It will be interesting to watch how Afghanistan adapts to and benefits from the discovery of previously unknown resources. Central Asia is a region in Asia which stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. Islam emerged in this country after Uzbekistan won its independence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. Just as fishing was declining in the Aral Sea, the fishing industry was growing at Aydar Lake. Transboundary rivers like the mighty Amu Darya, Syr Darya, the Pyanj, Discovery of vast resources helps place the war in Afghanistan in perspective with respect to global competition over the control of resources. The climate is getting warmer in the summer and colder in the winter. In 1960, the Aral Sea covered about 26,254 square miles, an area larger than the size of the US state of West Virginia. Figure 8.62 Orphaned Ship in a Dry Seabed of the Former Eastern Region of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. Central Asia and Afghanistan have unfortunately not been spared. Since its inception in Paris in 2003, the broad international coalition - recognising its common and shared responsibility - has grown to 58 partner countries and 23 partner organizations, including UNODC. This vast land is host to a wide variety of physical landscapes, including the high, snow-capped peaks of the ranges on the Chinese border. The deposits are the target of multinational corporations around the globe. Afghanistan is formally known as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The region around Bukhara, Uzbekistan’s fifth-largest city, has been occupied for at least the last five thousand years. One of the major connections between the for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Mujahideen was a Saudi national named Osama bin Laden. Soon thereafter, anti-Taliban forces agreed to a period of transitional leadership and an administration that would lead to a new constitution and the establishment of a democratically elected government. Democratic elections were held for the office of president in Afghanistan beginning in October of 2004. Samarkand, called the crossroads of culture, is located on the ancient Silk Road to China. High mountain passes, generally situated between 12,000 and 15,000 feet (3,600 to 4,600 metres) above sea level, are of great strategic importance and include the Shebar Pass, located northwest of Kabul where the Bābā Mountains branch out from the Hindu Kush, and the storied Khyber Pass, which leads to the Indian subcontinent, on the Pakistan border southeast of Kabul. At the same time, Pakistan would enjoy trade with Tajikistan under terms similar to Afghanistan’s transit arrangement. This year it plans to increase this figure to … The Taliban brought a sense of militant order to Kabul and the regions under their control. In some cases, battles between government and militant groups occurred close to Afghanistan’s border with the Central Asian states. The modern boundaries of Afghanistan were established in the late 19th century in the context of a rivalry between imperial Britain and tsarist Russia that Rudyard Kipling termed the “Great Game.” Modern Afghanistan became a pawn in struggles over political ideology and commercial influence. One objective of the Taliban was to use Islam as a unifying force to bring the country together. His book on important concepts, the Ruhnama (The Book of the Soul), was to be read by all schoolchildren and the public. Under Taliban rule, women were removed from positions in hospitals, schools, and work environments and had to wear burkas (also spelled burqas) and be covered from head to toe, including a veil over their faces. Afghanistan is completely landlocked—the nearest coast lies along the Arabian Sea, about 300 miles (480 km) to the south—and, because of both its isolation and its volatile political history, it remains one of the most poorly surveyed areas of the world. Explain the geopolitical history of Afghanistan and why this area has been so difficult to govern under a central government. Turkestan) has been dominated by the Soviet Union during the twentieth century. Unemployment is high, and job opportunities have not been able to keep up with demand. Quoting from ‘The Quest by Daniel Yergin’. It comprises some 40,000 square miles (103,000 square km) of plains and fertile foothills sloping gently toward the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus River). Map is showing Afghanistan with surrounding countries, international borders, the national capital Kabul, provincial capitals, major cities, main roads, railroads and major airports. A large portion of southern Kazakhstan is desert, including the northern regions of the Kyzyl Kum Desert. First and foremost, Central Asia is linked to Afghanistan geographically; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan share borders with Afghanistan that collectively span … The Central Asian countries, all former republics of the Soviet Union, have been closely involved with developments in Afghanistan since the Soviets invaded in 1979. Just as he had opposed the Soviet Union, he now opposed the United States, even though the United States had supported him against the Soviets. With growing instability in the northern parts of Afghanistan, Central Asian concerns are … Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In particular, several northern provinces have been under pressure from various militant groups. After regrouping, the Taliban rallied its supporters on the Pakistani side of the border and returned to the fighting front in Afghanistan against North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and US forces. Figure 8.68 Propaganda Poster in Afghanistan with Image of Osama bin Laden. The boundary lines were created during the Soviet era to provide the central government with more control over its republics by politicizing enclaves to their benefit. The steppe produces grain in large quantities and other agricultural products, while the productive mining of minerals adds to the national wealth. As a result, Aydar Lake was created and became the second-largest lake in Uzbekistan. The Soviet invasion brought the internally warring factions together for a short period to focus on the Soviet threat. Afghanistan is technically not South-Central Asia either. In the last quarter of the 20th century, Afghanistan suffered the ruinous effects of civil war greatly exacerbated by a military invasion and occupation by the Soviet Union (1979–89). Afghanistan’s future is insecure. The country is the world’s largest producer of opium, a product extracted from a poppy plant seedpod that can also be refined into heroin. The average elevation is about 2,000 feet (600 metres). For example, he changed all the names of the days of the week and the months of the year to his name, the names of his family members, and the names of Turkmen heroes or famous people. Political instability and corruption has hampered the growth of a market economy, and political power remains in the hands of the economic elite. The expansive treeless, grassy steppes that surround the desert regions are considered an extension of the steppes of Eastern Europe. Is urban, and China a part of the Caspian Sea throughout the country together Iraq, and.... 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