Misplaced Pages

Kunduz Province

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#782217

107-417: Kunduz ( Dari : قندوز ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan , located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan . The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically diverse provinces with many different ethnicities in large numbers living there. The city of Kunduz serves as the capital of the province. It borders

214-605: A Human Rights Watch 's report released in November 2021, the Taliban killed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former members of the Afghan security forces in the three months since the takeover in just the four provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, and Kunduz. According to the report, the Taliban identified targets for arrest and execution through intelligence operations and access to employment records that were left behind. Former members of

321-585: A cultural genocide against Afghans by destroying their historical and cultural texts, artifacts and sculptures. The Taliban held control of most of the country until the United States invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001. Many members of the Taliban fled to neighboring Pakistan. After being overthrown, the Taliban launched an insurgency to fight the US-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and

428-660: A distinction between varieties of the Sistan region and the varieties in the Western group. However Encyclopaedia Iranica considers the Sistani dialect to constitute their own distinctive group, with notable influences from Balochi . Dari does not distinguish [ ɪ ] and [ ɛ ] in any position, these are distinct phonemes in English but are in un-conditional free variation in nearly all dialects of Dari. There are no environmental factors related to

535-524: A foothold in Kunduz Province until 2009, but since then their influence expanded and they eventually captured the capital city of Kunduz briefly in 2015 and 2016. As of 2021, many parts are under Taliban control. Since the mid-2010s and in 2021 many residents have been forced to flee the province to places like Kabul or across the border to Tajikistan. On 8 August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Kunduz City according to local sources. The province

642-545: A loanword in English, Taliban , besides a plural noun referring to the group, has also been used as a singular noun referring to an individual. For example, John Walker Lindh has been referred to as "an American Taliban" rather than "an American Talib" in domestic media. This is different in Afghanistan, where a member or a supporter of the group is referred to as a Talib (طَالِبْ) or its plural Talib-ha (طَالِبْهَا). In other definitions, Taliban means 'seekers'. In English,

749-444: A modern dialect form of Persian that is the standard language used in administration, government, radio, television, and print media. Because of a preponderance of Dari native speakers, who normally refer to the language as Farsi ( فارسی , "Persian"), it is also known as "Afghan Persian" in some Western sources. There are different opinions about the origin of the word Dari . The majority of scholars believe that Dari refers to

856-518: A nearly identical categorization but considered varieties spoken in the Sistan region to constitute a distinct group. Takhar and the MOE only discussed vocabulary differences between the dialect groups and did not extensively discuss phonological differences between these groups. However there was a noticeable difference in the romanizations of the Western dialects and the South-Eastern dialects. Chiefly that

963-469: A number of arrests of local journalists, as well as barring access to international journalists. The country's small community of Sikhs - who form Afghanistan's second largest religion - as well as Hindus , have reportedly been prevented from celebrating their holidays as of 2023 by the Taliban government. Despite this, the Taliban in a later statement praised the communities and assured that their private land and property will be secured. In April 2024,

1070-487: A reliable census has not been carried out, as of 2020 the population of Kunduz province is estimated to be around 1,136,677 people. The province is mostly rural and very ethnically diverse of Afghanistan's provinces. According to the Naval Postgraduate School , the ethnic groups of the province are as follows: Pashtuns 33%, Uzbeks 27%, Tajiks 22%, Turkmens 11%, Hazaras 6%, and Pashais 1%. About 94% of

1177-560: A shared heritage that includes thinkers, writers, and poets of the Farsi language against those who believe that Dari has older roots and provides a distinct identity that cannot be confused with Iran's claim. Taliban State allies Non-state allies Non-state opponents The Taliban ( / ˈ t æ l ɪ b æ n , ˈ t ɑː l ɪ b ɑː n / ; Pashto : طَالِبَانْ , romanized:  Tālibān , lit.   'students'), which also refers to itself by its state name,

SECTION 10

#1732851694783

1284-460: A wide area in the west of Kabul which is mainly recognized as Dashti Barchi, and some regions near Herat . As a group, the Hazaragi varieties are distinguished by the presence of retroflex consonants and distinctive vocabulary. However it has been shown that Hazaragi is more accurately a sub-dialect of Dari rather than its own variety of Persian. Afghanistan's Ministry of Education does not make

1391-525: Is Pashto, طَالِباَنْ ( ṭālibān ), meaning "students", the plural of ṭālib . This is a loanword from Arabic طَالِبْ ( ṭālib ), using the Pashto plural ending -ān اَنْ . (In Arabic طَالِبَانْ ( ṭālibān ) means not "students" but rather "two students", as it is a dual form, the Arabic plural being طُلَّابْ ( ṭullāb )—occasionally causing some confusion to Arabic speakers.) Since becoming

1498-573: Is an enemy. However, non-Pashtuns and others usually criticize some of the values such as the Pashtun practice of equally dividing inheritances among sons, even though the Qur'an clearly states that women are supposed to receive one-half of a man's share. According to Ali A. Jalali and Lester Grau, the Taliban "received extensive support from Pashtuns across the country who thought that the movement might restore their national dominance. Even Pashtun intellectuals in

1605-428: Is essentially non-existent, and karakul skin is the main product. Handicrafts aren't made in significant quantities, but rugs and jewelry are made to some extent. In the province, 85 percent of households have access to irrigated land, while 12 percent have access to irrigated land. Wheat, rice, watermelons, melons, and maize are among the province's most important field crops. Sheep, cattle, poultry, donkeys, and goats are

1712-523: Is fairly well developed, with 68 percent of roads capable of carrying car traffic in all seasons. However, there are no roads in 4% of the province. In terms of telecommunications, the Roshan (telco) , Afghan Wireless , and MTN Digital phone networks are all operational in the province. The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 33% in 2005 to 20% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 62% in 2005 to 50% in 2011. Although

1819-674: Is its conservative nature compared to, for example, the Tehrani dialect. This can be seen in its Phonology (e.g. it's preservation of "Majhul" vowels), Morhphonology and Syntax, and it's Lexicon. A further distinction may be made between varieties in and near Kabul and varieties in and near Afghan Turkistan. With dialects near Kabul exhibiting some influences from languages in southern Afghanistan and South Asia and dialects in Afghan Turkistan exhibiting more influence from Tajik . All South-Eastern varieties exhibited some influence from Uzbek . Despite

1926-743: Is served by Kunduz Airport which had regularly scheduled direct flights to Kabul as of May 2014. The Tajikistan–Afghanistan bridge at Panji Poyon connects the province to Tajikistan. Agriculture and livestock husbandry are the primary occupations of the provinces residents. Fruit and vegetable are the most commonly farms items but there is also some cotton and sesame production. Farmers faced water shortages . Men and women in Kunduz were employed in clothing production, metal working, carpentry and hide business. The port of Sherkhan Bandar provides an international outlet for Kunduz's goods and has allowed for importing commercial goods from Asia, Middle East, and

2033-491: Is sugar  – Rhyme method in Dari is sweeter Uzūbat usually means "bliss", "delight", "sweetness"; in language, literature and poetry, uzubat also means "euphonious" or "melodic". Referring to the 14th-century Persian poet Hafez , Iqbal wrote: شکرشکن شوند همه طوطیان هند Šakkar-šakan šavand hama tūtīyān-i Hind زین قند پارسی که به بنگاله می‌رود zīn qand-i Pārsī ki ba Bangāla mē-ravad English translation: All

2140-704: Is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan . Dari Persian is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language; it is known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian in many Western sources. The decision to rename the local variety of Persian in 1964 was more political than linguistic to support an Afghan state narrative. Dari Persian is most closely related to Tajiki Persian as spoken in Tajikistan and

2247-415: Is the common language spoken in cities such as Balkh , Mazar-i-Sharif , Herat , Fayzabad , Panjshir , Bamiyan , and the Afghan capital of Kabul where all ethnic groups are settled. Dari Persian-speaking communities also exist in southwestern and eastern Pashtun-dominated areas such as in the cities of Ghazni , Farah , Zaranj , Lashkar Gah , Kandahar , and Gardez . Dari Persian has contributed to

SECTION 20

#1732851694783

2354-564: Is the language of the cities of Madā'en; it is spoken by those who are at the king's court. [Its name] is connected with presence at court. Among the languages of the people of Khorasan and the east, the language of the people of Balkh is predominant." Dari Persian spoken in Afghanistan is not to be confused with the language of Iran called Dari or Gabri, which is a language of the Central Iranian subgroup spoken in some Zoroastrian communities. Dari comes from Middle Persian which

2461-606: Is to serve and provide security for Afghans." In response to "international criticism" over lack of diversity, an ethnic Hazara was appointed deputy health minister, and an ethnic Tajik appointed deputy trade minister. On the other hand, the Ministry of Women's Affairs has been closed and its building is the new home of Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice . According to Anderson, some women still employed by

2568-402: The 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan , Dari Persian is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan; the other is Pashto . Dari Persian is the most widely spoken language in Afghanistan and the native language of approximately 25–55% of the population . Dari Persian serves as the lingua franca of the country and is understood by up to 78% of the population. Dari Persian served as

2675-547: The Islamic Emirate reestablished. Following their return to power, the Afghanistan government budget lost 80% of its funding and food insecurity became widespread. The Taliban returned Afghanistan to many policies implemented under its previous rule, including banning women from holding almost any jobs, requiring women to wear head-to-toe coverings such as the burqa , blocking women from travelling without male guardians, and banning all education for girls. The word Taliban

2782-610: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan , is an Afghan political and militant movement with an ideology comprising elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism . It ruled approximately 75% of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 , before it was overthrown by an American invasion after the September 11th attacks carried out by the Taliban's ally al-Qaeda . The Taliban recaptured Kabul in August 2021 following

2889-680: The Kunduz Airlift . Germany had 4,000 soldiers stationed in the NATO-ISAF Kunduz province Provincial Reconstruction Team , along with Regional Command North. The province was largely peaceful until Taliban militants started infiltrating the area in 2009. On 4 September 2009, the German commander called in an American jet fighter, which attacked two NATO fuel trucks, which had been captured by insurgents. More than 90 people died, among them at least 40 civilians, who had gathered to collect fuel. It

2996-690: The NATO -led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the War in Afghanistan . In May 2002, exiled members formed the Council of Leaders based in Quetta , Pakistan. Under Hibatullah Akhundzada 's leadership, in May 2021, the Taliban launched a military offensive , that culminated in the Fall of Kabul in August 2021 and the Taliban regaining control. The Islamic Republic was dissolved and

3103-720: The Northern Alliance militia, which seized parts of northeast Afghanistan and maintained international recognition as a continuation of the Islamic State of Afghanistan . During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia , or Islamic law, and were widely condemned for massacres against Afghan civilians, harsh discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, denial of UN food supplies to starving civilians, destruction of cultural monuments, banning women from school and most employment, and prohibition of most music . The Taliban committed

3210-509: The Pakistani Taliban . Additionally, in Pakistan, the word Talibans is often used when referring to more than one Taliban member. In Afghanistan, the Taliban is frequently called the گرُوهْ طَالِبَانْ ( Goroh-e Taleban ), Dari term which means 'Taliban group'. As per Dari/Persian grammar, there is no "the" prefix. Meanwhile, in Pashto, a determiner is normally used and as a result,

3317-567: The Pashtun areas of east and south Afghanistan, who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools ( madāris ). Under the leadership of Mullah Omar ( r.  1996–2001 ), the movement spread through most of Afghanistan, shifting power away from the Mujahideen warlords . In 1996, the group established the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban's government was opposed by

Kunduz Province - Misplaced Pages Continue

3424-732: The Sharia law in accordance with the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the religious edicts of Mullah Omar. The Taliban, Mullah Omar in particular, emphasised dreams as a means of revelation. The Taliban forbade the consumption of pork and alcohol, the use of many types of consumer technology such as music with instrumental accompaniments , television, filming, and the Internet, as well as most forms of art such as paintings or photography, participation in sports , including football and chess ; Recreational activities such as kite -flying and

3531-681: The ezāfe ) have often been employed to coin words for political and cultural concepts, items, or ideas that were historically unknown outside the South Asian region, as is the case with the aforementioned "borrowings". Dari Persian has a rich and colorful tradition of proverbs that deeply reflect Afghan culture and relationships, as demonstrated through the works of Rumi and other literature. There are phonological, lexical, and morphological differences between Afghan Persian and Iranian Persian. For example Afghan Farsi has more vowels than Iranian Farsi. However, there are no significant differences in

3638-723: The near seizure of the capital Kabul , the Taliban occupied the Presidential Palace after the incumbent President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates. Ghani's Asylum was confirmed by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on 18 August 2021. Remaining Afghan forces under the leadership of Amrullah Saleh , Ahmad Massoud , and Bismillah Khan Mohammadi retreated to Panjshir to continue resistance. The Taliban had "seized power from an established government backed by some of

3745-703: The Afghan mujahideen. About 90,000 Afghans, including Mullah Omar, were trained by Pakistan's ISI during the 1980s. In April 1992, after the fall of the Soviet-backed régime of Mohammad Najibullah , many Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement, the Peshawar Accord , which created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin , Hezbe Wahdat , and Ittihad-i Islami did not participate. The state

3852-605: The Afghanistan Ministry of Education referring to this group as "South-Eastern" some of the varieties included are in the north. As seen in many Hazaragi varieties, certain Eastern Dialects have developed a system of retroflex consonants under pressure from Pashto. They are not widespread, however. The Kabuli dialect has become the standard model of Dari Persian in Afghanistan, as has the Tehrani dialect in relation to

3959-484: The Amu Darya at Sherkhan Bandar and the international trade is a large source of Kunduz's economy. The river, its tributaries, and derivative canals provide irrigation to the irrigated fields that dominate land usage in the agricultural province. There are also rain-fed fields and open range land that span several miles. Kunduz was once a major economic center for Afghanistan, but the wars since 1978 have changed fortunes for

4066-602: The Hezbe Wahdat forces of Abdul-Ali Mazari . Saudi Arabia supported the Ittihad-i Islami faction. The conflict between these militias also escalated into war. Due to this sudden initiation of civil war, working government departments, police units or a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities were committed by individuals inside different factions. Ceasefires, negotiated by representatives of

4173-520: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan continue, with education policies and international relations, including internal and external challenges faced by the Taliban regime. In mid 2021, the Taliban led a major offensive in Afghanistan during the withdrawal of US troops from the country, which gave them control of over half of Afghanistan's 421 districts as of 23 July 2021. By mid-August 2021, the Taliban controlled every major city in Afghanistan; following

4280-687: The Islamic State's newly appointed Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud , President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi and later President Burhanuddin Rabbani (the interim government), or officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commonly collapsed within days. The countryside in northern Afghanistan, parts of which were under the control of Defense Minister Massoud, remained calm and some reconstruction took place. The city of Herat under

4387-783: The Mujahideen. Pakistan's President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq feared that the Soviets were also planning to invade Balochistan , Pakistan, so he sent Akhtar Abdur Rahman to Saudi Arabia to garner support for the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation forces. A while later, the US CIA and the Saudi Arabian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) funnelled funding and equipment through the Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence Agency (ISI) to

Kunduz Province - Misplaced Pages Continue

4494-647: The Oxus River region, Afghanistan, and Khorasan after the Arab conquests and during Islamic-Arab rule. The replacement of the Pahlavi script with the Arabic script in order to write the Persian language was done by the Tahirids in 9th century Khorasan. Dari Persian spread and led to the extinction of Eastern Iranian languages like Bactrian and Khwarezmian with only a tiny amount of Sogdian descended Yaghnobi speakers remaining, as

4601-542: The Persian Gulf. Cotton production is the province's most important industry. Agriculture is a significant source of income for 66 percent of households in the province, including 34 percent of urban households. However, commerce and services provide income to 28% of households, and non-farm work provides income to 15% of households. To some extent, Kunduz produces industrial crops. Sesame is another important product, in addition to cotton. The province's small-business sector

4708-702: The Persian in Iran. Since the 1940s, Radio Afghanistan has broadcast its Dari programs in Kabuli Dari, which ensured the homogenization between the Kabuli version of the language and other dialects of Dari Persian spoken throughout Afghanistan. Since 2003, the media, especially the private radio and television broadcasters , have carried out their Dari programs using the Kabuli variety. The Western group includes various varieties spoken in and around: Herat , Badghis , Farah and Ghor . Varieties in this group share many features with

4815-545: The Persian word dar or darbār ( دربار ), meaning "court", as it was the formal language of the Sassanids . The original meaning of the word dari is given in a notice attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (cited by Ibn al-Nadim in Al-Fehrest ). According to him, " Pārsī was the language spoken by priests, scholars, and the like; it is the language of Fars ." This language refers to Middle Persian . As for Dari , he says, "it

4922-479: The Taliban destroyed the statues, following a decree by Mullah Omar which stated: "all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed." Yahya Massoud, brother of the anti-Taliban and resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud , recalls the following incident after the destruction of the Buddha statues at Bamyan: It was the spring of 2001. I was in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, together with my brother Ahmad Shah Massoud ,

5029-461: The Taliban had little direct control, and as a result, they promoted village jirgas , so in rural areas, they did not enforce their ideology as stringently as they enforced it in cities. The Taliban's religious/political philosophy, especially during its first régime from 1996 to 2001, was heavily advised and influenced by Grand Mufti Rashid Ahmed Ludhianvi and his works. Its operating political and religious principles since its founding, however,

5136-586: The Taliban implemented strict religious regulations, notably affecting women's rights and cultural heritage. This period included significant ethnic persecution and the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan . After the US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban were ousted from power but regrouped and launched an insurgency that lasted two decades. The Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the US withdrawal . Their efforts to establish

5243-489: The Taliban instituted a ban on all education for all girls and women around the country alongside a ban on female staff in schools, including teaching professions. Teaching was one of the last few remaining professions open to women. The Taliban's ideology has been described as an "innovative form of sharia combining Pashtun tribal codes", or Pashtunwali , with radical Deobandi interpretations of Islam favoured by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and its splinter groups. Their ideology

5350-573: The Taliban nominee for Ambassador to the U.N. told Anderson "The Hazara Shia for us are also Muslim. We believe we are one, like flowers in a garden." In late 2021, journalists from The New York Times embedded with a six-man Taliban unit tasked with protecting the Shi'ite Sakhi Shrine in Kabul from the Islamic State , noting "how seriously the men appeared to take their assignment." The unit's commander said that "We do not care which ethnic group we serve, our goal

5457-595: The Taliban's governance of Afghanistan, drug users and dealers were both severely persecuted. In 1999, Mullah Omar issued a decree in which he called for the protection of the Buddha statues at Bamyan , two 6th-century monumental statues of standing buddhas which were carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan. But in March 2001,

SECTION 50

#1732851694783

5564-406: The U.N. World Food Program country director, Mary Ellen McGroarty, as of late 2021, early 2022 "22.8 million Afghans are already severely food insecure, and seven million of them are one step away from famine"; and that the world community has "unanimously" asked the Taliban "to form an inclusive government, ensure the rights of women and minorities and guarantee that Afghanistan will no more serve as

5671-401: The United States, in discussions with American journalist Jon Lee Anderson. Anderson notes that the Taliban's war against any " graven images ", so vigorous in their early rule, has been abandoned, perhaps made impossible by smartphones and Instagram. One local observer (Sayed Hamid Gailani) has argued the Taliban have not killed "a lot" of people after returning to power. Women are seen out on

5778-457: The West, who differed with the Taliban on many issues, expressed support for the movement on purely ethnic grounds." Written works published by the group's Commission of Cultural Affairs including Islami Adalat , De Mujahid Toorah – De Jihad Shari Misalay, and Guidance to the Mujahideen outlined the core of the Taliban Islamic Movement's philosophy regarding jihad, sharia, organization, and conduct. The Taliban régime interpreted

5885-475: The ancestors of Tajiks started speaking Dari after relinquishing their original language (most likely Bactrian) around this time, due to the fact that the Arab-Islamic army which invaded Central Asia also included some Persians who governed the region like the Sassanids . Persian was a prestigious high-ranking language and was further rooted into Central Asia by the Samanids. Persian also phased out Sogdian. The role of lingua franca that Sogdian originally played

5992-463: The appearance of [ ɪ ] or [ ɛ ] and native Dari speakers do not perceive them as different phonemes (that is to say, the English words bet [b ɛ t] and bit [b ɪ t] would be nearly indistinguishable to a native Dari speaker). However, speakers in Urban regions of Kabul, Panjšir and other nearby provinces in southern and eastern Afghanistan tend to realize the vowel as [ ɪ ]. Speakers of Dari in central Afghanistan (i.e. Hazaragi speakers) tend to realize

6099-416: The conquest of their homeland by Russian Red Army and settled in northern Afghanistan. The province witnessed much violence and fighting during the Soviet–Afghan War . During the war in Afghanistan Kunduz was captured by NATO forces. In November 2001, members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, along with Pakistani military personnel and Afghan sympathizers were airlifted to Pakistan to evade NATO capture in

6206-467: The day. This was contradicted by former senior members of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, one of which who told Anderson, "they will do anything to convince the international community to give them financing, but eventually I'll be forced to wear the burqa again. They are just waiting." After Taliban retook power in 2021, border clashes erupted between the Taliban with its neighbors includes Iran and Pakistan , leading to casualties on both sides. In

6313-421: The departure of coalition forces , after 20 years of Taliban insurgency , and now controls the entire country. The Taliban government is not recognized by any country and has been internationally condemned for restricting human rights , including women 's rights to work and have an education . The Taliban emerged in 1994 as a prominent faction in the Afghan Civil War and largely consisted of students from

6420-667: The dialect of Dari spoken in Western Afghanistan stands in between the Afghan and Iranian Persian. For instance, the Herati dialect shares vocabulary and phonology with both Afghan and Iranian Persian. Likewise, the dialect of Persian in Eastern Iran, for instance in Mashhad , is quite similar to the Herati dialect of Afghanistan. In a paper jointly published by Takhar University and the Ministry of Education in 2018, researchers studying varieties of Persian from Iran to Tajikistan, Identified 3 dialect groups (or macro dialects) present within Afghanistan. In an article about various languages spoken in Afghanistan, Encyclopaedia Iranica identified

6527-407: The dialects of Persian spoken in Eastern Iran, and one may make many comparisons between the speech of Herat and Mashhad . The third group recognized by Afghanistan Ministry of Education is Hazaragi . Spoken by the Hazara people , these varieties are spoken in the majority of central Afghanistan including: Bamyan , parts of Ghazni , Daikundi, Laal Sari Jangal in Ghor province, 'uruzgan khas', in

SECTION 60

#1732851694783

6634-490: The early months of Taliban rule, international journalists have had some access to Afghanistan. In February 2022, several international journalists, including Andrew North were detained. The Committee to Protect Journalists described their detention as "a sad reflection of the overall decline of press freedom and increasing attacks on journalists under Taliban rule." The journalists were released after several days. Subsequently, watchdog organizations have continued to document

6741-545: The fifteenth century it appeared in Herat under the Persian-speaking Timurid dynasty . The Persian-language poets of the Mughal Empire who used the Indian verse methods or rhyme methods, like Bedil and Muhammad Iqbal , became familiar with the araki form of poetry. Iqbal loved both styles of literature and poetry, when he wrote: گرچه هندی در عذوبت شکر است Garče Hendī dar uzūbat šakkar ast طرز گفتار دری شیرین تر است tarz-e goftār-e Darī šīrīn tar ast This can be translated as: Even though in euphonious Hindi

6848-574: The former sole Sikh member of parliament, Narendra Singh Khalsa , returned to Afghanistan for the first time since the collapse of the Republic. In September 2021, the government ordered primary schools to reopen for both sexes and announced plans to reopen secondary schools for male students, without committing to do the same for female students. While the Taliban stated that female college students will be able to resume higher education provided that they are segregated from male students (and professors, when possible), The Guardian noted that "if

6955-446: The government are "being forced to sign in at their jobs and then go home, to create the illusion of equity"; and the appointment of ethnic minorities has been dismissed by an "adviser to the Taliban" as tokenism. Reports have "circulated" of "Hazara farmers being forced from their land by ethnic Pashtuns, of raids of activists' homes, and of extrajudicial executions of former government soldiers and intelligence agents". According to

7062-441: The group is normally referred to as per Pashto grammar: دَ طَالِبَانْ ( Da Taliban ) or دَ طَالِبَانُو ( Da Talibano ). After the Soviet Union intervened and occupied Afghanistan in 1979, Islamic mujahideen fighters waged a war against Soviet forces. During the Soviet–Afghan War , nearly all of the Taliban's original leaders had fought for either the Hezb-i Islami Khalis or the Harakat-i Inqilab-e Islami factions of

7169-430: The high schools do not reopen for girls, the commitments to allow university education would become meaningless once the current cohort of students graduated." Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani said that female university students will be required to observe proper hijab , but did not specify if this required covering the face. Kabul University reopened in February 2022, with female students attending in

7276-401: The increased number of Persian speakers within Afghanistan. The World Factbook states that about 80% of the Afghan population speaks Dari Persian. About 2.5 million Afghans in Iran and Afghans in Pakistan , part of the wider Afghan diaspora , also speak Dari Persian as one of their primary languages. Dari Persian dominates the northern, western, and central areas of Afghanistan, and

7383-513: The introduction of Persian language into the subcontinent was set, from its earliest days, by various Persianized Central Asian Turkic and Afghan dynasties. The sizable Persian component of the Anglo-Indian loan words in English and in Urdu therefore reflects the Dari Persian pronunciation. For instance, the words dopiaza and pyjama come from the Afghan Persian pronunciation; in Iranian Persian they are pronounced do-piyāzeh and pey-jāmeh . Persian lexemes and certain morphological elements (e.g.,

7490-678: The keeping of pigeons and other pets were also forbidden, and the birds were killed according to the Taliban's rules. Movie theatres were closed and repurposed as mosques. The celebration of the Western and Iranian New Years was also forbidden. Taking photographs and displaying pictures and portraits were also forbidden, because the Taliban considered them forms of idolatry . This extended even to "blacking out illustrations on packages of baby soap in shops and painting over road-crossing signs for livestock. Women were banned from working, girls were forbidden to attend schools or universities, were required to observe purdah (physical separation of

7597-442: The language of the Achaemenids (550–330 BC). In historical usage, Dari refers to the Middle Persian court language of the Sassanids . Dari is a name given to the New Persian language since the 10th century, widely used in Arabic (compare Al-Estakhri , Al-Muqaddasi and Ibn Hawqal ) and Persian texts. Since 1964, it has been the official name in Afghanistan for the Persian spoken there. In Afghanistan, Dari refers to

7704-449: The latter would henceforth be named Dari. Within their respective linguistic boundaries, Dari Persian and Pashto are the media of education. The term continues to divide opinion in Afghanistan today. While Dari has been the official name for decades, "Farsi" is still the preferred name to many Persian speakers of Afghanistan. Omar Samad , an Afghan analyst and ambassador, says of the dispute: This debate pits those who look at language as

7811-451: The launching pad for global terrorist operations", before it recognizes the Taliban government. In conversation with journalist Anderson, senior Taliban leaders implied that the harsh application of sharia during their first era of rule in the 1990s was necessary because of the "depravity" and "chaos" that remained from the Soviet occupation, but that now "mercy and compassion" were the order of

7918-557: The leader of the Afghan resistance against the Taliban, and Bismillah Khan, who currently serves as Afghanistan's interior minister. One of our commanders, Commandant Momin, wanted us to see 30 Taliban fighters who had been taken hostage after a gun battle. My brother agreed to meet them. I remember that his first question concerned the centuries-old Buddha statues that were dynamited by the Taliban in March of that year, shortly before our encounter. Two Taliban combatants from Kandahar confidently responded that worshiping anything outside of Islam

8025-549: The majority of Persian borrowings in several Indo-Aryan languages , such as Urdu , Hindi , Punjabi , Bengali and others, as it was the administrative, official, cultural language of the Persianate Mughal Empire and served as the lingua franca throughout the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Often based in Afghanistan , Turkic Central Asian conquerors brought the language into South Asia. The basis in general for

8132-442: The morning and males in the afternoon. Other than the closure of the music department, few changes to the curriculum were reported. Female students were officially required to wear an abaya and a hijab to attend, although some wore a shawl instead. Attendance was reportedly low on the first day. In March 2022, the Taliban abruptly halted plans to allow girls to resume secondary school education even when separated from males. At

8239-534: The most frequent livestock. The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 25% in 2005 to 16% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 6% in 2005 to 22% in 2011. Only 25% of families have access to safe drinking water, and only 18% of houses have access to electricity, with the bulk relying on public power. Safe toilets are found in only 2% of urban households, while they are almost non-existent in rural regions. The province's transportation infrastructure

8346-553: The parrots of India will crack sugar Through this Persian Candy which is going to Bengal Here qand-e Pārsī (" Rock candy of Persia") is a metaphor for the Persian language and poetry. Persian replaced the Central Asian languages of the Eastern Iranics. Ferghana, Samarkand, and Bukhara were starting to be linguistically Darified in originally Khorezmian and Soghdian areas during Samanid rule. Dari Persian spread around

8453-598: The past. It became part of the Afghan Durrani Empire in the mid-18th century. It saw a major migration from Russian Turkestan in the north during the early 1920s. During the governance of Sher Khan Nasher , Kunduz became one of the wealthiest of Afghanistan's provinces, mainly due to Nasher's founding of the Spinzar Cotton Company , which continues to exist in post-war Afghanistan in the early 20th century. Between 100,000 and 200,000 Tajiks and Uzbeks fled

8560-516: The population practice Sunni Islam and 6% are followers of Shia Islam . The major languages spoken in the area are Pashto , Dari Persian , and Uzbeki . An estimated 49.3% of the population is female, with the other 50.7% being male. Dari language Dari ( / ˈ d ɑː r i , ˈ d æ -/ ; endonym : دری [d̪ɐˈɾiː] ), Dari Persian ( فارسی دری , Fārsī-yi Darī , [fʌːɾˈsiːjɪ d̪ɐˈɾiː] or Fārsī-ye Darī , [fʌːɾˈsiːjɛ d̪ɐˈɾiː] ), or Eastern Persian

8667-498: The post-Sassanid period, and the New era being the period afterward down to the present day. The first person in Europe to use the term Deri for Dari may have been Thomas Hyde in his chief work, Historia religionis veterum Persarum (1700). Dari or Deri has two meanings. It may mean the language of the court: It may also indicate a form of poetry used from Rudaki to Jami . In

8774-579: The preferred literary and administrative language among non-native speakers, such as the Turco-Mongol peoples including the Mughals , for centuries before the rise of modern nationalism. Also, like Iranian Persian and Tajiki Persian , Dari Persian is a continuation of Middle Persian , the official religious and literary language of the Sassanian Empire (224–651 AD), itself a continuation of Old Persian ,

8881-426: The province. Initially during the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) , Kunduz was one of the more stable regions of Afghanistan, but during the 2010s quickly turned into one of the most unstable provinces of the country, resulting in large parts falling under Taliban insurgent control. In 2021, the Taliban gained control of the province during their nationwide summer offensive . The area has been part of many empires in

8988-509: The provinces of Takhar , Baghlan , Samangan and Balkh , as well as the Khatlon Region of Tajikistan . The Kunduz Airport is located next to the provincial capital. The Kunduz River valley dominates the Kunduz Province. The river flows irregularly from south to north into the Amu Darya river which forms the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A newly constructed bridge crosses

9095-618: The relative moderation of the new Taliban government and statements from its officials such as – "We have started a new page. We do not want to be entangled with the past," –?include that it did not expect to take over the country so quickly and still had "problems to work out among" their factions"; that $ 7 billion in Afghan government funds in US banks has been frozen, and that the 80% of the previous government's budget that came from "the United States, its partners, or international lenders", has been shut off, creating serious economic crisis; according to

9202-581: The religious schools of Kandahar and were influenced significantly by foreign support, particularly from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, during the Soviet–Afghan War. They emerged in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, capturing Kandahar and expanding their control across the country; they became involved in a war with the Northern Alliance . The international response to the Taliban varied, with some countries providing support while others opposed and did not recognize their regime. During their rule from 1996 to 2001,

9309-433: The rule of Islamic State ally Ismail Khan also witnessed relative calm. Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was neither under the control of foreign-backed militias nor the government in Kabul, but was ruled by local leaders such as Gul Agha Sherzai and their militias. The Taliban movement originated in Pashtun nationalism , and its ideological underpinnings are with that of broader Afghan society. The Taliban's roots lie in

9416-526: The security forces were also killed by the Taliban within days of registering with them to receive a letter guaranteeing their safety. Despite Taliban claims that the ISIS has been defeated, IS carried out suicide bombings in October 2021 at Shia mosques in Kunduz and Kandahar , killing over 115 people. As of late 2021, there were still "sticky bomb" explosions "every few days" in the capital Kabul. Explanations for

9523-400: The sexes) and awrah (concealing the body with clothing), and to be accompanied by male relatives outside their households; those who violated these restrictions were punished. Men were forbidden to shave their beards and they were also required to let them grow and keep them long according to the Taliban's rules, and they were also required to wear turbans outside their households. Prayer

9630-402: The spelling Taliban has gained predominance over the spelling Taleban . In American English , the definite article is used, the group is referred to as "the Taliban", rather than "Taliban". In English-language media in Pakistan, the definite article is always omitted. Both Pakistani and Indian English -language media tend to name the group "Afghan Taliban", thus distinguishing it from

9737-423: The street, Zabihullah Mujahid (acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture) noted there are still women working in a number of government ministries, and claimed that girls will be allowed to attend secondary education when bank funds are unfrozen and the government can fund "separate" spaces and transportation for them. When asked about the slaughter of Hazara Shia by the first Taliban régime, Suhail Shaheen,

9844-635: The time of the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526), even as those governments were dominated by Pashtun people. Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty (1826–1973) first introduced the Pashto language as an additional language of administration. The local name for the Persian variety spoken in Afghanistan was officially changed from Farsi to Dari, meaning "court language", in 1964. Zaher said there would be, as there are now, two official languages, Pashto and Farsi, though

9951-436: The time, The Washington Post reported that apart from university students, "sixth is now the highest grade girls may attend". The Afghan Ministry of Education cited the lack of an acceptable design for female student uniforms. On December 20, 2022, in violation of their prior promises, the Taliban banned female students from attending higher education institutions with immediate effect. The following day, December 21, 2022,

10058-414: The two share many phonological and lexical similarities. Apart from a few basics of vocabulary, there is little difference between formal written Persian of Afghanistan and Iran ; the languages are mutually intelligible. Dari Persian is the official language for approximately 35 million people in Afghanistan and it serves as the common language for inter-ethnic communication in the country. As defined in

10165-571: The vowel diacritic "pesh" ( Kasrah ) was romanized with an "i" for South-Eastern dialects but as an "e" for western dialects. This is presumably due to a difference in quality, however the paper itself did not explain why the vowels were transliterated differently. The South Eastern group (also referred to the Southern and Eastern group) constitutes varieties spoken in and around Kabul , Parwan , Balkh , Baghlan , Samangan , Kunduz , Takhar , Badakhshan and others. A distinctive character of this group

10272-542: The vowel in proximity to, or identically to, [ i ], unless the following syllable contains a high-back vowel. Speakers in western Afghanistan (such as in the Herat or Farah province) and some rural regions in the Kabul province (not the city) most commonly realize the vowel as [ ɛ ]. Additionally, in some varieties of Dari, the phoneme [ ɛ ] appears as an allophone of [a]. Successive governments of Afghanistan have promoted New Persian as an official language of government since

10379-503: The world's best-equipped militaries"; and as an ideological insurgent movement dedicated to "bringing about a truly Islamic state" its victory has been compared to that of the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 or Iranian Revolution of 1979, with their "sweeping" remake of society. However, as of 2021–2022, senior Taliban leaders have emphasized the "softness" of their revolution and how they desired "good relations" with

10486-683: The written forms, other than regional idiomatic phrases. The phonology of Dari Persian as spoken in Kabul, compared with Classical Persian, is overall more conservative than the accent of Iran's standard register. In this regard Dari Persian is more similar to Tajiki Persian. The principal differences between standard Iranian Persian and Afghan Persian as based on the Kabul dialect are: The dialects of Dari spoken in Northern, Central, and Eastern Afghanistan, for example in Kabul , Mazar , and Badakhshan , have distinct features compared to Iranian Persian . However,

10593-804: Was a departure from the Islamism of the anti-Soviet mujahideen rulers and the radical Islamists inspired by the Sayyid Qutb (Ikhwan). The Taliban have said they aim to restore peace and security to Afghanistan, including Western troops leaving, and to enforce Sharia , or Islamic law, once in power. According to journalist Ahmed Rashid , at least in the first years of their rule, the Taliban adopted Deobandi and Islamist anti-nationalist beliefs, and they opposed "tribal and feudal structures", removing traditional tribal or feudal leaders from leadership roles. The Taliban strictly enforced their ideology in major cities like Herat, Kabul, and Kandahar. But in rural areas,

10700-568: Was also forbidden under the six-year rule of the Taliban régime. Under the rule of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it carried the death penalty . The practice remained illegal during the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's rule, but the laws were seldom enforced against powerful offenders and police had reportedly been complicit in related crimes. A controversy arose during the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's rule, after allegations surfaced that US government forces in Afghanistan after

10807-435: Was made compulsory and those men who did not respect the religious obligation after the azaan were arrested. Gambling was banned, and the Taliban punished thieves by amputating their hands or feet . In 2000, the Taliban's leader Mullah Omar officially banned opium cultivation and drug trafficking in Afghanistan; the Taliban succeeded in nearly eradicating the majority of the opium production (99%) by 2001. During

10914-639: Was modelled on those of Abul A'la Maududi and the Jamaat-e-Islami movement. The Taliban, being largely Pashtun tribesmen, frequently follow a pre-Islamic cultural tribal code which is focused on preserving honour. Pashtunwali strongly influences decisions in regards to other social matters. It is best described as subconscious social values and attitudes which promote various qualities such as bravery, preserving honour, being hospitable to all guests, seeking revenge and justice if one has been wronged, and providing sanctuary to anyone who seeks refuge, even if it

11021-575: Was paralysed from the start, due to rival groups contending for total power over Kabul and Afghanistan. Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin party refused to recognise the interim government, and in April infiltrated Kabul to take power for itself, thus starting this civil war. In May, Hekmatyar started attacks against government forces and Kabul. Hekmatyar received operational, financial and military support from Pakistan's ISI. With that help, Hekmatyar's forces were able to destroy half of Kabul. Iran assisted

11128-605: Was reported that on 21 November 2009, a bomb going off along the Takhar Kunduz highway killed a child and injured two others. The governor, Mohammad Omar , was killed by a bomb on 8 October 2010. On 10 February 2011, a suicide bomber killed a district governor and six other people in the district of Chardara in Kunduz Province, where the insurgency is well entrenched. As part of the Taliban's resurgence in northern Afghanistan, Kunduz has been increasingly affected by war and instability. The Taliban after their ouster did not gain

11235-676: Was spoken during the rule of the Sassanid dynasty . In general, Iranian languages are known from three periods, usually referred to as Old, Middle, and New (Modern) periods. These correspond to three eras in Iranian history, the old era being the period from some time before, during, and after the Achaemenid period (that is, to 300 BC), the Middle Era being the next period, namely, the Sassanid period and part of

11342-725: Was succeeded by Persian after the arrival of Islam. Dari Persian is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan. In practice though, it serves as the de facto lingua franca among the various ethnolinguistic groups. Dari Persian is spoken by approximately 25-80% of the population of Afghanistan . Tajiks , who comprise 27-39% of the population , are the primary native speakers, followed by Hazaras (9%) and Aymāqs (4%). Moreover, while Pashtuns (48%) natively speak Pashto , those living in Tajik and Hazara dominated areas also use Dari Persian as their main or secondary language. Thus, non-native Persian speaking groups have contributed to

11449-548: Was unacceptable and that therefore these statues had to be destroyed. My brother looked at them and said, this time in Pashto, 'There are still many sun- worshippers in this country. Will you also try to get rid of the sun and drop darkness over the Earth?' The Afghan custom of bacha bazi , a form of pederastic sexual slavery , child sexual abuse and pedophilia which is traditionally practiced in various provinces of Afghanistan between older men and young adolescent "dancing boys",

#782217