BACKGROUND NOTES: AFGHANISTAN - Part 2
dosfan.lib.uic.edu
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
ECONOMY
Historically, there has been a dearth of information and
reliable statistics about Afghanistan's economy. This
was exacerbated by the Soviet invasion and ensuing civil
war, which destroyed much of the underdeveloped country's
infrastructure and disrupted normal patterns of economic
activity.
Agriculture
The Afghan economy continues to be overwhelmingly
agricultural, despite the fact that only 15% of its total
land area is arable and less than 6% currently is
cultivated. Agricultural production is constrained by an
almost total dependence on erratic winter snows and
spring rains for water; irrigation is primitive.
Relatively little use is made of machines, chemical
fertilizer, or pesticides.
Grain production is Afghanistan's traditional
agricultural mainstay. Overall agricultural production
declined an average of 3.5% per year between 1978 and
1990. This can be attributed to sustained fighting,
instability in rural areas, prolonged drought, and
deteriorated infrastructure. Soviet efforts to disrupt
production in resistance-dominated areas also contributed
to this decline. Furthermore, Soviet efforts to
centralize the economy through state ownership and
control and consolidation of farmland into large
collective farms contributed to lower production.
The war against the Soviet Union and the ensuing civil
war also led to migration to the cities and refugee
flight to Pakistan and Iran, further disrupting normal
agricultural production. Recent studies indicate that
agricultural production and livestock numbers are less
than one-half of what they were in 1978. It is estimated
that Afghanistan's food production levels are about 15%
lower than what is necessary to feed the population.
Shortages are exacerbated by the country's already
limited transportation network, which has deteriorated
due to damage and neglect resulting from war and the
absence of an effective central government.
Opium is increasingly becoming a source of cash for many
Afghans, especially since the breakdown in central
authority after the Soviet withdrawal. Opium is easy to
cultivate and transport and offers a quick source of
income for returning refugees and other impoverished
Afghans. Afghanistan is the second-largest producer of
raw opium in the world, after Burma. In 1993, despite
efforts by the U.S. and others to encourage alternative
crops, poppy and opium production increased 8% and 7%,
respectively, from a year earlier. Much of Afghanistan's
opium production is shipped to laboratories in Pakistan
and refined into heroin which is either consumed by a
growing South Asian addict population or exported,
primarily to Europe and North America.
Trade and Industry
Trade accounts for a small portion of the Afghan economy,
and there are no reliable statistics relating to trade
flows. Since the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of
the Soviet Union, other limited trade relationships
appear to be emerging with Iran, Pakistan, and the West.
Afghanistan trades little with the United States; its
1992 trade is estimated at $6 million. Afghanistan does
not enjoy U.S. most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status,
which was revoked in 1986.
Afghanistan is endowed with a wealth of natural
resources, including extensive deposits of coal, salt,
chromium, iron ore, gold, fluorite, talc, copper, and
lapis lazuli. Unfortunately, the country's remote and
rugged terrain, and inadequate transportation network,
usually have made mining these resources unprofitable.
The most important resource has been natural gas, first
tapped in 1967. At their peak during the 1980s, natural
gas sales accounted for $300 million a year in export
revenues (56% of the total). Ninety percent of these
exports went to the Soviet Union to pay for imports and
debts. However, during the withdrawal of Soviet troops
in 1989, Afghanistan's natural gas fields were capped to
prevent sabotage by the mujahidin. Restoration of gas
production has been hampered by internal strife and the
disruption of traditional trading relationships following
the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Transportation
Landlocked Afghanistan has no rail-ways, but the Amu
Darya (Oxus) River, which forms part of Afghanistan's
border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, has
barge traffic. During their occupation of the country,
the Soviets completed a bridge across the Amu Darya and
built a motor vehicle and railroad bridge between Termez
and Jeyretan.
Most roadbuilding occurred in the 1960s, funded by the
U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Soviets built a road and
tunnel through the Salang Pass in 1964, connecting
northern and southern Afghanistan. A highway connecting
the principal cities of Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, and
Kabul forms the primary road system.
The highway system requires significant reconstruction,
and regional roads are in a state of disrepair. The poor
state of the Afghan transportation and communication
networks has further fragmented and hobbled the
struggling economy.
Economic Development and Recovery
Afghanistan embarked on a modest economic development
program in the 1930s. The government founded banks,
introduced paper money, established a university,
expanded primary, secondary, and technical schools, and
sent students abroad for education. In 1956, the Afghan
Government promulgated the first in a long series of
ambitious development plans. By the late 1970s, these
had achieved only mixed results due to flaws in the
planning process as well as inadequate funding and a
shortage of the skilled managers and technicians needed
for implementation.
These constraints on development have been exacerbated by
the flight of refugees and the disruption and instability
stemming from the Soviet occupation and ensuing civil
war. Today, economic recovery and long-term development
will depend on establishing an effective and stable
political system.
The UN and the international donor community continue to
provide considerable humanitarian relief. Since its
inception in 1988, the umbrella UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan
(UNOCHA) has channeled $512 million in multilateral cash
assistance to Afghan refugees and vulnerable per-sons
inside Afghanistan. The U.S. and Japan are the leading
contributors to this relief effort. One of its key tasks
is to eliminate from priority areas (such as villages,
arable fields, and roads) some of the estimated 10
million land-mines which continue to litter the Afghan
landscape. Afghanistan is the most heavily mined country
in the world; mine-related injuries number up to 100 per
month. Without successful mine clearance, refugee
repatriation, political stability, and economic
reconstruction will be severely constrained.
The UN, through the UN Development Program (UNDP), is
expected to play a major role in post-war recovery and
reconstruction of Afghanistan. In November 1993, the
UNDP Action Plan for the Immediate Rehabilitation of
Afghanistan identified more than $600 million in quick-
impact development projects which could be implemented
within two years where security conditions permit.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Before the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan pursued a policy
of neutrality and nonalignment in its foreign relations.
In international forums, Afghanistan generally followed
the voting patterns of Asian and African non-aligned
countries. Following the Marxist coup of April 1978, the
Taraki Government developed significantly closer ties
with the Soviet Union and its communist satellites.
After the December 1979 invasion, Afghanistan's foreign
policy mirrored that of the Soviet Union. Afghan foreign
policy-makers attempted, with little success, to increase
their regime's low standing in the non-communist world.
With the signing of the Geneva accords, Najibullah
unsuccessfully sought to end Afghanistan's isolation
within the Islamic world and in the Non-Aligned Movement.
Most Western countries, including the United States,
maintained small diplomatic missions in Kabul during the
Soviet occupation. Many subsequently closed their
missions due to instability and heavy fighting in Kabul.
Although a few states have reestablished a diplomatic
presence in Kabul, most embassies, including that of the
United States, remain closed.
Pakistan
Two areas--Pashtunistan and Baluchistan--have long
complicated Afghanistan's relations with Pakistan.
Controversies involving these areas date back to the
establishment of the Durand Line in 1893 dividing Pashtun
and Baluch tribes living in Afghanistan from those living
in what later became Pakistan. Afghanistan vigorously
protested the inclusion of Pashtun and Baluch areas
within Pakistan without providing the inhabitants with an
opportunity for self-determination. Since 1947, this
problem has led to incidents along the border, with
extensive disruption of normal trade patterns. The most
serious crisis lasted from September 1961 to June 1963,
when diplomatic, trade, transit, and consular relations
between the countries were suspended.
The 1978 Marxist coup further strained relations between
the two countries. Pakistan took the lead diplomatically
in the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the
Organization of the Islamic Conference in opposing the
Soviet occupation. During the war against the Soviet
occupation, Pakistan served as the primary logistical
conduit for the Afghan resistance. Pakistan, aided by UN
agencies, private groups, and many friendly countries,
continues to provide refuge to about 1.4 million Afghans.
Much of Afghanistan remains dependent on Pakistani links
for trade and travel to the outside world, and Pakistan
views Afghanistan as eventually becoming its primary
route for trade with Central Asia.
Iran
Afghanistan's relations with Iran have fluctuated over
the years, with periodic disputes over the water rights
of the Helmand River as the main issue of contention.
Following the Soviet invasion, which Iran opposed,
relations deteriorated. The Iranian consulate in Herat
closed, as did the Afghan consulate in Mashhad. The
Iranians complained of periodic border violations
following the Soviet invasion. In 1985, they urged
feuding Afghan Shi'a resistance groups to unite to oppose
the Soviets. Iran supported the cause of the Afghan
resistance and provided limited financial and military
assistance to rebel leaders who pledged loyalty to the
Iranian vision of Islamic revolution. Iran provides
refuge to about 2 million Afghans.
Russia
In the 19th century, Afghanistan served as a strategic
buffer state between czarist Russia and the British
Empire in the sub-continent. Afghanistan's relations
with Moscow became more cordial after the Bolshevik
Revolution in 1917. The Soviet Union was the first
country to establish diplomatic relations with
Afghanistan after the Third Anglo-Afghan war and signed
an Afghan-Soviet non-aggression pact in 1921, which also
provided for Afghan transit rights through the Soviet
Union. Early Soviet assistance included financial aid,
aircraft and attendant technical personnel, and telegraph
operators.
The Soviets began a major economic assistance program in
Afghanistan in the 1950s. Between 1954 and 1978,
Afghanistan received more than $1 billion in Soviet aid,
including substantial military assistance. In 1973, the
two countries announced a $200-million assistance
agreement on gas and oil development, trade, transport,
irrigation, and factory construction. Following the 1979
invasion, the Soviets augmented their large aid
commitments to shore up the Afghan economy and rebuild
the Afghan military. They provided the Karmal regime an
unprecedented $800 million. The Soviet Union supported
the Najibullah regime even after the withdrawal of Soviet
troops in February 1989. Today, unresolved questions
concerning Soviet MIA/POWs in Afghanistan remain an issue
between Russia and Afghanistan.
Tajik rebels based in Afghanistan in July 1993 attacked a
Russian border outpost in Tajikistan, killing 25 Russians
and prompting Russian retaliatory strikes which caused
extensive damage in northern Afghanistan. Reports of
Afghan support for the Tajik rebels have led to cool
relations between the two countries.
Tajikistan
Afghanistan's relations with newly independent Tajikistan
have been complicated by ongoing political upheaval and
civil war in Tajikistan which spurred some 100,000 Tajiks
to seek refuge in Afghanistan in late 1992 and early
1993. Tajik rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of
Russian-backed former communist Imamali Rahmanov began
operating from Afghan bases and recruiting Tajik refugees
into their ranks. These rebels, reportedly aided by
Afghans and a number of foreign Islamic extremists,
conduct cross-border raids against Russian and Tajik
security posts and seek to infiltrate fighters and
materiel from Afghanistan into Tajikistan.
U.S.-AFGHAN RELATIONS
The first extensive American contact with Afghanistan was
made by Josiah Harlan, an adventurer from Pennsylvania
who was an adviser in Afghan politics in the 1830s and
reputedly inspired Rudyard Kipling's story, "The Man Who
Would be King."
After the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1934,
the U.S. policy of helping developing nations raise their
standard of living was an important factor in maintaining
and improving U.S.-Afghan ties. From 1950 to 1979, U.S.
foreign assistance provided Afghanistan with more than
$500 million in loans, grants, and surplus agricultural
commodities to develop transportation facilities,
increase agricultural production, expand the educational
system, stimulate industry, and improve government
administration.
In the 1950s, the U.S. declined Afghanistan's request for
defense cooperation but extended an economic assistance
program focused on the development of Afghanistan's
physical infrastructure--roads, dams, and power plants.
Later, U.S. aid shifted from infrastructure projects to
technical assistance programs to help develop the skills
needed to build a modern economy. The Peace Corps was
active in Afghanistan between 1962 and 1979.
After the April 1978 coup, relations deteriorated. In
February 1979, U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs was murdered
after Afghan security forces burst in on his kidnapers.
The U.S. then reduced bilateral assistance and terminated
a small military training program. All remaining
assistance agreements were ended after the Soviet
invasion.
Following the Soviet invasion, the United States
supported diplomatic efforts to achieve a Soviet
withdrawal. In addition, generous U.S. contributions to
the refugee program in Pakistan played a major part in
efforts to assist Afghans in need. U.S. efforts also
included helping Afghans living inside Afghanistan. This
cross-border humanitarian assistance program increased
Afghan self-sufficiency and helped Afghans resist Soviet
attempts to drive civilians out of the rebel-dominated
countryside. During the period of Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan, the U.S. provided about $3 billion in
military and economic assistance to Afghans and the
resistance movement.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989 for
security reasons. The U.S. has supported the peaceful
emergence of a broad-based government representative of
all Afghans and has been active in encouraging a UN role
in the national reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
The U.S. provides financial aid for mine-clearing
activities and other humanitarian assistance to Afghans
through international organizations.
In addition to the efforts of the UN and other donors,
the U.S. has provided $328 million in direct bilateral
assistance to Afghanistan since 1985 through its cross-
border program based in Islamabad, Pakistan. However,
assistance levels have fallen dramatically in recent
years due to overall budgetary constraints in the U.S.
and the difficulties inherent in administering a cross-
border aid program. For these reasons, the program is
scheduled for closure by the end of 1994.
UN EFFORTS
During the Soviet occupation, the United Nations was
highly critical of the U.S.S.R.'s interference in the
internal affairs of Afghanistan and was instrumental in
obtaining a negotiated Soviet withdrawal under the terms
of the Geneva accords.
In the aftermath of the accords and subsequent Soviet
withdrawal, the United Nations has assisted in the
repatriation of refugees and has provided humanitarian
aid such as health care, educational programs, and food
and has supported mine-clearing operations. The UNDP and
associated agencies have undertaken a limited number of
development projects. However, the UN reduced its role
in Afghanistan in 1992 in the wake of fierce factional
strife in and around Kabul. The UN Secretary General has
designated a personal representative to head the Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to
Afghanistan (UNOCHA) and the Office of the Secretary
General in Afghanistan and Pakistan (OSGAP), both based
in Islamabad, Pakistan.
TRAVEL NOTES
Travel advisory: The U.S. Department of State warns all
U.S. citizens not to travel to Afghanistan. Westerners
remain vulnerable to politically and criminally motivated
attacks and violence, including robbery, kidnaping, and
hostage-taking. Landmines are still prevalent throughout
the countryside. There is no U.S. embassy in
Afghanistan, and no other diplomatic mission represents
U.S. interests or provides consular services.
Climate and clothing: Kabul's climate is similar to
Denver's, but drier and dustier. Winter lasts from
December through February; summer, mid-May to mid-
September. Because of cultural sensitivities,
conservative attire is essential.
Customs: Visas required. No immunization requirements
at present, but this is subject to change. Check latest
information.
Health: No health controls or sanitation regulations
govern the safety of foods in markets and restaurants.
Travelers and foreign residents are advised to boil
drinking water, cook fruits, vegetables, and meats
thoroughly, and not to consume local dairy products.
Transportation: Ariana Airlines provides international
flights to and from Afghanistan. Bakhtar Airlines
provides internal flights between Kabul and regional
centers such as Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Kandahar.
Taxis are available in Kabul; buses are often overcrowded
and uncomfortable.
Telecommunications: The reliability of
telecommunications into and out of Afghanistan is erratic
at best. Kabul is 9-1/2 hours ahead of Eastern standard
time. Commercial cables from the U.S. may take several
days to arrive under the best of circumstances. |
