The Ever-Changing Leadership Of Afghanistan: A Historical Perspective

Afghanistan has had a long and tumultuous history, with many different rulers and heads of state over the centuries. The country has been influenced by various empires and outsiders, including the Mughals, the British, the Russians, the Iranians, and the Sikhs. Since the establishment of the modern Afghan state in 1709, Afghanistan has been led by numerous rulers, including kings, emirs, and presidents. The first president of Afghanistan was Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan, who came to power after overthrowing King Zanir Shah in a bloodless coup in 1973. Since then, several presidents have led the country, with the most recent being Ashraf Ghani, who fled Afghanistan in 2021 as the Taliban seized control.

The first president of Afghanistan was Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan

Afghanistan has had a long and tumultuous history, with various empires and dynasties ruling the region since the 18th century. The modern Afghan state was founded in 1709 with the establishment of the Hotak Empire. Since then, Afghanistan has been ruled by several different leaders, including monarchs and presidents.

Khan rose through the ranks of the military and held various political positions before becoming the first president. He served as the Governor of the Eastern Province of Afghanistan from 1934 to 1935 and again from 1938 to 1939. He was also the Governor of Kandahar from 1935 to 1938. In 1939, Khan was promoted to Lieutenant-General and Commander of the Kabul Army Corps, a position he held until 1946. He then served as Minister of Defense from 1946 to 1948 and as Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1951.

Khan was appointed Prime Minister of Afghanistan in 1953, a position he held until 1963. As Prime Minister, Khan pursued a pro-Soviet foreign policy and implemented educational and social reforms. He also supported Pashtun irredentism, advocating for the reunification of Pashtun areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This policy led to a deterioration in relations with Pakistan and contributed to Khan's resignation in 1963.

On July 17, 1973, Khan led a coup against his cousin, King Mohammed Zahir Shah, and overthrew the monarchy. Departing from tradition, Khan did not proclaim himself Shah but instead established a republic with himself as President. He ruled as the first president of Afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in 1978 during the Saur Revolution led by the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).

Khan was known for his progressive policies, particularly regarding women's rights, and for initiating two five-year modernization plans that increased the labour force by about 50%. However, his rule was also marked by tensions with neighbouring countries and internal conflicts. He attempted to reduce the country's dependence on the Soviet Union and promoted a new foreign policy, which further strained relations with Pakistan.

Khan was assassinated along with most of his family during the communist coup in 1978. His body was discovered in a mass grave outside Kabul in 2008 and he was given a state funeral in 2009. Despite the controversies during his rule, some Afghans consider Khan to be the best leader their country has had in modern times.

Ashraf Ghani was the incumbent president before the Taliban took over

Afghanistan has had several presidents since the foundation of the first modern Afghan state, the Hotak Empire, in 1709. The country has been in a state of continuous internal conflict and foreign interventions since 1978.

Ashraf Ghani was the incumbent president of Afghanistan before the Taliban took over. Ghani served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021. He was born in 1949 in the Logar Province in the Kingdom of Afghanistan. Ghani's early education was done in Afghanistan, after which he spent much of his time abroad, studying in Lebanon and the United States. He received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University in 1983.

Ghani returned to Afghanistan in 2001 after the collapse of the Taliban government. He served as finance minister in Hamid Karzai's cabinet before resigning in December 2004 to become the dean of Kabul University. Ghani ran in the 2009 Afghan presidential election but came in fourth. In 2014, Ghani became president after winning the controversial 2014 Afghan presidential election. Ghani was known for his energetic speeches and aimed to transform Afghanistan into a technocratic state. He made efforts to improve relations with Pakistan and make peace with Taliban insurgents.

On 15 August 2021, Ghani's term ended as the Taliban took over Kabul. Ghani fled Afghanistan and took refuge in the United Arab Emirates. He later stated that he left to avoid further violence and bloodshed. The Taliban reinstated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and its supreme leader, Islamic scholar Hibatullah Akhundzada, succeeded Ghani as the de facto head of state.

The Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is the current head of state

Afghanistan has had several presidents and heads of state since the foundation of the first modern Afghan state, the Hotak Empire, in 1709. Here is a look at the country's leadership, especially the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who is the current head of state.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was led by a president and had two vice presidents and a bicameral legislature with two chambers. The first president of Afghanistan was Mohammed Daoud Khan, who came to power after overthrowing King Zanir Shah in a bloodless coup in 1973. The country's most recent presidents include Hamid Karzai, who served from 2004 until 2014, and Ashraf Ghani, who was in power from 2014 until 15 August 2021.

On 15 August 2021, as the Taliban took over Kabul, Ghani fled the country and took refuge in the United Arab Emirates. The Taliban reinstated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and its supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, became the de facto head of state. Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar, is known for his reclusive nature and rarely appears in public or leaves the Taliban heartland in the southern Kandahar province. He communicates through written statements or occasional audio messages, and there are very few photographs of him.

Akhundzada has been the Taliban's supreme leader since 2016 and played a key role in the group's victory over U.S.-backed forces in the 2001-2021 war. He has been responsible for issuing edicts and policies that have severely restricted the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, including banning girls' education after the sixth grade and barring women from public life and work. He has also overseen the implementation of media restrictions and a ban on the use of mobile phones in post-secondary education.

Akhundzada's leadership style has been described as autocratic, and he has faced criticism for the Taliban's human rights abuses, including the infringement of women's rights to work and education. Despite the international outcry and isolation, Akhundzada has remained steadfast in his commitment to imposing a strict Islamic government in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has been in a state of continuous conflict since 1978

Afghanistan has been in a state of conflict since 1978, when the Saur Revolution violently overthrew the government of President Mohammad Daoud Khan. This coup d'état established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, a socialist state aligned with the Soviet Union.

The coup was followed by a period of unprecedented violence, as the then-ruling People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) pushed through radical reforms. This prompted a large-scale pro-PDPA military intervention by the Soviet Union in 1979, marking the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan War. The anti-Soviet Afghan mujahideen received extensive support from Pakistan, the United States, and Saudi Arabia in a joint covert effort that was dubbed Operation Cyclone.

Although the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, the various mujahideen factions continued to fight against the PDPA government, which collapsed in the face of the Peshawar Accord in 1992. However, the mujahideen's representatives were unable to reach an agreement on a power-sharing coalition for the new government, triggering a multi-sided civil war between them.

By 1996, the Taliban, supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, had seized the capital city of Kabul in addition to approximately 90% of the country, while northern Afghanistan remained under the authority of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. The Taliban imposed their fundamentalist Deobandi interpretation of Islam in areas under their control, issuing edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or leave their homes without a male relative.

Following the September 11 attacks, which were carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001, the Taliban granted Saudi-born jihadist Osama bin Laden political asylum in the Islamic Emirate's territory. This, along with the Taliban's refusal to extradite bin Laden, prompted the American-led invasion of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, which bolstered the Northern Alliance by toppling the Islamic Emirate and installing the Afghan Transitional Authority in 2002.

The invasion triggered the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan, in which NATO and NATO-allied countries fought alongside the nascent Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to combat the Taliban insurgency. During the Battle of Tora Bora, the American-led military coalition failed to capture bin Laden, who subsequently relocated to Pakistan and remained there until he was killed by U.S. SEAL Team Six in Abbottabad in 2011.

The fighting in Afghanistan continued, eventually leading to the 2020–2021 American withdrawal and ultimately ending with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which led to the re-establishment of the present-day Islamic Emirate. Although the country-wide war ended in 2021, clashes and unrest persist in some parts of Afghanistan due to the ISIS–Taliban conflict and the anti-Taliban Republican insurgency.

The US has been involved in Afghanistan's conflicts since the 1980s

Afghanistan has had around 20 presidents since the 1980s, with the first being Babrak Karmal, who took office in 1979. The country has experienced a period of significant political upheaval and conflict during this time, with many of its leaders coming to power through force or revolutionary means.

The Soviet-Afghan War lasted for over nine years, with the Soviet Union eventually withdrawing in 1989. However, the country was left in a state of disarray, with various warlords and factions vying for power. This led to a civil war in the early 1990s, which resulted in the rise of the Taliban and the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996. The Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law and provided sanctuary to terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda.

In 1998, Al-Qaeda carried out bombings of US embassies in Africa, leading to the US launching cruise missile strikes against terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. The Taliban's refusal to hand over Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden further escalated tensions with the US. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US in 2001, which were planned and orchestrated by Al-Qaeda, the US led an invasion of Afghanistan with the goal of toppling the Taliban regime and dismantling Al-Qaeda's capabilities.

The initial phase of the US-led invasion was swift, with the Taliban removed from power and a new Afghan government installed by late 2001. However, the conflict dragged on for nearly two decades, with US and coalition forces attempting to stabilize the country, rebuild infrastructure, and train Afghan security forces. The Taliban insurgency remained a persistent threat, and despite the presence of international forces, the Taliban gradually regained control over much of the country.

In 2021, the US negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, leading to the departure of US and international forces from Afghanistan. Soon after, the Taliban launched a rapid offensive and recaptured most of the country, including Kabul, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government. This recent development has raised concerns about the future of Afghanistan, particularly regarding human rights, women's rights, and the potential for the country to once again become a safe haven for terrorist organizations.

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