stored opium, precursor chemicals or arrest and prosecute narcotics traffickers. On the contrary, authorities were said to continue to tax the opium poppy crop at about ten percent, and allow it to be sold in open bazaars, traded and transported." However, the Taliban had succeeded in cutting annual poppy production from a CIA-estimated 4,042 tons per year to only 81.3 tons per year. In 2001 The United States provided $43 million worth of supplies (primarily wheat) to humanitarian relief organizations for distribution to the people of Afghanistan, while continuing to criticise the Taliban's activities. This was widely reported by critics of U. S. policy (such as Robert Scheer) to be a $43 million reward to the Taliban for reducing poppy production. The Taliban subsequently raided the shipments, but no evidence has been offered to indicate that this was the United States' intention. Poppy production increased with the fall of the Taliban government.

Women

Robert Scheer on September 26, 2001. Photograph taken from footage [http://www.rawa.us/movies/beating.mpg here] filmed by the Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan (RAWA). [http://www.rawa.org] ]] The Taliban limited the right of women to work in public places. However, women had the right to work and set up their own business from their houses and work in certain medical positions. Women were permitted to work unless they had a baby in which then work was forbidden in order to stay home and treat their new born or children. The Taliban believed women should stay home in order that their children did not have to grow up in the care of another, and believed that work is the duty of the male in the house and to reject this duty was haraam. Taliban religion minister, Al-Haj Maulwi Qalamuddin, told the New York Times that "To a country on fire, the world wants to give a match. Why is there such concern about women? Bread costs too much. There is no work. Even boys are not going to school. And yet all I hear about are women. Where was the world when men here were violating any woman they wanted?" Although the Taliban claimed that the education of girls in rural Afghanistan was increasing, a UNESCO report alleged that there was "a whopping 65 per cent drop in their enrollment. In schools run by the Directorate of Education, only 1 per cent of the pupils are girls. The percentage of female teachers, too, has slid from 59.2 per cent in 1990 to 13.5 per cent in 1999." A Taliban spokesperson claimed that "Health facilities for women have increased 200% during Taliban administration. Prior to the Taliban Islamic Movement's taking control of Kabul, there were 350 beds in all hospitals in Kabul. Currently, there are more than 950 beds for women in exclusive women's hospitals." Supporters of the Taliban suggested that the depression and the other problems plaguing Afghani women were the result of dire poverty, years of war, the bad economy, and the fact that many were left war widows, and could no longer provide food for their families without some sort of international aid. Women were also obliged to wear the burqa when appearing in public, and failure to do so could attract a public beating [http://www.rawa.us/movies/beating.mpg] (video). The Taliban stated that women were obliged to wear the burqa due to Islamic teachings which state that women must cover up her body in front of non-mahram men, and that both men and women should dress modestly.

Buddhas of Bamiyan

In March 2001, the Taliban ordered the demolition of two statues of Buddha carved into cliffsides at Bamiyan, one 38 metres tall and about 1800 years old, the other 53 metres tall and about 1500 years old. The act was condemned by UNESCO and many countries around the world, including Iran. The intentions of the destruction remain unclear. Mullah Omar initially supported the preservation of Afghanistan's heritage, and Japan offered to pay for its preservation. After a few years a decree was issued claiming all idols must be destroyed. Locals claim that Pakistani engineers were onsite to help in its destruction and that Afghanistan's treasures were ferried across the border to be plundered by private collectors.

Relationship with Osama bin Laden

In 1996, Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan upon the invitation of the Northern Alliance leader Abdur Rabb ur Rasool Sayyaf. When the Taliban came to power, bin Laden was able to forge an alliance between the Taliban and his Al-Qaeda organization. It is understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the 055 Brigade were integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001. The generally accepted view in the West is that the Taliban and bin Laden had very close connections.

U.S. invasion

On September 22, 2001, as the U.S. blamed Osama bin Laden and his hosts, the Taliban, for the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United Arab Emirates and later Saudi Arabia withdrew their recognition of the Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboring Pakistan as the only remaining country with diplomatic ties. When threatened with retributive attack by the U.S. for harboring al-Qaeda, the Taliban government offered to judge Osama bin Laden in an Islamic court, and later, to hand him over to a neutral country for a war crimes trial. These offers were rejected by the United States, which instead offered an ultimatum[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/] demanding, among other things, the handover of all al-Qaeda leaders and the closure and inspection of all "terrorist training camp[s]". Shortly afterward, the United States, aided by the United Kingdom and supported by a coalition of other countries including the NATO alliance, initiated military action against the Taliban. The stated intent was to remove the Taliban from power because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden for his involvement in the September 11 attacks, and in retaliation for the Taliban's aid to him. The ground war was mainly fought by the Northern Alliance, the remaining elements of the anti-Taliban forces which the Taliban had routed over the previous years. Mazar-i-Sharif fell to U.S.-Northern Alliance forces on November 9, leading to a cascade of provinces falling with minimal resistance, and many local forces switching loyalties from the Taliban to the Northern Alliance. On the night of November 12, the Taliban retreated south in an orderly fashion from Kabul. On November 15, they released eight Western aid workers after three months in captivity (see Attacks on humanitarian workers). The UN Security Council, on January 16, 2002, unanimously established an arms embargo and the freezing of identifiable assets belonging to bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining Taliban. The Taliban later retreated from Kandahar, and regrouped in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Most post-invasion Taliban fighters are new recruits, drawn again from that region's madrassahs (madrassah means "school" in Arabic). The more traditional Qur'anic schools are claimed by the U.S. to be the primary source of the new fighters.

External links

- [http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=228 The Role of U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the Rise of Afghan Fundamentalism]
- [http://english.pravda.ru/columnists/2003/01/05/41643.html Endgame]
- [http://sydney.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=8468 Taliban's point of view]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4737657.stm An obituary of King Fahd.] Considers past and current financial supporters of mujahideen and the Taliban including the U.S. government, King Fahd and Osama bin Laden.
- [http://www.amirbutler.com/archives/2001/11/01/18 Amir Butler: Understanding the reasons for Taliban defiance]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1669996.stm Interview with two foreign Taliban fighters.] November 22, 2001.
- [http://www.beautifulislam.com/audio/misc/ram/npr-03212001.ram Afghani Roving Embassador on NPR's Talk of the Nation March 21, 2001, about women's treatment, statue destruction and other propaganda lies hurled towards the Talibans]
- [http://www.beautifulislam.com/taliban/afghani_embassador_usc.htm Afghani Embassador Speech at USC]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan(Pashtu/Dari-Persian: افغانستان, Afğānistān) is a country in Asia. It is in Central Asia, fringing upon South Asia and is sometimes allocated to one of these regions. It is also often considered part of the Middle East, due to its location on the Iranian plateau. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the easternmost part of the country. A part of the disputed Kashmir area claimed by India and Pakistan borders a small portion of the country. It has a population of 29 million people, and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Between the fall of the Taliban after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Loya jirga, Afghanistan was referred to by the Government of the United States as the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. Under its new constitution the country is now officially named the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Origin and history of the name

The region currently called Afghanistan has gone through a few name changes in its long history of 5000 years or so. One of the first ancient names, according to historians and scholars, was Ariana - the Greek pronunciation of the ancient Aryanam Vaeja or the Sanskrit "Aryavarta", Land of the Aryans. Today this Old-Persian, and Avestan expression is preserved in the name Iran and it is noted in the name of the Afghan national airline, Ariana Airlines, numerous Afghan owned companies throughout the world, Afghan sports teams, and a popular name for Afghan children, Aryan or Aryana. Many centuries later, Afghanistan evolved into part of Greater Khorasan, and hence was recognized with the name Khorasan (along with regions centered around Merv and Neishabur), which in Pahlavi means "The Eastern Land" (خاور زمین in Persian). (Dehkhoda, p8457) The current name of Afghanistan derives from the alternative name for the Pashtuns: Afghan [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_name_etymologies], being the founders of modern Afghanistan. There are a number of scholars who derive the tribal name Afghan from a people known in antiquity as Ashvakan (q.v.), in turn derived from ashva, "horse" (in reference to their equestrian nature). There are, however, some scholars that link the name "Afghan" to the Uzbeki version of the Turkish language (spoken in Northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), meaning "original". At any rate, given the fact that the Central Asians introduced the horse to the surrounding regions, including Afghanistan, there may be some validity to the claim. The remainder of the name originates from the Persian word stān (country or land). The English word Afghanland that appeared in various treaties between Pashtuns and the United Kingdom was adopted by the Afghans and became Afghanistan.

History

Main article: History of Afghanistan Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of Central Asia, has had a very turbulent history. Through the ages, the region today known as Afghanistan has been on the edge of a number of major empires, including the Persian Empire, the Mauryan Empire, the Kushan Empire, the Hindu Shahi kingdom, the British Empire and the Soviet Union, as well as the empires of Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. The Afghanistan nation-state as it is known today came into existence in 1746 under the Durrani Empire, but control was ceded to Britain until King Amanullah acceded to the throne in 1919 (see "The Great Game"). During the period of British intervention in Afghanistan, ethnic Pashtun territories were divided by the Durand Line, and would lead to strained relations between Afghanistan and British India, and later the new state of Pakistan, over what came to be known as the Pashtunistan debate. The historical rulers of Afghanistan belonged to the Abdali tribe of the ethnic Afghans, whose name was changed to Durrani upon the accession of Ahmad Shah. They belonged to the Saddozay segment of the Popalzay clan, or to the Mohammadzay segment of the Barakzay clan, of the ethnic Afghans. The Mohammadzay furnished the Saddozay kings frequently with top counsellors, who served occasionally as regents, identified with the epithet Mohammadzay. Since 1900, eleven rulers have been unseated through undemocratic means: in 1919 (assassination), 1929 (abdication), 1929 (execution), 1933 (assassination), 1973 (deposition), 1978 (execution), 1979 (execution), 1979 (execution), 1987 (removal), 1992 (overthrow), 1996 (overthrow) and 2001 (overthrow). The longest period of stability in Afghanistan was between 1933 and 1973, when the country was under the rule of King Zahir Shah. However, in 1973, Zahir's brother-in-law, Sardar Mohammed Daoud launched a bloodless coup. Daoud and his entire family were murdered in 1978 when the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan launched a coup and took over the government. Opposition against, and conflict within, the series of leftist governments that followed, was considerable. In August 1978 the American government commenced funding anti-government mujahideen forces; the Soviet Union invaded on December 24, 1979. Faced with mounting international pressure and losses of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers as a result of mujahideen opposition trained by the United States, Pakistan, and other foreign governments, the Soviets withdrew ten years later, in 1989. For more details, see Soviet war in Afghanistan. The Soviet withdrawal was seen as a clear Russian defeat in the West, which many claim to have been the sole objective behind their backing of the mujahideen - especially the United States wanting to "revenge" Russian damages caused during and after the Vietnam war. Having concluded a 'victory' over the USSR, the West stopped paying attention to the issue of Afghanistan. As the vast majority of the elite and intellectuals had either been systematically eliminated by the communists or escaped to take refuge abroad, a dangerous leadership vacuum came to existence. Fighting continued among the various mujahidin factions, eventually giving rise to a state of warlordism. The chaos and corruption involved in warlordism in turn spawned the rise of the Taliban in reaction. The most serious of this fighting occurred in 1994, when 10,000 people were killed from factions fighting in the Kabul area. Using this leadership vacuum, a few regional bedfellows like the Pakistani secret intelligence service (ISI), the regional mafia and a few Arab extremist groups that were looking for a safe operational hub joined forces and created the Taliban movement (Ahmad Rashid, 2000)[http://www.ahmedrashid.com/]. Backed by Pakistan and her strategic allies, the Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, and eventually seized power in 1996. The Taliban were able to capture 90% of the country, aside from Afghan Northern Alliance strongholds primarily in the northeast. The Taliban sought to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. The Taliban gave safe haven and assistance to individuals and organizations that engaged in terrorism, most notably Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda. The United States and allied military action in support of the opposition following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks forced the group's downfall. In late 2001, major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in Bonn, and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new government structure that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid Karzai as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) on December 2001. After a nationwide Loya Jirga in 2002, Karzai was elected President. On March 3 and March 25 2002, a series of earthquakes struck Afghanistan, with a loss of thousands of homes and over 1800 lives. Over 4000 more people were injured. The earthquakes occurred at Samangan Province (March 3) and Baghlan Province (March 25). The latter was the worse of the two, and caused most of the casualties. International authorities assisted the Afghan government in dealing with the situation. As the country continues to get its feet back on the ground, as of late 2005, it was struggling against extreme poverty, severe warlordism, a battered infrastructure, a huge number of land mines and other unexploded ordinance, as well as a sizeable illegal poppy and heroin trade. It was also subject to occasionally violent political jockeying as the nation's first elections were successfully held, and occasional acts of violence from a few remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban elements and the on-going military operations to root them out. See also: Afghanistan timeline, Invasions of Afghanistan

Politics

Main article: Politics of Afghanistan Afghanistan is currently led by president Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October of 2004. Before the election, Karzai led the country after having been hand-picked by the administration of United States' President Bush to head an interim government, after the fall of the Taliban. His current cabinet includes members of the Afghan Northern Alliance, and a mix from other regional and ethnic groups formed from the transitional government by the Loya jirga (grand council). Former monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah returned to the country, but was not reinstated as king, and only exercises limited ceremonial powers. Under the Bonn Agreement the Afghan Constitution Commission was established to consult with the public and formulate a draft constitution. The meeting of a constitutional loya jirga was held in December 2003, when a new constitution was adopted creating a presidential form of government with a bicameral legislature. Troops and intelligence agencies from the United States and a number of other countries are present, some to keep the peace, others assigned to hunt for remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda. A United Nations peacekeeping force called the International Security Assistance Force has been operating in Kabul since December 2001. NATO took control of this Force on August 11, 2003. Some of the country remains under the control of warlords. [http://www.newstatesman.com/200502070006] On March 27, 2003, Afghan deputy defense minister and powerful warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum created an office for the North Zone of Afghanistan and appointed officials to it, defying then-interim president Hamid Karzai's orders that there be no zones in Afghanistan. Eurocorps took over the responsibility for the NATO-led ISAF in Kabul August 9, 2004. National elections were held on October 9, 2004. Over 10 million Afghans were registered to vote. Most of the 17 candidates opposing Karzai boycotted the election, charging fraud; [http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1354517,00.html] an independent commission found evidence of fraud, but ruled that it did not affect the outcome of the poll. Karzai won 55.4% of the vote. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3977677.stm] He was inaugurated as president on December 7. It was the country's first national election since 1969, when parliamentary elections were last held. On September 18, 2005, parliamentary elections were held. see also: List of leaders of Afghanistan, List of Afghanistan Governors

Subdivisions

Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (velayat) which are further divided into districts. Main article: Provinces of Afghanistan Main article: Districts of Afghanistan The 34 provinces are:

Geography

Districts of Afghanistan Main article: Geography of Afghanistan Afghanistan is a mountainous country, with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point, at 7485 m (24,557 ft) above sea level, is Nowshak. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. Afghanistan has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The country is frequently subject to earthquakes. The major cities of Afghanistan are its capital Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Mazar-e Sharif and Kandahar. See also List of cities in Afghanistan, Places in Afghanistan.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Afghanistan Afghanistan is an extremely poor country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising, but most people only farm enough food to feed themselves. The economy has suffered greatly from the recent political and military unrest, while severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2001. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other problems exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. Inflation remains a serious problem. Following the US-led coalition war that led to the defeat of the Taliban in November 2001, many of the country's farmers have resorted to growing cash crops for export, instead of food for the sustenance of their people. A notable example of such a crop is the opium poppy (1,300 km² in 2004 according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), the cultivation of which has largely increased during the last decade: Afghanistan has become the first illicit opium producer in the world, before Burma (Myanmar), part of the so-called "Golden Triangle). International efforts to rebuild Afghanistan led to the formation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) as a result of the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, where $4.5 billion was collected for a trust fund to be administered by the World Bank Group. Priority areas for reconstruction include the construction of education, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links. Two-thirds of the population live on less than US$2 a day. The infant mortality rate is 166 per 1000 births.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Afghanistan The population of Afghanistan is divided into a large number of ethnic groups. Because a systematic census has not been held in the country recently, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are not available.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3717092.stm] Therefore most figures are approximations only. According to the CIA World FactBook (updated on 17 May 2005), the ethnic group distribution is as follows: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%. According to the CIA factbook, the official languages of Afghanistan are Persian (local name: Dari) 50% and Pashtu 35%. Other languages include Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%. Also a small number of ethnic minorities, primarily Sikhs and Hindus, speak Punjabi. Bilingualism is common. According to the CIA World Factbook (updated on 17 May 2005), religiously, Afghans are overwhelmingly Muslim (approximately 80% Sunni and 19% Shi'a). There are also Hindu and Sikh minorities. Afghanistan was once home to a many-centuries-old Jewish minority, numbering approximately 5,000 in 1948. Most Jewish families fled the country after the 1979 Soviet invasion, and only one individual remains today, Zablon Simintov. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39702-2005Jan26.html] With the fall of the Taliban a number of Sikhs have returned to the Ghazni, Nangarhar, Kandahar and Kabul Provinces of Afghanistan.

Constitution

Main article: Constitution of Afghanistan According to the 2004 constitution, Afghanistan is run by a president, who is elected by direct popular vote to a five-year term. The president may only serve two terms. A candidate for president must be at least forty years of age, a Muslim, and a citizen of Afghanistan. The country has two vice-presidents. The president serves as head of state and government, and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president makes appointments for his cabinet, as well as posts in the military, police force, and provincial governerships, with the approval of parliament. The legislative body of Afghanistan is a parliament consisting of two houses: the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) and the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders). The Wolesi Jirga consists of up to 250 members elected to five-year terms through direct elections in proportion to the population of each province. At least two women must be elected from each province. In the Meshrano Jirga, one-third of the members are elected by provincial councils for four years, one-third are elected by district councils of each province for three years, and one-third are appointed by the president for five years, of whom half must be women. The judicial system of Afghanistan consists of the Stera Mahkama (Supreme Court), appeals courts, and lower district courts designated by law. The Stera Mahkama is made up of nine judges appointed by the president, with the approval of parliament, to a ten-year term. Judges must be at least forty years of age, not belong to a political party, and have a degree in law or Islamic jurisprudence. The Stera Mahkama can judge the constitutionality of all laws in the country.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Afghanistan Many of the country's historic monuments have been damaged in recent wars. The two famous statues of Buddha in the Bamiyan Province were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. Other famous sites include the cities of Herat, Ghazni and Balkh. The Minaret of Jam, in the Hari Rud valley, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The people of Afghanistan being renowned horsemen, the sport known as Buzkashi is popular there. Afghan hounds (a type of running dogs), originated in Afghanistan. Although literacy levels are very low, classic Persian poetry plays a very important role in Afghan culture. The Persian language is regarded as one of the richest in the world. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in both Iran and Afghanistan, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture. Private poetry competitions known as “musha’era” are quite common even among ordinary people. Almost every home owns one or more poetry collection of some sort, even if it is not read often. The Afghan dialect of the Persian language Dari derives from "Farsi-e Darbari", meaning 'Persian of the royal courts'. It is regarded by scholars as the more original version of the language. Iran, having a larger population, a stronger economy and closer ties to the rest of the world has developed its language further in the course of history. Afghanistan took a more conservative approach mainly due to lack of resources. As a result, Dari has not changed much over the last few centuries. Many of the famous Persian language poets of 10th to 15th centuries stem from what is now known as Afghanistan. They were mostly also scholars in many disciplines like languages, natural sciences, medicine, religion and astronomy. Examples are Mawlvi Balkhi (Rumi), born and educated in the Balkh province in the 13th century and moved to today’s Istanbul, which was then known as the Eastern Rome), Sanaayi Ghaznavi (12th century, native of Ghazni provice), Jami Heravi (15th century, native of Jam-e-Herat in western Afghanistan), Nizam ud-Din Ali Sher Heravi Nava'i, (15th century, Heart province). Also, some of the contemporary Persian language poets and writers, who are relatively well-know in both Iran and Afghanistan includes Ustad Behtab, Khalilullah Khalili [http://www.afghanmagazine.com/arts/khalili/khalili.html], Sufi Ghulam Nabi Ashqari ([http://www.afghanmagazine.com/jan2000/music/kharaabat/], Parwin Pazwak and others. In addition to poets, world-famous science personalities like Avicenna (Ibn Sina Balkhi) came from Afghanistan. Avicenna, who travelled to Isfahan later in life to establsh a medical school there, is known by some scholars as the "the father of modern medicine". George Sarton called Ibn Sina "the most famous scientist of Islam and one of the most famous of all races, places, and times." His most famous works are The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine, also known as the Qanun. Avicenna's story even found way to the contemporary English literature through Noah Gordon's The Physician ([ http://www.noahgordonbooks.com/index.html ]), now published in many languages. Before the Taliban gained power, the city of Kabul was home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music, especially during the Nauroz-celebration. Kabul in the middle part of the 20th century has been likened to Vienna during the 18th and 19th centuries. See also: Radio Kabul, music of Afghanistan, Islam in Afghanistan

Education

Main article: Education in Afghanistan In the spring of 2003, it was estimated that 30% of Afghanistan's 7,000 schools had been seriously damaged during more than two decades of Soviet occupation and civil war. Only half of the schools were reported to have clean water, while fewer than an estimated 40% had adequate sanitation. Education for boys was not a priority during the Taliban regime, and girls were banished from schools outright. In regards to the poverty and violence of their surroundings, a study in 2002 by the Save the Children aid group said Afghan children were resilient and courageous. The study credited the strong institutions of family and community. Up to four million Afghan children, possibly the largest number ever, are believed to have enrolled for class for the school year beginning in March of 2003. Education is available for both girls and boys. Literacy of the entire population is estimated at 36%.

References

- Griffiths, John C. 1981. Afghanistan: A History of Conflict. André Deutsch, London. Updated edition, 2001. Andre Deutsch Ltd, 2002, ISBN 0233050531.
- Levi, Peter. 1972. The Light Garden of the Angel King: Journeys in Afghanistan. Collins, 1972, ISBN 0002110423. Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1973, Indianapolis/New York, ISBN 0672512521.
- Moorcroft, William and Trebeck, George. 1841. Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara... from 1819 to 1825, Vol. II. Reprint: New Delhi, Sagar Publications, 1971. Oxford University Press, 1979, ISBN 0195771990.
- Toynbee, Arnold J. 1961. Between Oxus and Jumna. Oxford University Press, London. ISBN B0006DBR44.
- Wood, John. 1872. A Journey to the Source of the River Oxus. New Edition, edited by his son, with an essay on the "Geography of the Valley of the Oxus" by Henry Yule. John Murray, London. Gregg Division McGraw-Hill, 1971, ISBN 0576033227.

External links

-
- [http://www.afgha.com Afgha.com - News, Discussions, and more about Afghanistan]
- [http://theafghanblog.blogspot.com/ The Afghan Blog]
- [http://www.afghanistan.sc/ Afghanistan Service Center with daily news]
- [http://www.aims.org.af/ Afghanistan Information Management Service] - provided by joint UN projects
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/country_profiles/1162668.stm BBC News Country Profile - Afghanistan]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html CIA World Factbook - Afghanistan]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/sa/ci/af/ US State Department - Afghanistan] includes Background Notes, Country Study (1997), Rebuilding, USAID and NATO
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/Afghanistan/ Open Directory Project - Afghanistan] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/regional/countries/afghanistan/ Yahoo! - Afghanistan] directory category
- [http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/afghanis.pdf 2002 UN map of Afghanistan] (PDF)
- [http://www.ArianaNet.com/ News Service latest News about Afghanistan, Discussion board]
- [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/asia/centralasia/afghanistan/returntoafghanistan/returntoafghanistan.htm Return to Afghanistan] - A series of short films by the Washington Post on the New Afghanistan
- [http://www.mod.uk/rcds/bashir.htm British Royal College for Defense Studies analyses and proposes a war in August 2001]
- [http://www.geopium.org Geopium: Geopolitics of Illicit Drugs in Asia (Afghanistan and Burma)]
- [http://topics.developmentgateway.org/afghanistan Development Gateway's Afghanistan Reconstruction Portal]
- [http://www.afghanan.net/index.php Afghanan Dot Net]
- [http://www.AfghanMania.com Afghanistan Portal]
- [http://www.sabawoon.com Sabawoon Online]
- [http://www.afghan-web.com/index.html Afghanistan Online]
- [http://www.whatisindia.com/issues/afghanis/index.html Afghanistan Portal on The Indian Analyst] Index of News, Analysis, and Opinion from many sources
- [http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/Afghanistan.asp/ The Jews of Afghanistan]

Video

- Category:Central Asian countries Category:Landlocked countries als:Afghanistan zh-min-nan:Afghanistan ko:아프가니스탄 ms:Afghanistan ja:アフガニスタン simple:Afghanistan th:ประเทศอัฟกานิสถาน

Karachi

Karachi (كراچى) is the largest city in Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. A native of Karachi is known as a Karachiite. Karachi is the financial and commercial hub of Pakistan. The city is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, northwest of the mouth of the Indus River. It accounts for the lion's share of Pakistan's GDP and generates 65 percent of the national revenue. Karachi claims the highest per capita income in South Asia. With a population that is unofficially estimated at approximately 14 million, Karachi is one of the ten largest cities of the world.

Location

Karachi, located at latitude 24° 52´ N and longitude 67° 03´ E, is nicknamed The City of Lights in Pakistan. In a short span of 150 years, Karachi has transformed itself from a small coastal village into a megapolitan city harbouring a diverse mix of regional cultures. It is the business and technological hub of Pakistan and has the highest literacy rate and the most prestigious educational institutions in the country. The Arabian Sea lies to the south, and the Malir and Indus Rivers to the east of the city. The Lyari River runs through the city's northern areas.

Geography

The city occupies an area of over 3,527 km² and is expanding. Karachi is mostly made up of flat or rolling plains with hills on the western and northern boundaries of the urban sprawl. Two rivers pass through the city: the Malir River (north east to centre) and the Liyari River (north to south). Many other smaller rivers pass through the city as well with general drainage being from the western and northern areas towards the south. The Karachi Harbour is a protected bay to the south west of the city. The harbour is protected from storms by Keamari Island, Manora Island and Oyster Rocks, which together block the greater part of the harbour entrance in the west. The southern limit of the city is the Arabian Sea and forms a chain of warm water beaches that are rich in natural beauty.

Climate

Main article Climate of Karachi Karachi is located on the coast and as a result has a relatively mild climate. The level of precipitation is low for most of the year. However, due to the city's proximity to the sea, humidity levels usually remain high throughout the year. The city enjoys mild winters and warm summers. Karachi also receives the tail end of the monsoon rains. Since summer temperatures (the end of April through the end of August are approximately 30 to 35 degrees Celsius), the winter months (November through March) are the best time to visit Karachi. December, which is the most popular month for social events such as weddings, fundraisers and charity balls, is frequently the time when most visitors, tourists and expatriates come to Karachi.
History
Origin of Karachi Any history of Karachi prior to the 19th century is brief. It is said that the city called Krokola from which one of Alexander the Great's admirals sailed at the end of his conquests was the same as Karachi. When Muhammad bin Qasim came to India in the year 712 he captured the city of Debul. It has been said that Debal was the ancestral village of present day Karachi. However, this has neither been proven or disproven. It was in 1772 that the village Kolachi-jo-Goth was changed from a fishing village to a trading post when it was selected as a port for trade with Muscat and Bahrain. In the following years a fort was built and cannons brought in from Muscat were mounted on it. The fort had two doorways, one facing the sea called the Khara Dar or Brackish Gate and one facing the River Lyari called the Meetha Dar or Sweet Gate. Currently, the site of those gates corresponds to the location of the neighbourhoods of Kharadar and Meethadar. In 1795 the city passed from the Khan of Kalat to the rulers of Sindh.
The British Era
monsoon] Karachi gained in position as port which led to its importance being recognised by the British, and consequently led to the conquering of the town on the 3rd of February 1839. Three years later, it was annexed into British India as a district. The British recognized the importance of Karachi as a natural harbor and port for the produce of the Indus basin, and the city was rapidly developed into a bustling port city. A famous quote about Karachi attributed to Charles Napier is Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!. Napier's quote proved almost prophetic as it was under the British raj that Karachi would grow rapily as its harbour was developed. When the Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar declared the War of Independence in 1857, the 21st Native Infantry stationed in Karachi declared allegiance to the Emperor and joined the cause of the War on the 10th of September 1857. The uprising though, was defeated by the British who were able to quickly reassert their control over Karachi. In 1876, the founder of Pakistan Muhammed Ali Jinnah was born in the city, and he would later be buried there. By this time Karachi was a developed city with railroads, churches, paved streets, courts and many commercial centres as well as a magnificent harbour built by the British. Many of the buildings were built in classical British colonial style, contrasting significantly with the "Mughal Gothic" of Lahore. Many of these old buildings exist today and provide interesting destinations for visitors. Lahore Karachi continued to grow in size as well as importance due to its position as a major port. A railroad connected Karachi to the rest of British India in the 1880s. Population grew from 73,500 (1881), to 105,199 (1891), to 115,407 (1901) (Britannica 1911 ed.). In 1899 Karachi was said to be the largest wheat exporting port in the East (Feldman 1970:57). In 1911 when the capital was shifted to Delhi, Karachi became closer to being a Gateway to India. Karachi was declared the capital of the newly formed Sindh province in 1936, chosen over the traditional capital of Hyderabad.
A Pakistani City
In 1947, Karachi was made the capital of the new nation of Pakistan. At that time Karachi was a city of only 400,000 people, and its growth accelerated as a result of its new status. Being the capital, Karachi became a focal point for the new nation and this added to its status as a cultural centre in this part of the world. Although the capital later moved to Rawalpindi and then Islamabad, Karachi remains the economic centre of Pakistan, accounting for a large portion of the GDP of the country and a large chunk of the nation's white collar workers. In the 1960s, Karachi was seen as an economic role model around the developing world and there was much praise for the way its economy was progressing. But in 1990s, Karachi was wracked with sectarian violence. Thousands of people were killed during 1992 military operation, and as result soco-economic activities gravely suffered. In the last 20 years, Karachi has continued to grow, passing the 14 million mark (from the European Space Agency). The current economic boom in Pakistan has created a sudden growth spurt in Karachi as jobs and infrastructure projects are increasing with time and the city is considered to be the world's third largest megacity.
Government and Administrative Division
In order to decentralize the political, administrative and financial resources and responsibilities, the government of Pakistan designed a new devolution plan in 2000. The Local Government Plan 2000 and the Local Government Ordinance 2001 provided the legal roadmap to the aforesaid system that allow public participation in decision-making up to the grass-root level. 2000 According to this plan, Karachi has a three-tier federated system, formed by:
- City District Government (CDG)
- Town Municipal Administration
- Union Council Administration The CDG of Karachi is divided into 18 zones or towns. These towns are governed by the town municipal administration. Each town administration is responsible for infrastructure and spatial planning, development facilitation, and municipal services (water, sanitation, solid waste, repairing roads, parks, street lights, and traffic engineering) in a town, except those functions which are retained within the CDG. Eighteen towns of CDG Karachi are sub-divided into 178 stratum that form the union council administration. A union council (UC) is the core element of the local government system. Each UC is a body of 13 directly elected members, consisting of the UC Nazim (mayor), UC Naib Nazim (deputy mayor), labour and minority councillors. The UC Nazim heads the union administration and is responsible for facilitating the CDG to plan and execute municipal services, as well as for informing higher authorities about public concerns and complaints. In the local body elections of 2005, Syed Mustafa Kamal (backed by the MQM [http://www.mqm.org]) was elected City Nazim of Karachi. He succeeds Naimatullah Khan (of the Jamaat-e-Islami [http://www.jamaat.org]). He took oath on October 17, 2005 at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Karachi [http://www.jang-group.com/important_events/localbodies-polls2005/news/archive_eng/14-10-05.htm]. Mustafa Kamal was the provincial minister for information technology in Sindh before assuming office as the city's mayor. His predecessor, Naimatullah Khan was chosen as one of the best mayors of 2004-05 in Asia [http://www.worldmayor.com/voting05/comments_karachi.html].
List of Towns in CDG Karachi

- Baldia
- Bin Qasim
- Clifton
- DHA
- Gadap
- Gulberg Town
- Gulshan
- Jamshed
- KDA
- Kemari
- Korangi
- Landhi
- Liaquatabad
- Lyari
- Malir
- New Karachi
- Nazimabad
- North Nazimabad
- PECHS
- Orangi
- Saddar
- Shah Faisal
- SITE

List of Mayors/Nazims
The City of Karachi Municipal Act was promulgated in 1933. Initially the Municipal Corporation was administrated by the mayor and deputy mayor as well as 57 councillors. In 1976, the Karachi Municipal Corporation was upgraded to a Metropolitan Corporation. Later in 2000-01, it was given the status of City District Government. For a historical list of city mayors/nazims please see: Mayors of Karachi
Demographics
Mayors of Karachi The population and demographic distribution of Karachi during last 150 years have greatly changed. Non governmental and international sources report that Karachi's current population is estimated to be 14 to 15 million — a thirty-seven-fold increase over its population in 1947 (400,000). The city's population is currently growing at about 5% per year (mainly on account of rural-urban internal migration). Currently, Karachi is counted as one of the largest megacities of the world. Karachi has been bearing over one million Afghan refugees since Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. On the other hand, hundred of thousands of illegal Bengali and Africans immigrants are also settled in Karachi. They form a significant part of slum areas in Karachi. The breakup of Karachi's population is as follows: Males form 53.7% of Karachiites. 37.6% of which are under the age of 15. 4.4% are older than 50. 22.1% of the city's population are migrants from other places. According to 1998 census the linguistic breakup of the city is as follows. Urdu 48.52%; Punjabi 13.94%; Sindhi 7.22%; Pushto 11.42%; Balochi 4.34%; Seraiki 2.11%; Others 12.4%. The others include Gujarati, Memon, Brahui, Makrani, Khowar, Burushaski Irani and Bengali. According to the census the religious breakup of the city is as follows. Muslim 96.49%; Christian 2.35%; Hindu 0.83%; Ahmadi 0.17%; Others 0.13%. The others include Parsi, Zikri and Buddhist.
Economy
Buddhist Main article Economy of Karachi Karachi is the financial capital of Pakistan. It accounts for the lion's share of Pakistan's GDP and generates 65 percent of the national revenue. Most of Pakistan's public and private banks have their head offices in Karachi. Besides banking and finance, Karachi also hosts the offices of foreign multinational corporations as well as corporations based in Pakistan. It is home to the largest stock exchange of Pakistan: the Karachi Stock Exchange.[http://www.kse.com.pk/] The Karachi Stock Exchange was declared the best performing stock market of the world in early 2005. This financial boom helped Pakistan to achieve its ambitious goal of exceeding an eight per cent growth in GDP for the fiscal year 2004-05, leaving the country second only to China in terms of growth. The recent trend of ICT (information and communications technology), electronic media and call centers has become a significant part of Karachi business hierarchy. Call centres for foreign companies have been targetted as a significant area of growth, with the government making efforts to reduce taxes by as much as 80 per cent in order to gain foreign investments in the IT sector. Karachi also has a huge industrial base. There are large industrial estates on most of the fringes of the main city. The main industries are textiles, pharmaceuticals, steel, and automobiles. Apart from these, there are many cottage industries in the city as well. Karachi is also known as software outsourcing hub of Pakistan. It also has a rapidly flourishing Free Zone with an annual growth rate of nearly 15 per cent. An expo center has also been set up in Karachi and is now available to host many regional and International exhibitions. Currently, the Karachi Port is the only large port in Pakistan, and is central to all shipping in Pakistan. The airport of Karachi, Quaid-e-Azam International Airport is also the largest airport in Pakistan. Karachi is the nerve centre of Pakistan's economy. The economic stagnation due to political anarchy, ethnic strife and resultant military operations during the late 1980s and 1990s led to drops in industrial growth in the city. Despite this severe shock, Karachi claims highest per capita income in South Asia.

Art and culture

Karachi is home to some of Pakistan's important cultural institutions. The National Academy of Performing Arts [http://www.napa.org.pk NAPA], located in the newly renovated Hindu Gymkhana has regular musical performances promoting the classical music of Pakistan including an annual musical conferance. The National Arts Council (Koocha-e-Saqafat) also has musical performances and Mushaira (poetry recitations). Karachi has several excellant museums including the Mohatta Palace museum which regularly has exhibitions as well as the National Museum of Pakistan. The Kara Film Festival organised annually showcases independent Pakistani and international films and documentaries.

Educational Institutions

Kara Film Festival Karachi has the highest literacy rate, and the highest number of universities and colleges, of any of Pakistan's other cities. The city is well-known for its young student population, who flock from all parts of Pakistan and different parts of the world. Most universities of Karachi are considered to be the premier educational institutions of Pakistan, and hence the admissions process is intensely competitive with only the brightest and talented making their way into Aga Khan University, University of Karachi, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Indus Valley Institute Of Art, Bahria University, Textile Institute Of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Dow University of Health Sciences, N.E.D. University, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Hamdard University, H.E.J Research Institute of Chemistry, Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC), Institute of Business and Management (IBM), Jinnah University for Women and Dawood College of Engineering. See also the list of universities in Karachi and list of educational institutions in Karachi.

Sites Link title of interest

list of educational institutions in Karachi list of educational institutions in Karachi list of educational institutions in Karachi list of educational institutions in Karachi
- General
- Mazar-e-Quaid (Mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan- Muhammad Ali Jinnah)
- Koocha-e-Saqafat (National Arts Council)
- Mohatta Palace Museum
- Masjid e Tooba (one of the largest freely suspended domes in the world)
- II Chundrigar Road (Karachi's "Wall street")
- Aga Khan Hospital (for its modernist Islamic architecture)
- Teen Talwar (Three Swords) Monument
- Beaches and Waterfront
- Clifton Sea View seafront
- Hawkesbay Beach (breeding ground for endangered turtles)
- Paradise Point (a rock promontory in the sea with a natural arch)
- Sandspit Beach
- French Beach
- Russian Beach
- Fishing and Crabbing on Keamari and Manora
- Creek Club Karachi (offers boating in the creek areas)
- Clifton Pavilion and the Jehangir Kothari Parade
- Clifton Aquarium
- Defence Golf Club
- Park Towers Shopping Mall
- Zamzama Commercial Area (famous for its designer outlets)
- World Wildlife Centre
- Abdullah Shah Ghazi Mazar (mausoleum of Karachi's sufi saint)
- Ibn-e-Qasim Park
- Museums
- Mazar-e-Quaid Museum
- Mohatta Palace Museum
- Pakistan Air Force Museum
- Pakistan Maritime Museum
- National Museum of Pakistan
- Karachi Expo Centre
- Colonial Buildings
- Mereweather Tower
- Frere Hall
- Governor's House
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- St. Joseph's Convent
- St. Anthony's Church
- Trinity Church
- Sindh High Court
- Former Victoria Museum (later used by the Supreme Court)
- Sindh Club
- Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Building
- Hindu Gymkhana (now [http://www.napa.org.pk/ NAPA])
- Empress Market
- D.J. College
- Islands
- Clifton Oyster Rocks
- Manora Island
- Bundle Island
- Bhit Shah
- Shah Bandar
- Churna Island (Naval gunnery site, as well as Pakistan's only coral reefs)
- Amusement Parks
- PIA Planetariam
- Alladin Park
- Sindbad
- Hill Park
- Safari Park
- Karachi Zoo
- Cosy Water Park
- Samzu Park
- Fun Land
- Play Land
- Fiesta park The Clifton beach in Karachi is one of the longest city beaches in the world. Althought it suffered a recent oil spill disaster, the beach has been cleaned and has floodlights installed for night-time visitors. The government has embarked on the beautification of Karachi's coastline by building a Beach park in Clifton which will eventually be connected to the Jehangir Kothari parade and Bagh Ibn- Qasim. There are also a lot of other excellent beaches near the city such as Sandspit, Hawke's Bay, the French Beach, Russian beach and Paradise Point (a sandstone rock promotory with a natural arch) that are frequented by flocks of visitors every day.

Shopping

Karachi is dotted with many shopping areas, large and small, all across the city. Karachiites are avid shoppers, as can be seen from the crowds of people these markets attract every evening. Tariq Road, Zamzama and Elphinstone Street are the most famous shopping areas in the city. One can find all sorts of clothing, garments, and beautiful fabrics in Karachi's bazaars, as well as a number of other items. The Saddar area in downtown Karachi is also home to countless large and small markets dealing from everyday household items to clothing and fabrics to electronics. The Empress Market is a large Victorian-era market, which is home to wholesellers of spices and other items. Some other notable shopping areas include: Paposh Market and Hyrdi. Karachi also has a number of large modern shopping malls, among which the Park Towers, The Forum, Millenium Mall and Dolmen Mall are notable. More of these malls are currently being built, including the Atrium Mall, Jumeira Mall and the Dolmen City Mall.

Transportation

bazaar The city has a modern international airport called the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, the premier portal and Pakistan's busiest airport. The city's old airport terminals are now used for Hajj flights, cargo facilities, and ceremonial visits from heads of state. U.S. Coalition forces used the old terminals for their logistic supply operations as well. Apart from this, the city also has two other airstrips used primarily by the armed forces. Karachi also has the current largest shipping port in Pakistan. There are two major ports Karachi Port Trust(KPT) and Port Qasim. This sea-port has modern facilities and not only handles trade for Pakistan, but also serves as a port for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries. Karachi port is not used for passenger traffic as a regular service. Karachi is linked via railway to the rest of the country. The Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantt Station are the city's two major railway stations. This railway system handles a large amount of freight to and from the Karachi port apart from providing passenger services to people travelling up country. Karachi also has a circular railway system that is planned to be extended to play a part in the city's mass transit. Currently, commuter traffic is handled primarily by motorists and minibuses, but there are plans to construct a light-rail based mass transit system in the city to decongest the roads and provide quick service to commuters.

Problems

In 1960s Karachi was seen as a model of economic development around the world, and there was much praise for the way its economy was progressing, But now Being one of the most rapidly growing cities in the world, Karachi faces problems that are central to many developing metropolises including overpopulation, overcrowding, traffic, terrorism and crime. Karachi faces a very severe problem of excessive traffic. According to official statistics, on an average annually 550 people are killed in road traffic accidents. The number of cars far outstrips the roads that they need to ply on. This makes driving considerably dangerous and causes loss of time due to traffic congestion. Currently, President Musharraf has launched the Tameer-e-Karachi (Build Karachi) program that included construction of a lot of bridges, flyovers, and bypasses, as well as other major projects to correct the city's infrastructure problems. The outgoing City government had signed a memorandum in the year 2005 with a foreign company to construct a 14 kilometers long track of magnetic train and a modern subway system.

External links

- [http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/ Official site: City District Government of Karachi]
- [http://www.historickarachi.com/ Historic Karachi] - The history of Karachi through photographs
- [http://www.KarachiDiaries.BlogsPK.com Life in Karachi, read about it on this blog.]
- [http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2005/06/critical_digres.html Contemporary Karachi and the Karachi of popular discourse]
- [http://www.alephinc.net/karachi/html/profile.htm Karachi Profile]
- [http://www.kse.com.pk/ Karachi Stock Exchange]
- [http://www.karafilmfest.com/ The Official KaraFilm Festival website]
- [http://www.karachiairport.com/ Karachi International Airport]
- [http://www.kpt.gov.pk/ Karachi Port Trust]
- [http://www.itspakistan.net/pakistan/karachi.aspx About Karachi on itsPakistan]
- [http://mapy.mk.cvut.cz/data/Centr._Asia/Topo%20maps_500k/G-42-V.jpg Link to Soviet topographic map 1:500 000]
- [http://offroadpakistan.com 4x4 Offroaders Club Karachi]
- [http://www.streetphotos.net Street Photography from around Karachi]
- [http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/funda/Pictures/Pakistan/Pictures.html Picture Page on Pakistan]
- [http://newark.rutgers.edu/~au/index.htm Window to Karachi]
- [http://www.megacitiesproject.org/network/karachi.asp Mega-Cities Project: Karachi]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=24.890900,67.024841&spn=0.301184,0.468361&t=k&hl=en Satellite picture by Google Maps]
- [http://citymayors.com/government/karachi_government.html Karachi Govt at citymayors.com]
- [http://www.urckarachi.org/home.htm Urban Resource Centre - Karachi] Category:Cities in Pakistan Category:Coastal cities Category:Sindh Category:Karachi ko:카라치 ja:カラチ

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (January 5, 1928 – April 4, 1979) was a Pakistani politician, active in the early years of the Pakistani Government. He was the son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. Bhutto served in the position of President (from 1971 to 1973) and as Prime Minister, from 1973 to 1977, of Pakistan. He has the rare distinction of being a civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator. Deposed in a coup by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, he was hanged on charges of authorizing the murder of a political opponent in 1974.

Biography

Early years

Bhutto was born in Larkana (in what is now Pakistani Sindh) the son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. He completed his early education in Bombay. After completing his initial education, he went to the United States in 1947 to study at the University of Southern California, and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley. He applied to Harvard and was accepted, but chose to stay at Berkeley. He was the first Asian student to be elected to the Berkeley Student Council. From Berkeley he earned a degree in political science, after which he went to Oxford and studied at Christ Church College from where he graduated with honors. Following his time at Oxford, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 (which had also been attended by Allama Iqbal and Muhammed Ali Jinnah). The same year his wife Begum Nusrat Bhutto had a daughter Benazir, who would later become prime minister herself.

Political career

During his student days, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had acquired an anti-Imperialist view of the world. He was a firm believer in economic self reliance and political independence themes he expounded in his famous book "Myth of Independence". As a member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nation in 1957, at the age of 29 years, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto addressed the Sixth Conference of the United Nations on "The Definition of Aggression", a speech which is still regarded as one of the best on the subject. As a participant at the International Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in March, 1958 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto spoke for mankind with the bold declaration: "The High Seas are free to all." He was the youngest Federal Cabinet member in the history of Pakistan, at the age of 30. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto held the key portfolios of Minister of Commerce, Minister of Information, Minister of National Reconstruction, Minister of Fuel, Power and Natural Resources before becoming the Foreign Minister. As Minister of Fuel, Power and Natural Resources, he signed a path breaking agreement for exploration of oil and gas with Russia in 1960. He set up a Gas and Mineral Development Corporation in 1961 and Pakistan's first refinery in 1962 at Karachi. Bhutto emerged on the world stage as Leader of the Pakistan Delegation to the UN in 1959. To muster the support for Kashmir issue he successfully toured China, Britain, Egypt and Ireland. He also held a series of talks with the Indian Foreign Minister Swaran Singh. He was appointed Foreign Minister in 1963 and remained at that post until his resignation in June 1966. Bhutto made indelible imprints on world community by his inimitable oratorical skills in United Nation's General Assembly and the Security Council. He believed in an independent Foreign Policy which had hitherto been the hand maiden of the Western Powers. During his tenure as Foreign Minister, Pakistan and Iran cemented a special relationship. In 1958 he joined the cabinet of President Iskander Mirza. From this point, he was active in the Pakistani government, working at various posts. In 1966 he resigned from the cabinet, after serving as Foreign Minister. His opposition to the Tashkent accord between India and Pakistan led to his resignation from the government. In 1967 Bhutto formed the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to oppose President Ayub Khan's regime. He adopted a uniform similar to those worn by the Chinese Communist Party leaders and called for the introduction of "

Naseerullah Babar

Interior minister

Related articles and lists of ministers

See also

Benazir Bhutto

Early years

Imprisonment, elections and exile

Charges of corruption

Afghanistan policy

Policies for women

Current scenario

Books by Ms Bhutto

See also

External links

Taliban

Rise to power

Culture

Life under Taliban rule

Islamic law

Opium trade

Women

Buddhas of Bamiyan

Relationship with Osama bin Laden

U.S. invasion

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External links

Further reading

Afghanistan

Origin and history of the name

History

Politics

Subdivisions

Geography

Economy

Demographics

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Culture

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See also

References

External links

Video

Karachi

Location

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The British Era

A Pakistani City

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List of Towns in CDG Karachi

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Sites Link title of interest

Shopping

Transportation

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See also

External links

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

Biography

Early years

Political career