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129-705: The Kabul -based Commission was established on the basis of a decree of the Chairman of the Interim Administration on June 6, 2002, pursuant to the Bonn Agreement (5 December 2001); United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 1993 endorsing the Paris Principles on national human rights institutions, and Article 58 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan . The AIHRC described itself as

258-547: A Cold War episode resulting in East Pakistan 's secession, was the most recent instance of a new nation being formed in the region. South Asia has a total area of 5.2 million sq.km (2 million sq.mi), which is 10% of the Asian continent. The population of South Asia is estimated to be 2.04 billion or about one-fourth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in

387-738: A "constitutionalized, national and independent human rights body in Afghanistan." It refers destitute orphans to the Mahboba's promise non-governmental organisation. As of 2019, its chairperson was Shaharzad Akbar . The AIHRC played a role in the 2007 Canadian Afghan detainee abuse scandal when questions arose about the ability of the AIHRC to monitor the status of individuals detained by Canadian soldiers and given into Afghan custody. A report in The Globe and Mail quoted several AIHRC investigators as being glad of

516-612: A 10-year Soviet–Afghan War . The 1990s were marked by civil wars between splinter factions of the disbanded Afghan mujahideen which destroyed much of the city. In 1996, Kabul was captured by the Taliban after four years of intermittent fighting. The Taliban-ruled city fell to the United States after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan which followed the September 11 attacks in

645-510: A Jewish quarter in Kabul. In the early 19th century, Kabul and other major Afghan cities became sites of refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in neighboring Iran. Jews were generally tolerated for most of their time in Afghanistan, up until the passage of anti-Jewish laws in the 1870s. Jews were given a reprieve under the rule of King Nadir Shah until his assassination in 1933. The influence of Nazi propaganda led to increased violence against Jews and

774-562: A cement factory,a mechanised bakery, a five-lane highway from Kabul to the Soviet border and dams, including the Salang Pass to the north of Kabul. During the 1960s, Soviet-style microrayon housing estates were built, containing sixty blocks. The government also built many ministry buildings in the brutalist architecture style. In the 1960s the first Marks & Spencer store in Central Asia

903-597: A colonial economy, but also consolidating its sovereignty . British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root. In 1947 the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions , a Hindu-majority Dominion of India and a Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan , amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War ,

1032-445: A crossroads in Asia —roughly halfway between Istanbul, Turkey , in the west and Hanoi, Vietnam , in the east—the city is situated in a strategic location along the trade routes of Central Asia and South Asia . It was a key destination on the ancient Silk Road and was traditionally seen as the meeting point between Tartary , India and Persia . Over the centuries Kabul has been under

1161-654: A daily basis, and the Soviet Army stopped patrolling the city in January 1981. A major uprising against the Soviet presence broke out in Kabul in February 1980 in what is called the 3 Hut uprising . It led to a night curfew in the city that would remain in place for seven years. The Soviet Embassy also, was attacked four times with arms fire in the first five years of the war. A Western correspondent revisiting Kabul in December 1983 after

1290-407: A frontier city for the empire; Abul Fazl , Emperor Akbar's chronicler, described it as one of the two gates to Hindustan (the other being Kandahar ). As part of administrative reforms under Akbar, the city was made capital of the eponymous Mughal province, Kabul Subah . Under Mughal governance, Kabul became a prosperous urban centre, endowed with bazaars such as the non-extant Char Chatta . For

1419-696: A full 5-year term in office. India has grown significantly, having slashed its rate of extreme poverty to below 20% and surpassed Pakistan's GDP per capita in the 2010s due to economic liberalisation from the 1980s onward. Bangladesh, having struggled greatly for decades due to conflict with and economic exploitation by Pakistan, is now one of the fastest-growing countries in the region, beating India in terms of GDP per capita . Afghanistan has gone through several invasions and Islamist regimes, with many of its refugees having gone to Pakistan and other parts of South Asia and bringing back cultural influences such as cricket . Religious nationalism has grown across

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1548-678: A land mass which extends from the Himalayas into a portion of the basin under the Indian Ocean, including parts of South China and Eastern Indonesia , as well as Kunlun and Karakoram ranges, and extending up to but not including Ladakh , Kohistan , the Hindu Kush range, and Balochistan . It may be noted that geophysically the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet is situated at the outside

1677-594: A large part of the region between the 4th and 7th centuries, a period that saw the construction of major temples, monasteries and universities such as the Nalanda . During this era, and through the 10th century, numerous cave monasteries and temples such as the Ajanta Caves , Badami cave temples , and Ellora Caves were built in South Asia. Islam came as a political power in the fringe of South Asia in 8th century CE when

1806-592: A nexus of ethnic groups in the region, caused Kabul to become known as the Paris of Central Asia in the late 20th century. The origin of Kabul, who built it and when, is largely unknown. The Hindu Rigveda , composed between 2000 and 1500 BC and one of the four canonical texts of Hinduism , and the Avesta, the primary canon of texts of Zoroastrianism, refer to the Kabul River and to a settlement called Kubha . The Kabul valley

1935-764: A principality for himself by expanding the Islamic world, and thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom that became the Delhi Sultanate . Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence and geographical claims of Mu'izz al-Din in South Asia by that time. The Delhi Sultanate covered varying parts of South Asia and was ruled by a series of dynasties: Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodi dynasties. Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to power in 1325, launched

2064-546: A rabbi in her home throughout the first Islamic Emirate, lived in Morad Khane , Kabul for decades. While she was married to a Muslim man as a child, she still covertly attended synagogue and tried to teach her children what Hebrew prayers she could remember from her childhood. As of her departure in November 2021, there are believed to be no Jews in Afghanistan. The Islamic conquest reached modern-day Afghanistan in 642 AD, at

2193-470: A rescue attempt at the Serena Hotel. There were conflicting reports of who abducted Dubs and what demands were made for his release. Several senior Soviet officials were in the lobby of the hotel during a standoff with the kidnappers, who were holding Dubs in room 117. Afghan police, acting on the advice of Soviet advisors and over the objections of U.S. officials, launched a rescue attempt, during which Dubs

2322-460: A scholar of political science at Carleton University , the terms South Asia, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia are distinct, but the confusion and disagreements have arisen due to the geopolitical movement to enlarge these regions into Greater South Asia, Greater Southwest Asia , and Greater Central Asia . The frontier of Greater South Asia, states Cutler, between 2001 and 2006 has been geopolitically extended to eastern Iran and western Afghanistan in

2451-596: A time when Kabul was independent. Until then, Kabul was considered politically and culturally part of the Indian world. A number of failed expeditions were made to Islamise the region. In one of them, Abdur Rahman bin Samara arrived in Kabul from Zaranj in the late 600s and converted 12,000 inhabitants to Islam before abandoning the city. Muslims were a minority until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar of Zaranj conquered Kabul in 870 from

2580-457: A vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of Persians called Afghans. They hold mountains and defiles and possess considerable strength, and are mostly highwaymen. Their principal mountain is called Kuh Sulayman . In the 14th century, Kabul became a major trading centre under the kingdom of Timur ( Tamerlane ). In 1504, the city fell to Babur from the north and made into his headquarters, which became one of

2709-587: A war of expansion and the Delhi Sultanate reached it largest geographical reach over the South Asian region during his 26-year rule. A Sunni Sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq persecuted non-Muslims such as Hindus, as well as non-Sunni Muslims such as Shia and Mahdi sects. Revolts against the Delhi Sultanate sprang up in many parts of South Asia during the 14th century. In the northeast, the Bengal Sultanate became independent in 1346 CE. It remained in power through

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2838-493: A year, said that the city was "converted into a fortress bristling with weapons". Contrastingly, that same year American diplomat Charles Dunbar commented that the Soviet troops' presence was "surprisingly modest", and an author in a 1983 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article thought that the Soviet soldiers had a "friendly" atmosphere. South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia , which

2967-505: Is bounded by the Kabul River . At an elevation of 1,790 metres (5,873 ft), it is one of the highest capital cities in the world . The center of the city contains its old neighborhoods, including the areas of Khashti Bridge, Khabgah, Kahforoshi, Deh-Afghanan, Chandavel, Shorbazar, Saraji and Baghe Alimardan. Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, and was mentioned at the time of the Achaemenid Persian Empire . Located at

3096-517: Is defined in both geographical and ethnic - cultural terms. With a population of 2.04 billion living in South Asia, it contains a quarter (25%) of the world's population. As commonly conceptualised, the modern states of South Asia include Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , the Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka , with Afghanistan also often included, which may otherwise be classified as part of Central Asia . South Asia borders East Asia to

3225-435: Is divided for administration into 22 municipal districts . In 2025 its population is estimated to be 6.74 million people. In contemporary times, Kabul has served as Afghanistan's political, cultural and economical center. Rapid urbanisation has made it the country's primate city and the 75th-largest city in the world . The modern-day city of Kabul is located high in a narrow valley in the Hindu Kush mountain range, and

3354-679: Is due to the main bridge on the Kabul River that connected the east and west of the city. In 420 AD, the Indo-Sassanids were driven out of Afghanistan by the Xionite tribe known as the Kidarites , who were then replaced in the 460s by the Hephthalites . It became part of the surviving Turk Shahi Kingdom of Kapisa , also known as Kabul-Shahan . According to Táríkhu-l Hind by Al-Biruni , Kabul

3483-594: Is known for its historical gardens, bazaars , and palaces such as the Gardens of Babur , Darul Aman Palace and the Arg . In the second half of the 20th century, the city became a stop on the hippie trail undertaken by many Europeans and gained the nickname " Paris of Central Asia". This period of tranquility ended in 1978 with the Saur Revolution , and the subsequent Soviet military intervention in 1979 which sparked

3612-564: Is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical Greek writings. The Chinese Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang refers to the city as Kaofu in the 7th century AD, which is the appellation of one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who had migrated from across the Hindu Kush into the Kabul valley around the beginning of the Common Era . It was conquered by Kushan Emperor Kujula Kadphises in about 45 AD and remained Kushan territory until at least

3741-476: Is no clear boundary – geographical, geopolitical, socio-cultural, economical, or historical – between South Asia and other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia and West Asia. The common definition of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the Indian Empire, with several exceptions. The current territories of Bangladesh , India , and Pakistan which were the core territories of

3870-775: Is surrounded by three water bodies – the Bay of Bengal , the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea  – and has acutely varied climate zones. The tip of the Indian Peninsula had the highest quality pearls. Most of this region is resting on the Indian Plate , the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate , separated from the rest of the Eurasian Plate . The Indian Plate includes most of South Asia, forming

3999-547: The Avesta (sacred book of Zoroastrianism ), Kabul was known as Vaekereta , whereas the Greeks of antiquity referred to it as Ortospana ("High Place"), which corresponds to the Sanskrit word Urddhastana , which was applied to Kabul. The Greek geographer Ptolemy (died c.  170 CE ) recorded Kabul as Καβουρα ( Kabura ). According to a legend, one could find a lake in Kabul, in

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4128-703: The British Empire from 1857 to 1947 also form the core territories of South Asia. The mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan , two independent countries that were not under the British Raj but were protectorates of the Empire, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives are generally included. By various definitions based on substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory and

4257-688: The Ganges and Indus river basins (where up to 60% of non-monsoon irrigation comes from the glaciers ) may be faced with severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons. By 2030, major Indian cities such as Mumbai , Kolkata , Cuttack , and Kochi are expected to end up with much of their territory below the tide level. In Mumbai alone, failing to adapt to this would result in damages of US$ 112–162 billion by 2050, which would nearly triple by 2070. Sea level rise in Bangladesh will displace 0.9–2.1 million people by 2050 and may force

4386-522: The Hellenic world ". In Sanskrit , it was known as Kubha , whereas Greek authors of classical antiquity referred to it as Kophen , Kophes or Koa . The Chinese traveler Xuanzang (fl. 7th century CE) recorded the city as Koafu (高附). The name "Kabul" was first applied to the Kabul River before being applied to the area situated between the Hindu-Kush and Sindh (present-day Pakistan ). This area

4515-612: The Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau , extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast). The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only

4644-560: The Hindu Kush region of South Asia for several years and then later moved into the Indus valley region. Later, the Maurya Empire extended over much of South Asia in the 3rd century BCE. Buddhism spread beyond south Asia, through northwest into Central Asia. The Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan and the edicts of Aśoka suggest that the Buddhist monks spread Buddhism (Dharma) in eastern provinces of

4773-457: The Hindu Shahis and established the first Islamic dynasty in the region. It was reported that the rulers of Kabul were Muslims with non-Muslims living close by. Iranian traveller and geographer Istakhri described it in 921: Kábul has a castle celebrated for its strength, accessible only by one road. In it there are Musulmáns , and it has a town, in which are infidels from Hind . Over

4902-695: The Indian subcontinent and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Himalayas , Karakoram , and Pamir Mountains in the north. Settled life emerged on the Indian subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River Basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200  BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from

5031-588: The Kuru -Pañcāla union was the most influential. The first recorded state-level society in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE. In this period, states Samuel, emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest Upanishads. These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation, or "Hindu synthesis" . Increasing urbanisation of South Asia between 800 and 400 BCE, and possibly

5160-755: The Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. According to anthropologist Possehl , the Indus Valley civilisation provides a logical, if somewhat arbitrary, starting point for South Asian religions, but these links from the Indus religion to later-day South Asian traditions are subject to scholarly dispute. The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans , lasted from c.  1900 to 500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were Indo-European -speaking pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after

5289-587: The Partition of India into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, which resulted in significant displacement and violence and harder religious divides in the region. In 1947, the newly independent India and Pakistan had to decide how to deal with the hundreds of princely states that controlled much of the subcontinent, as well as what to do with the remaining European (non-British) colonies. A combination of referendums, military action, and negotiated accessions took place in rapid succession, leading to

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5418-574: The Seleucid Empire , and possibly even farther into West Asia. The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka, later to Southeast Asia. Buddhism, by the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, was prominent in the Himalayan region, Gandhara, Hindu Kush region, and Bactria. From about 500 BCE through about 300 CE, the Vedic-Brahmanic synthesis or "Hindu synthesis" continued. Classical Hindu and Sramanic (particularly Buddhist) ideas spread within South Asia, as well as outside South Asia. The Gupta Empire ruled over

5547-401: The Soviet invasion in 1979. As of 1992, there were believed to be two Jews remaining in Afghanistan, both living in a synagogue in Kabul. The congregation's Torah scroll was confiscated during the first Islamic Emirate . Zebulon Simontov was believed and widely reported to be Afghanistan's last Jew, until Tova Moradi fled months after him, with her grandchildren. Moradi, who harbored

5676-552: The Soviet–Afghan War , and while fighting was mostly taking place in the countryside, Kabul was widely disturbed. Political crime and guerrilla attacks on military and government targets were common, and the sound of gunfire became commonplace at night in the outskirts. Large numbers of PDPA party members and Soviet troops were kidnapped or assassinated, sometimes in broad daylight, with acts of terrorism committed by civilians, anti-regime militias and also Khalqists . By July 1980, as many as twelve party members were being assassinated on

5805-419: The Tibet Autonomous Region may be included as well. Myanmar (Burma), a former British colony and now largely considered a part of Southeast Asia, is also sometimes included. Afghanistan is also included by some sources. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a contiguous block of countries, started in 1985 with seven countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,

5934-480: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region excludes Afghanistan from South Asia. Population Information Network (POPIN) excludes Maldives which is included as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network. The United Nations Statistics Division's scheme of subregions , for statistical purpose, includes Iran along with all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia . The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how

6063-475: The ghettoization of their communities in Kabul and Herat . Most of Afghanistan's Jews fled the country or congregated in these urban hubs. After the establishment of the state of Israel , the Jewish community requested permission from King Zahir Shah to migrate there. Afghanistan was the only country that allowed its Jewish residents to migrate to Israel without relinquishing their citizenship. Most of those remaining, approximately 2,000 in number, left after

6192-445: The "suggestion that the name is derived from the Arabic root qbl 'meeting' or 'receiving' is unlikely". It remains unknown when the name "Kabul" was first applied to the city. It "came into prominence" following the destruction of Kapisa and other cities in what is present-day Afghanistan by Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) in the thirteenth century. The centrality of the city within the region, as well as its cultural importance as

6321-485: The 16th century after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama returned to Europe. British, French, and Portuguese colonial interests struck treaties with these rulers and established their trading ports. In northwestern South Asia, a large region was consolidated into the Sikh Empire by Ranjit Singh . After the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal and Tipu Sultan and his French allies , British traders went on to dominate much of South Asia through divide-and-rule tactics by

6450-473: The 1940s and 1950s, urbanisation accelerated and the built-up area was increased in size to 68 km by 1962, an almost fourteen-fold increase since 1925. The Serena Hotel opened in 1945 as the first Western-style luxury hotel. In the 1950s, under the premiership of Mohammad Daoud Khan , foreign investment and development increased. In 1955, the Soviet Union forwarded $ 100 million in credit to Afghanistan which financed public transportation, airports,

6579-401: The 1940s, two rival camps had emerged among independence activists: those who favored a separate nation for Indian Muslims, and those who wanted a united India . As World War II raged, over 2 million Indians fought for Britain; by the end of the war, Britain was greatly weakened, and thus decided to grant independence to the vast majority of South Asians in 1947, though this coincided with

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6708-412: The 3rd century AD. The Kushans were Indo-European-speaking peoples related to the Yuezhi and based in Bactria . Around 230 AD, the Kushans were defeated by the Sassanid Empire and replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the Indo-Sassanids . During the Sassanian period, the city was referred to as "Kapul" in Pahlavi scripts . Kapol in the Persian language means Royal (ka) Bridge (pol), which

6837-411: The AIHRC to be dissolved. The AIHRC refused to recognise the dissolution, stating "The AIHRC belongs to the people of Afghanistan and continues its activities to monitor, evaluate, promote and protect human rights in Afghanistan. ... The AIHRC belongs to the people of Afghanistan, and only decisions based on the will of the people and by international standards will justify its fate." The AIHRC stated that

6966-433: The Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh , and Multan in southern Punjab, in modern-day Pakistan. By 962 CE, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia. Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni , who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030. Mahmud of Ghazni raided

7095-418: The Delhi Sultanate. Babur defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. The death of Ibrahim Lodi ended the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire replaced it. The modern history period of South Asia, that is the 16th century onwards, witnessed the establishment of the Mughal Empire, with Sunni Islam theology. The first ruler was Babur had Turco-Mongol roots and his realm included

7224-402: The Eurasian plate nearly 55 million years ago, towards the end of Palaeocene. This geological region largely includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Historians Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot state that the term "Indian subcontinent" describes a natural physical landmass in South Asia that has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The use of

7353-615: The Great annexed the Achaemenid Empire, the Kabul region came under his control. After his death, his empire was seized by his general Seleucus , becoming part of the Seleucid Empire . In 305 BC, the Seleucid Empire was extended to the Indus River which led to friction with the neighbouring Mauryan Empire . During the Mauryan period, trade flourished because of uniform weights and measures. Irrigation facilities for public use were developed leading to an increased harvest of crops. People were also employed as artisans, jewelers, and carpenters. The Greco-Bactrians took control of Kabul from

7482-527: The Indian Ocean blows towards the center. The monsoons are the second coolest season of the year because of high humidity and cloud covering. But, at the beginning of June, the jetstreams vanish above the Tibetan Plateau , low pressure over the Indus Valley deepens and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) moves in. The change is violent. Moderately vigorous monsoon depressions form in the Bay of Bengal and make landfall from June to September. South Asian countries are expected to experience more flooding in

7611-422: The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – and admitted Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2007. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of full members of SAARC. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement admitted Afghanistan in 2011. The World Bank and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recognises the eight SAARC countries as South Asia, The Hirschman–Herfindahl index of

7740-399: The Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, then lost the city to their successors in the Indo-Greek Kingdom around the mid-2nd century BC. Buddhism was greatly patronised by these rulers and the majority of people of the city were adherents of the religion. Indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. It

7869-404: The Mughal Empire, which marks the beginning of modern India, in the early 18th century, provided opportunities for the Marathas , Sikhs , Mysoreans , and Nawabs of Bengal to exercise control over large regions of the Indian subcontinent. By the mid-18th century, India was a major proto-industrializing region. Maritime trading between South Asia and European merchants began at the turn of

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7998-401: The Mughal emperors after their revolts and were executed when they refused to convert to Islam. Religious taxes on non-Muslims called jizya were imposed. Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh temples were desecrated. However, not all Muslim rulers persecuted non-Muslims. Akbar , a Mughal ruler for example, sought religious tolerance and abolished jizya. The death of Aurangzeb and the collapse of

8127-482: The Rajput kingdoms and Vijayanagara, its boundaries encompassed almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent. The Mughal Empire was marked by a period of artistic exchanges and a Central Asian and South Asian architecture synthesis, with remarkable buildings such as the Taj Mahal . However, this time also marked an extended period of religious persecution . Two of the religious leaders of Sikhism , Guru Arjan , and Guru Tegh Bahadur were arrested under orders of

8256-407: The Soviet manner. Education was modified into the Soviet model, with lessons focusing on teaching Russian , Marxism–Leninism and learning of other countries belonging to the Soviet bloc. Amid growing internal chaos and heightened cold war tensions, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs , was kidnapped on his way to work at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on 14 February 1979 and killed during

8385-413: The Taliban government "lacks national legitimacy and international recognition and is not based on the people's will". In October 2007, with support from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , the AIHRC secured 'A-status' accreditation from the peer review process of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions , giving it enhanced access to

8514-413: The US in 2001. In 2021, Kabul was re-occupied by the Taliban following the withdrawal of American and NATO-led military forces from Afghanistan . Kabul is also spelled as Cabool , Cabol , Kabol , or Cabul . Kabul was known by different names throughout its history. Its meaning is unknown, but "certainly pre-dates the advent of Islam when it was an important centre on the route between India and

8643-417: The United Nations human rights bodies. That status was subjected to special review by the ICC in November 2008, and reaffirmed. The commission is a member of the Asia Pacific Forum , one of the four regional groupings in the ICC. Kabul Kabul is the capital city of Afghanistan . Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province . The city

8772-402: The altitude but also by factors such as proximity to the seacoast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons . Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon periods. The northern belt of Indo-Gangetic plains also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalayan ranges. As the Himalayas block

8901-410: The area adjustment to Pakistan and western India records lower than 20%–30%. Climate of South Asia is largely characterised by monsoons. South Asia depends critically on monsoon rainfall. Two monsoon systems exist in the region: The warmest period of the year precedes the monsoon season (March to mid June). In the summer the low pressures are centered over the Indus-Gangetic Plain and high wind from

9030-579: The beginning of Afghanistan. By this time, Kabul had lost its status as a metropolitan city, and its population had decreased to 10,000. Interest in the city was renewed when Ahmad Shah's son Timur Shah Durrani , after inheriting power, transferred the capital of the Durrani Empire from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776. Kabul experienced considerable urban development during the reigns of Timur Shah and his successor Zaman Shah ; several religious and public buildings were constructed, and diverse groups of Sufis , jurists, and literary families were encouraged to settle

9159-430: The border of the regional structure, while the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan are situated inside that border. The Indian subcontinent formerly formed part of the supercontinent Gondwana , before rifting away during the Cretaceous period and colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50–55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau . It is the peninsular region south of

9288-483: The broader Indo-Pacific . According to Saul Cohen, early colonial era strategists treated South Asia with East Asia, but in reality, the South Asia region excluding Afghanistan is a distinct geopolitical region separated from other nearby geostrategic realms, one that is geographically diverse. The region is home to a variety of geographical features, such as glaciers , rainforests , valleys , deserts , and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It

9417-520: The city through land grants and stipends. Kabul's first visitor from Europe was Englishman George Forster , who described 18th-century Kabul as "the best and cleanest city in Asia". In 1826, the kingdom was claimed by Dost Mohammad Khan , but in 1839 Shujah Shah Durrani was re-installed with the help of the British Empire during the First Anglo-Afghan War . In 1841 a local uprising resulted in

9546-560: The city's new-found tourism, western-style accommodations were opened in the 1960s, notably the Spinzar Hotel. Western, American and Japanese tourists visited the city's attractions including Chicken Street and the National Museum that contained some of Asia's finest cultural artifacts. Lonely Planet called it an upcoming "tourist trap" in 1973. Pakistanis visited to watch Indian movies that were banned in their own country. Kabul

9675-471: The collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change after 1500 BCE, with the linguistic and religious data showing links with Indo-European languages and religion. By about 1200 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia. Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which

9804-564: The concerns of Pakistan and Bangladesh, particularly given the recurring conflicts between India and Pakistan, wherein the dominant placement of "India" as a prefix before the subcontinent might offend some political sentiments. However, in Pakistan, the term "South Asia" is considered too India-centric and was banned until 1989 after the death of Zia ul Haq . This region has also been labelled as "India" (in its classical and pre-modern sense) and " Greater India ". According to Robert M. Cutler –

9933-610: The control of the Afsharids following Nader Shah's invasion of India , until finally coming under local rule by the Afghan Empire in 1747. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan in 1776 during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani (a son of Ahmad Shah Durrani ). In the 19th century the city was occupied by the British : after establishing foreign relations and agreements, they withdrew from Afghanistan and returned to British India . Kabul

10062-549: The country and maintained high schools and lycees in the capital, providing education for the children of the city's elite families. Kabul University opened in 1932, and by the 1960s the majority of teachers were western educated Afghans and the majority of instructors at the university had degrees from Western universities. Kabul's only railway service, the Kabul–Darulaman Tramway , operated for six years from 1923 to 1929. When Zahir Shah took power in 1933, Kabul had

10191-497: The country most likely to be the worst-affected. In the 2017 edition of Germanwatch 's Climate Risk Index , Bangladesh and Pakistan ranked sixth and seventh respectively as the countries most affected by climate change in the period from 1996 to 2015, while India ranked fourth among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2015. Some research suggests that South Asia as a whole would lose 2% of its GDP to climate change by 2050, while these losses would approach 9% by

10320-534: The death of Genghis Khan's grandson. As a result, many natives of Afghanistan fled south toward the Indian subcontinent where some established dynasties in Delhi . The Chagatai Khanate and Kartids were vassals of Ilkhanate until the dissolution of the latter in 1335. Following the era of the Khalji dynasty in 1333, the famous Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta was visiting Kabul and wrote: We travelled on to Kabul, formerly

10449-704: The early 16th century. The state religion of the sultanate was Islam. In South India , the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire came to power in 1336 and persisted until the middle of the 16th century. It was ultimately defeated and destroyed by an alliance of the Muslim Deccan sultanates at the Battle of Talikota . About 1526, the Punjab governor Dawlat Khan Lodī reached out to the Mughal Babur and invited him to attack

10578-682: The early 19th century. The region experienced significant de-industrialisation in its first few decades of British rule. Control over the subcontinent was then transferred to the British government after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , with the British cracking down to some extent afterwards. An increase of famines and extreme poverty characterised the colonial period, though railways built with British technology eventually provided crucial famine relief by increasing food distribution throughout India. Millions of South Asians began to migrate throughout

10707-569: The end of the century under the most intense climate change scenario. Ethnolinguistically , Northern South Asia is predominantly Indo-Aryan , along with Iranic populations in Afghanistan and Balochistan , and diverse linguistic communities near the Himalayas. Its borders have been heavily contested (primarily between India and its neighbours Pakistan and China , as well as separatist movements in Northeast India.) This tension in

10836-480: The famous Persian couplet , which states: اگرفردوس روی زمین است همین است و همین است و همین است Transliteration: Agar fardus rui zamayn ast', hameen ast', o hameen ast', o hameen ast'. (If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, and it is this, and it is this!) Kabul remained in Mughal control for the next 200 years. Though Mughal power became centred within the Indian subcontinent , Kabul retained importance as

10965-570: The first time in its history, Kabul served as a mint centre, producing gold and silver Mughal coins up to the reign of Alamgir II . It acted as a military base for Shah Jahan's campaigns in Balkh and Badakhshan . Kabul was also a recreational retreat for the Mughals, who hunted here and constructed several gardens. Most of the Mughals' architectural contributions to the city (such as gardens, fortifications, and mosques) have not survived. During this time,

11094-509: The following centuries, the city was successively controlled by the Samanids , Ghaznavids , Ghurids , Khwarazmshahs , Qarlughids , and Khaljis . In the 13th century, the invading Mongols caused major destruction in the region. Report of a massacre in the close by Bamiyan is recorded around this period, where the entire population of the valley was annihilated by the Mongol troops as revenge for

11223-413: The future as the monsoon pattern intensifies. Across Asia as a whole, 100-year extremes in vapour transport (directly related to extreme precipitation) would become 2.6 times more frequent under 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) of global warming, yet 3.9 and 7.5 times more frequent under 2 °C (3.6 °F) and 3 °C (5.4 °F). In parts of South Asia, they could become up to 15 times more frequent. At

11352-463: The killing of the British resident and loss of mission in Kabul and the 1842 retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad , in which 4,500 regular British troops and 14,000 civilians were killed by Afghan tribesmen. In 1842 the British returned to Kabul, demolishing the city's main bazaar in revenge during the Kabul Expedition (1842) before returning to British India (now Pakistan). Akbar Khan took to

11481-409: The lowest-emission climate change scenarios . Under the high-emission scenario, 40 million people (nearly 2% of the South Asian population) may be driven to internal migration by 2050 due to climate change. India is estimated to have the world's highest social cost of carbon - meaning that it experiences the greatest impact from greenhouse gas emissions . Other estimates describe Bangladesh as

11610-480: The mesolithic sites as evidenced by the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older, as well as neolithic times. The Indus Valley civilisation , which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of South Asia from c.  3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan , North India , and Afghanistan , was the first major civilisation in South Asia. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in

11739-535: The middle of which the so-called "Island of Happiness" could be found, where a joyous family of musicians lived. According to this same legend, the island became accessible by the order of a king through the construction of a bridge (i.e. "pul" in Persian) made out of straw (i.e. "kah" in Persian). According to this legend the name Kabul was thus formed as a result of these two words combined, i.e. kah + pul . The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names argues that

11868-399: The new king was assassinated during an award ceremony in a school in Kabul. The throne was left to his 19-year-old son, Zahir Shah , who became the last King of Afghanistan . Unlike Amanullah Khan, Nader Khan and Zahir Shah had no plans to create a new capital city, and thus Kabul remained the country's seat of government . During the inter-war period , France and Germany helped to develop

11997-501: The north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east, and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. The terms " Indian subcontinent " and "South Asia" are sometimes used interchangeably. The Indian subcontinent is largely a geological term referring to the land mass that drifted northeastwards from ancient Gondwana , colliding with

12126-553: The north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For the most part, the climate of the region is called the monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favours the cultivation of jute , tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region. South Asia is largely divided into four broad climate zones: Maximum relative humidity of over 80% has been recorded in Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Sri Lanka, while

12255-471: The northeast, Central Asia to the northwest, West Asia to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. Apart from Southeast Asia, Maritime South Asia is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere . The British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of the Maldives in South Asia lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere . Topographically, it is dominated by

12384-596: The northwest, with the Dravidian languages being supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400  BCE , stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism , and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity. In the early medieval era, Christianity , Islam , Judaism , and Zoroastrianism became established on South Asia's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran

12513-570: The northwestern and Indo-Gangetic Plain regions of South Asia. Several regions of South Asia were largely under Hindu kings such as those of the Vijayanagara Empire and the Kingdom of Mewar . Parts of modern Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were under local Muslim rulers, namely those of the Deccan sultanates. The Mughal Empire continued its wars of expansion after Babur's death. With the fall of

12642-669: The only 10 kilometers (6 miles) of rail and the country had few internal telegraphs, phone lines or roads. Zahir turned to the Japanese, Germans and Italians for help in developing a modern transportation and communications network. A radio tower built in Kabul by the Germans in 1937 provided communication with outlying villages. A national bank and state cartels were organised to allow for economic modernisation. Textile mills, power plants, carpet and furniture factories were built in Kabul, providing much-needed manufacturing and infrastructure. During

12771-469: The plains of northern India, eventually founding the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, and drawing the region into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam . The Islamic Mughal Empire , in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace, leaving a legacy of luminous architecture. Gradually expanding rule of the British East India Company followed, turning most of South Asia into

12900-548: The political integration of the vast majority of India and Pakistan within a few years. India and Pakistan clashed several times in the decades after Independence, with disputes over Kashmir playing a significant role. In 1971, the eastern half of Pakistan seceded with help from India and became the People's Republic of Bangladesh after the traumatic Bangladesh Liberation War . This, along with India and Pakistan gaining nuclear weapons soon afterwards, increased tensions between

13029-591: The population was about 60,000. Under later Mughal Emperors , Kabul became neglected. The empire lost the city when it was captured in 1738 by Nader Shah , who was en route to invade the Indian subcontinent . Nine years after Nader Shah and his forces invaded and occupied the city as part of the more easternmost parts of his Empire, he was assassinated by his own officers, causing its rapid disintegration. Ahmad Shah Durrani , commander of 4,000 Abdali Afghans , asserted Pashtun rule in 1747 and further expanded his new Afghan Empire . His ascension to power marked

13158-504: The population was concentrated on the south side of the river. The city was modernised throughout the regime of King Habibullah Khan , with the introduction of electricity, telephone, and a postal service. The first modern high school, Habibia , was established in 1903. In 1919, after the Third Anglo-Afghan War , King Amanullah Khan announced Afghanistan's independence in foreign affairs at Eidgah Mosque in Kabul. Amanullah

13287-496: The principal cities of his later Mughal Empire . In 1525, Babur described Kabulistan in his memoirs by writing that: There are many differing tribes in the Kābul country ; in its dales and plains are Turks and clansmen and 'Arabs ; and in its town and in many villages, Sārts ; out in the districts and also in villages are the Pashāi , Parājī , Tājik , Bīrkī and Afghān tribes. In

13416-405: The region is defined. South Asia's northern, eastern, and western boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean is the southern periphery. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers. Much of the region consists of a peninsula in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on

13545-653: The region, with persecution causing millions of Hindus and Christians to flee Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Hindu nationalism having grown in India with the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. A recent phenomenon has been that of India and China fighting on their border , as well as vying for dominance of South Asia , with China partnering with Pakistan and using its superior economy to attract countries surrounding India, while America and other countries have strengthened ties with India to counter China in

13674-420: The relocation of up to one third of power plants by 2030. Food security will become more uneven, and some South Asian countries could experience significant social impacts from global food price volatility. Infectious diarrhoea mortality and dengue fever incidence is also likely to increase across South Asia. Parts of South Asia would also reach "critical health thresholds" for heat stress under all but

13803-581: The renewed attention to human rights that the Canadian scandal had created, but fearful of the political consequences from the Afghan leadership once past abuses came to light. Following the Taliban capture of the country in 2021, the AIHRC was unable to carry out its work, due to the Taliban confiscating the human rights commission's "buildings, vehicles and computers". In 2022, the de facto Taliban government declared

13932-843: The rule of various dynasties and empires, including the Seleucids , Bactrian Greeks , Mauryans , the Kushans , the Hindu Shahis , Western Turks , the Turk Shahis , the Samanids , the Khwarazmians , the Timurids , the Mongols and the Arman Rayamajhis. In the 16th century, the Mughal Empire used Kabul as a summer capital, during which time it prospered and increased in significance. It briefly came under

14061-470: The same time, up to two-thirds of glacier ice in the Hindu Kush region may melt by 2100 under high warming, and these glaciers feed the water basin of over 220 million people. As glacier meltwater flow diminishes after 2050, Hydropower generation would become less predictable and reliable, while agriculture would become more reliant on the intensified monsoon than ever before. Around 2050, people living in

14190-464: The spread of urban diseases, contributed to the rise of ascetic movements and of new ideas which challenged the orthodox Brahmanism . These ideas led to Sramana movements, of which Mahavira ( c.  549 –477 BCE), proponent of Jainism , and Buddha ( c.  563  – c.  483 ), founder of Buddhism , was the most prominent icons. The Greek army led by Alexander the Great stayed in

14319-499: The term Indian subcontinent began in the British Empire, and has been a term particularly common in its successors. South Asia as the preferred term is particularly common when scholars or officials seek to differentiate this region from East Asia. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal , the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance." This "neutral" notion refers to

14448-483: The throne from 1842 to 1845 and was followed by Dost Mohammad Khan. The Second Anglo-Afghan War broke out in 1879 when Kabul was under Sher Ali Khan 's rule, as the Afghan king initially refused to accept British diplomatic missions and later the British residents were again massacred. During the war, Bala Hissar was partially destroyed by a fire and an explosion. In Kabul, an established bazaar city, leather and textile industries developed by 1916. The majority of

14577-513: The treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. The wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni, plundering and looting these kingdoms. The raids did not establish or extend permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad began a systematic war of expansion into North India in 1173. He sought to carve out

14706-584: The two countries. The Cold War decades also contributed to the divide , as Pakistan aligned with the West and India with the Soviet Union ; other factors include the time period after the 1962 Sino-Indian War , which saw India and China move apart while Pakistan and China built closer relations. Pakistan has been beset with terrorism , economic issues , and military dominance of its government since Independence, with none of its Prime Ministers having completed

14835-534: The west, and in the north to northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and southern Uzbekistan . Identification with a South Asian identity was found to be significantly low among respondents in an older two-year survey across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The history of core South Asia begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens , as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The earliest prehistoric culture have roots in

14964-656: The western mountains are the Hazāra and Nikdīrī tribes, some of whom speak the Mughūlī tongue. In the north-eastern mountains are the places of the Kāfirs , such as Kitūr and Gibrik . To the south are the places of the Afghān tribes . Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat , a poet from Hindustan who visited at the time wrote: "Dine and drink in Kabul: it is mountain, desert, city, river and all else." It

15093-547: The world , impelled by the economic/ labour needs and opportunities presented by the British Empire. The introduction of Western political thought inspired a growing Indian intellectual movement, and so by the 20th century, British rule began to be challenged by the Indian National Congress , which sought full independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi . Britain, under pressure from Indian freedom fighters, increasingly gave self-rule to British India. By

15222-412: The world. In 2022, South Asia had the world's largest populations of Hindus , Muslims , Sikhs , Jains, and Zoroastrians. South Asia alone accounts for 90.47% of Hindus, 95.5% of Sikhs, and 31% of Muslims worldwide, as well as 35 million Christians and 25 million Buddhists. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which

15351-522: Was a stop on the Hippie trail from Bamyan to the west towards Peshawar . The city was known for its street sales of hashish and became a major attraction for western hippies . On 28 April 1978, President Daoud and most of his family were assassinated in Kabul's Presidential Palace in what is called the Saur Revolution . Pro-Soviet PDPA under Nur Muhammad Taraki seized power and slowly began to institute reforms. Private businesses were nationalised in

15480-486: Was also known as Kabulistan . Alexander Cunningham (died 1893) noted in the 19th century that Kaofu, as recorded by the Chinese was in all likelihood the name of "one of the five Yuchi or Tukhari tribes". Cunningam added that this tribe gave its name to the city after it was occupied by them in the 2nd century BCE. This "supposition seems likely" as the Afghan historian Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1898–1978) wrote that in

15609-450: Was built in the city. Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967, which was maintained with the help of visiting German zoologists . During this time, Kabul experimented with liberalisation, notably the loosening of restrictions on speech and assembly, which led to student politics in the capital and demonstrations by Socialist, Maoist, liberal or Islamist factions. Foreigners flocked to Kabul as the nation's tourism industry expanded. To accompany

15738-439: Was established in 1985 and includes all the nations comprising South Asia. The geographical extent is not clear cut as systemic and foreign policy orientations of its constituents are quite asymmetrical. Beyond the core territories of the Indian Empire (territories of the British Empire which were under the system of British Raj), there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia. There

15867-470: Was from here that Babur began his 1526 conquest of Hindustan, which was ruled by the Afghan Lodi dynasty and began east of the Indus River in what is present-day Pakistan . Babur loved Kabul due to the fact that he lived in it for 20 years and the people were loyal to him, including the weather that he was used to. His wish to be buried in Kabul was finally granted. The inscription on his tomb contains

15996-517: Was governed by princes of Turkic lineage. It was briefly held by the Tibetan Empire between 801 and 815. Jews had a presence in Afghanistan from ancient times until 2021. There are records of religious correspondence establishing the presence of Jews in Kabul since the 8th century, though it is believed that they were present centuries or even millenia earlier. The 12th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote down his observations of

16125-540: Was heard loudly saying: " Kabul must burn! Kabul must burn! ", and mastered the idea of proxy war in Afghanistan. Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq authorised this operation under General Rahman, which was later merged with Operation Cyclone , a programme funded by the United States and carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency . The Soviets turned the city of Kabul into their command centre during

16254-452: Was nicknamed the Paris of Central Asia . According to J. Bruce Amstutz , an American diplomat in Kabul: [Before the 1978 Marxist coup d'etat] Kabul was a pleasant city [..] Though poor economically, it was spared the eyesore slums so visible in other Asian cities. The Afghans themselves were an imposing people, the men tall and self-assured and the women attractive. Until the late 1970s, Kabul

16383-652: Was part of the Median Empire (c. 678–549 BC). In 549 BC, the Median Empire was annexed by Cyrus The Great and Kabul became part the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). During that period, Kabul became a center of learning for Zoroastrianism, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism . An inscription on Darius the Great 's tombstone lists Kabul as one of the 29 countries of the Achaemenid Empire. When Alexander

16512-472: Was reform-minded and he had a plan to build a new capital city on land 6 km from Kabul. This area, named Darulaman , consisted of the famous Darul Aman Palace , where he later resided. Many educational institutions were founded in Kabul during the 1920s. In 1929 King Amanullah left Kabul after a local uprising orchestrated by Habibullah Kalakani , but he was imprisoned and executed after nine months in power by King Nader Khan . Three years later, in 1933,

16641-495: Was shot in the head from a distance of six inches and killed. Many questions about the killing remain unanswered. On 24 December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Kabul was heavily occupied by Soviet Armed Forces . In Pakistan, Director-General of the ISI Akhtar Abdur Rahman advocated for the idea of covert operation in Afghanistan by arming Islamic extremists who formed the mujahideen. General Rahman

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