Government and politics, demografics

Government and politics

Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, bloody coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic, theocracy and communist state. The constitution ratified by the 2003 Loya jirga restructured the government as an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, (executive, legislature and judiciary).

Politicians of Afghanistan having lunch with the visiting U.S. President George W. Bush in Kabul on March 1, 2006.

Afghanistan is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. The current parliament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former mujahadeen, Taliban members, communists, reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. 28% of the delegates elected were women, 3 points more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the constitution. This made Afghanistan, long known under the Taliban for its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of female representation. Construction for a new parliament building began on August 29, 2005.

The Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi, a former university professor who had been legal advisor to the president.^[58] The previous court, appointed during the time of the interim government, had been dominated by fundamentalist religious figures, including Chief Justice Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. The court had issued numerous questionable rulings, such as banning cable television, seeking to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential election and limiting the rights of women, as well as overstepping its constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought before the court. The current court is seen as more moderate and led by more technocrats than the previous court, although it has yet to issue any rulings.

See also: Constitution of Afghanistan

Law enforcement and military

Main articles: Law enforcement in Afghanistan and Military of Afghanistan

First deputy vice president Ahmad Zia Massoud presents a new police officer with his diploma at the Kabul Police Academy.

Afghanistan currently has more than 70,000 national police officers, with plans to recruit more so that the total number can reach 80,000. They are being trained by and through the Afghanistan Police Program. Although the police officially are responsible for maintaining civil order, sometimes local and regional military commanders continue to exercise control in the hinterland. Police have been accused of improper treatment and detention of prisoners. In 2003 the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force, now under command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was extended and expanded beyond the Kabul area. However, in some areas unoccupied by those forces, local militias maintain control. In many areas, crimes have gone uninvestigated because of insufficient police and/or communications. Troops of the Afghan National Army have been sent to quell fighting in some regions lacking police protection.^[59]

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Provinces of Afghanistan and Districts of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats), and for each province there is a capital. Each province is then divided into many provincial districts, and each district normally covers a city or several townships.

The Governor of the province is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, and the Prefects for the districts of the province will be appointed by the provincial Governor. The Governor is the representative of the central government of Afghanistan, and is responsible for all administrative and formal issues. The provincial Chief of Police is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, who works together with the Governor on law enforcement for all the cities or districts of that province.

There is an exception in the capital city (Kabul) where the Mayor is selected by the President of Afghanistan, and is completely independent from the prefecture of the Kabul Province.

Map showing the 34 provinces of Afghanistan.

Badakhshan Badghis Baghlan Balkh Bamyan Daykundi Farah Faryab Ghazni Ghor Helmand Herat Jowzjan Kabul Kandahar Kapisa Khost

Konar Kunduz Laghman Lowgar Nangarhar Nimruz Nurestan Oruzgan Paktia Paktika Panjshir Parvan Samangan Sare Pol Takhar Wardak Zabol

Demographics

Map of Afghanistan showing the location of provinces and major cities.

Main article: Demography of Afghanistan

Further information: Refugees of Afghanistan

A July 2008 estimate of the total Afghani population is 32,738,376.^[60]

Largest cities

See also: List of cities in Afghanistan and Places in Afghanistan

The only city in Afghanistan with over one million residents is its capital, Kabul. The other major cities in the country are, in order of population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, Ghazni and Kunduz.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups of Afghanistan (percentages are from Encyclopædia Iranica^[61] and CIA World Factbook^[1]) 39.4% to 42% Pashtun 27% to 33.7% Tajik 8.0% to 9% Hazara 8.0% to 9% Uzbek 3.2% to 4% Aimak 3% Turkmen 1.6% to 4% Baloch 4% to 9.2% other (Pashai, Hindki, Nuristani, Brahui, Hindkowans, etc.)

The population of Afghanistan is divided into a wide variety of ethnic groups. Because a systematic census has not been held in the country in decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are not available.^[62] Therefore most figures are approximations only.

An approximate distribution of ethnic groups estimated by the CIA World Factbook^[1] is as following:

• Pashtun: 42%
• Tajik: 27%
• Hazara: 9%
• Uzbek: 9%
• Aimak: 4%
• Turkmen: 3%
• Baloch: 2%
• Other: 4%

Based on official census numbers from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well as information found in mainly scholarly sources, the Encyclopædia Iranica^[61] gives the following list:

• 36.4% Pashtun
• 33.7% Tajik, Farsiwan, and Qezelbash
• 8.0% Hazara
• 8.0% Uzbek
• 4.1% Aimak
• 3.3% Turkmen
• 1.6% Baloch
• 1.9% other