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Afghanistan Timeline

10 Luglio 2024

Starting from the most recent events, this chronology traces the history of Afghanistan up to the years of the wars of independence.

2024

  • 4 January: A spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue announced the arrest of an unspecified number of women for wearing the hijab incorrectly.
  • 6 January: ISIS-K claimed responsibility for an explosion on a minibus in the western district of Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul, which killed at least two people.
  • 18 February – 19 February: The II Doha Conference on Afghanistan, organized by the UN, took place. On the first day, special envoys and groups from Afghanistan, including representatives of women and civil society, met. The Taliban were invited but refused to attend, citing unmet conditions. Special representatives from at least 25 countries participated. Four members, including Shah Gul Rezaee, Mahbouba Seraj, Mitra Mehran, and Lotfullah Najafizada, represented Afghan civil society. Antonio Guterres announced the intention to initiate consultations for the appointment of a UN envoy to facilitate interactions between the Taliban and the international community. The UN Secretary-General expressed hope that Taliban officials would participate in future meetings of this nature.
  • 19 February: A landslide in Nuristan province buried the village of Nakre in the Tatin Valley, killing at least 25 people.
  • 20 February – 13 March: At least 60 people were killed and another 23 injured due to floods and adverse weather conditions involving snow and rain nationwide.
  • 22 February: Taliban authorities executed two men publicly in Ghazni stadium in southeastern Afghanistan for two fatal stabbings. They were shot by the victims’ relatives in front of thousands of spectators.
  • 2 March: The Freedom Front claimed its members attacked a Taliban outpost in the Tahia-e Maskan area, north of Kabul, resulting in the deaths of some Taliban members and injuring two others. In a previous statement, the Resistance Front claimed to have killed a Taliban member and injured three others in an attack in Farkhar district, Takhar province.
  • 18 March: Five women and three children were killed in two Pakistani airstrikes in Khost and Paktika provinces following accusations of attacks on Pakistan originating from Afghanistan. In response, the Taliban opened fire on Pakistani troops at the border.
  • 21 March: A suicide bombing claimed by ISIS-K inside a bank in Kandahar killed 27 people and injured over 50.
  • 23 March: Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s “supreme leader,” announced on Afghan radio the reintroduction of stoning, including in public, for women accused of adultery.
  • 12-14 April: At least 33 people were killed and another 27 injured in flash floods caused by heavy rains in 20 provinces.
  • 17 April: The Taliban ordered the suspension of Noor TV and Barya TV channels, accusing them of not considering national and Islamic values.
  • 20 April: One person was killed and three others injured in a bombing under a minibus in a predominantly Hazara neighborhood of Kabul. ISIS-K claimed responsibility.
  • 29 April: Six people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a Shia mosque in Guzara district, Herat province.
  • 3 May: Strong protests by residents of Qarloq village in Darayim district; some protesters demanded the “expulsion” of the Taliban from their areas. At least one person was killed and several others injured when the Taliban opened fire on residents. The protests extended to Argo district in Badakhshan, where dozens of people gathered the next day to protest against the Taliban, chanting anti-Taliban slogans.
  • 7 May: A report by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) revealed a growing threat from ISIS-K with greater capabilities than before the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Senior Study Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan assessed that ISIS-K now “poses an increasing threat with a reach beyond the immediate region, greater than the period before the withdrawal.” The report warned of the broader regional implications of uncontrolled terrorist activities in Afghanistan, particularly concerning India.
  • 8 May: A motorcycle bomb killed three Taliban security personnel in Faizabad, Badakhshan province. ISIS-K claimed responsibility.
  • 9 May: In Nangarhar province, during a protest by residents against the demolition of their homes, three civilians were killed and five others injured when the Taliban fired to disperse the demonstrators. The incident occurred while residents were protesting. During the protests, some Nangarhar residents blocked the Jalalabad-Torkham highway for two hours.
  • 10 May – 25 May: 21 districts in northeastern Afghanistan were hit by devastating floods. Save the Children reported that, in Baghlan province alone, the hardest hit, 40,000 children were left homeless. The death toll was over 300 people, according to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), including at least 51 children, added UNICEF. About 80,000 people were affected; bridges, roads, schools, and hospitals collapsed; healthcare services were suspended in at least 11 clinics in Baghlan and Takhar provinces. Severe diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea spread among children due to the lack of drinking water. A disaster exacerbated by decades of war and the Taliban government’s inability to respond to climate emergencies. Flood victims in Baghlan criticized the Taliban for neglecting their situation and failing to respond adequately to their needs. Residents reported that Taliban rescue efforts were insufficient, leaving villagers alone in rescue operations.
  • 17 May: Six people, including three Spanish nationals, were killed and seven others injured in a shooting in Bamiyan. ISIS-K claimed responsibility.
  • 21 May: Turkish Airlines resumed flights to Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban took power in 2021.
  • 3 June: Kazakhstan removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations.
  • 4 June: A group of Afghan protesters published a ten-article resolution calling for the Taliban’s boycott from the next Doha meeting and an end to global engagement with the Taliban. Addressing the UN, they emphasized the need to include “non-Taliban figures” and representatives of “anti-Taliban fronts” in the meeting. Representing the “Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network,” the women stated that the appointment of the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan should “align with the standards and demands of the Afghan people, especially women.” During the Doha meeting, they called for the recognition of “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan and the defense of women’s rights in the country.
  • 14 June: The Taliban flogged nearly 150 people, including 14 women, in various provinces over the past 44 days, according to data collected by Amu TV. Sar-e Pul province recorded the highest number of incidents, followed by Kandahar, Paktika, Ghazni, Nimroz, Ghor, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Khost, Bamyan, Kabul, Paktia, Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir, and Jawzjan. Public criticism of the Taliban’s repressive measures is growing. Many Afghans see these punishments as a continuation of the Taliban’s historical brutality. “Today’s Taliban are no different from the past. They used to flog people then, and they are doing the same now. The world should not remain silent against the Taliban,” said a Kabul resident.
  • 30 June – 1 July: The III Doha Conference, organized by the UN to normalize relations with the de facto Afghan government and officially reopen economic and political relations with Western economies, which had never been interrupted for some countries like China, India, Central Asia, Russia, and Iran. The novelty was the direct participation of the Taliban, who had not attended the previous two Doha Conferences, thanks to the acceptance of their previously excluded conditions, which required inviting only them as representatives of the Afghan people (excluding women and human rights organizations) and not addressing the issue of the systematic oppression and exclusion of women from education and society. For more details, read Doha 3: the “first time” of the Taliban..
  • 8 July: At least 217 people, including 180 Taliban members, were killed and 212 others injured in attacks in the country over the past three months, according to an Afghanistan Security Watch report. The watchdog’s report detailed 94 security attacks recorded in 18 provinces during this period; Kabul recorded the highest number of incidents, 47, followed by Herat with 11, Baghlan with nine, and Takhar with five; the Resistance Front claimed 57 attacks, the Freedom Front 19, and ISIS-K 6, while nine attacks were attributed to unknown entities. The report adds that many of these attacks targeted Taliban forces, resulting in the deaths of 180 Taliban members and the injury of another 168.
  • 10 July: Pakistan announced a one-year extension for registered Afghan refugees, easing fears of immediate repatriation to Afghanistan. The Pakistani government had already announced the repatriation of all irregular migrants in October last year, citing security reasons. The repatriation of undocumented Afghans began on 1 November, with officials now reporting that up to 500,000 have been repatriated. Initially, authorities stated that there were about 1.7 million undocumented Afghans, most of whom had been residing in Pakistan for 40 years. “The federal cabinet has approved a one-year extension of the validity of PoR (Proof of Registration) cards for 1.45 million Afghan refugees. Their PoR cards expired on 30 June 2024. The extension has been granted until 30 June 2025,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. According to the UN refugee agency, about 1.3 million registered Afghans still live in Pakistan.
  • 10 July: The Taliban flogged two individuals on charges of “document forgery” in southern Kandahar province. In the past two weeks, the Taliban publicly flogged at least 38 people in various provinces. Since taking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have applied corporal punishments to hundreds of people, including executions.

2023

  • January 1: An attack at Kabul airport causes an unspecified number of casualties.
  • January 11: An ISIS-K suicide bomber kills at least 20 people in Kabul.
  • March 9: Three people, including Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, the Taliban-appointed governor of Balkh province, are killed by an explosion in his office.
  • March 27: Six people are killed and many others injured when a suicide bomber explodes near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Kabul.
  • April 4: The Taliban ban Afghan women from working for the United Nations and related funds, programs, and agencies.
  • April 29: Despite evident danger and defying Taliban security forces, a spontaneous demonstration of women in Kabul demands the international community not recognize the Taliban government. This initiative precedes an international meeting on Afghanistan convened by the UN in Doha.
  • May 4: The UN conference in Doha ends, preceded by strong controversies sparked by previous statements by Deputy Secretary Amina Mohammed, who had hinted at the need for “small steps” towards political dialogue with the Taliban. Antonio Guterres reported the conclusions: no recognition of the Emirate, condemnation of discriminatory policies, but “we cannot disengage.” Thus, the UN will continue working in Afghanistan even though the Security Council is divided on the mandate of UNAMA, the UN mission in Kabul (currently set to expire on March 17, 2024), as are various UN agencies after the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for them in April.
  • June 8: 15 people die and over 50 are injured in an attack on a mosque in Faizabad, northern Afghanistan, during the funeral of the Taliban deputy governor of Badakhshan province, Mawlawi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, killed in an attack on June 6.
  • October 7: Pakistan announces that all undocumented foreigners must leave the country by October 31, 2023. Although the announcement concerns all foreign citizens, it mainly affects Afghans, about 1.7 million refugees who often have lived in Pakistan for decades or were even born there. This number is also fueled by over 700,000 who reportedly arrived in the country after the Taliban’s return to power.
  • October 7 and 15: Three strong earthquakes of magnitude 6.8 shake Afghanistan. The epicenter is located 30 km northeast of the Zinda Jan district in Herat province, which has just under two million inhabitants. According to the latest WHO report from December, the earthquakes affected about 275,000 people in districts where 23% of the population are children under 5 years old. Although obtaining reliable data is difficult, the earthquake likely caused the death of about 1,500 Afghans and injured over 2,100. The impact on infrastructure is severe, with hundreds of houses destroyed, damage to an already heavily compromised water network, and about 40 health facilities.
  • December 29: The UN Security Council almost unanimously votes on a resolution that will launch a new course in the world’s relations with Taliban Afghanistan, aiming for “an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors, fully reintegrated into the international community and honoring its international obligations.” This measure changes the strategy previously adopted by the UN, confirmed at the Doha Conference last May, which established not to negotiate directly with the Taliban until they recognized women’s rights.

2022

  • March: Women’s access to secondary school is definitively banned.
  • May 7: Women are ordered to cover themselves entirely, including their faces, in public, and generally stay at home. They are also prohibited from making intercity trips without a male companion.
  • November: Women are banned from entering parks, amusement parks, gyms, and public baths.
  • December 7: Public executions and floggings resume.
  • December 20: Women are banned from university.
  • December 24: NGOs are prohibited from employing female staff.

2021

  • May 1: The Taliban offensive begins, leading to their control of 223 districts within three months, compared to the 73 pre-offensive.
  • July 2: Germany and Italy withdraw their troops. US troops leave Bagram airport, handing it over to Afghan armed forces.
  • August 6: The Taliban launch assaults on major cities where Afghan army forces surrender without fighting.
  • August 13: The Taliban take Herat, Kandahar, and Lashkargah.
  • August 15: Ashraf Ghani flees the country, and Kabul is captured by the Taliban.
  • September 6: The Taliban conquer Panjshir province; they declare territorial control over the entire country and reinstate the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
  • September 12: The Taliban announce that women can attend universities only using separate entrances and classrooms; students can only have teachers of their own sex or older men.

2020

  • February 18: Almost six months after the elections, Ashraf Ghani is formally declared the winner and therefore president; Abdullah Abdullah contests the results and announces the formation of his own government.
  • February 29: The Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban is signed, formally ending the armed conflict and providing for the total withdrawal of NATO forces by August 31, 2021; parts of the agreements are kept secret. Simultaneously, a diplomatic agreement is signed in Kabul with the government to reassure Ghani.
  • September 12: The Taliban begin negotiations in Doha with representatives of the “republican” front of Kabul, which includes a wide range of political actors linked to previous governments and various fundamentalist factions.

2019

  • February: In Moscow, intra-Afghan meetings between the Taliban and other Afghan figures, including Karzai, but not members of Ghani’s government. Talks between Americans and Taliban continue.
  • UNAMA: The number of civilian casualties in the first quarter of 2019 is comparable to the previous year, but for the first time since 2009, civilian deaths attributed to the Afghan government, US, and international forces have surpassed those attributed to the Taliban and ISIS-K.
  • September 28: After numerous delays, presidential elections are held.

2014

  • April and June: Presidential elections. The results are contested with accusations of fraud, and in September, an independent electoral commission declares Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai the new president of Afghanistan. Under international pressure, a troubled agreement is reached for a national unity government, in which the defeated candidate Abdullah Abdullah is appointed prime minister.

2015

  • The Institute for the Study of War documents the presence of ISIS in the country, particularly in areas near the Pakistan border.
  • UNAMA: 3,545 civilian deaths and 7,457 injuries caused by clashes and bombs in the conflict between warlords, the Taliban, Afghan army and police, and NATO forces.
  • The FAO declares that 70% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.

2016

  • Taliban and ISIS attacks continue, along with direct clashes between US/Afghan armed forces and Taliban/ISIS.
  • September 22: After two years of negotiations under the aegis of the “Quadrilateral Committee,” Afghanistan-Pakistan-China-USA, the Afghan government signs peace agreements with the armed movement Hezb-e-Islami of Hekmatyar, responsible for crimes against humanity.

2017

  • The country is increasingly unstable with daily attacks and armed clashes.

2018

  • July: US officials begin secret talks with the Taliban at their political office in Doha.
  • UNAMA: Civilian deaths and injuries increase by 5% and 11%, respectively, compared to 2017.
  • Transparency International: Afghanistan ranks 172nd out of 180 countries in terms of corruption.

2010

  • March 16: A law is enacted providing amnesty for war crimes and human rights violations committed before 2001.
  • September 18: Third parliamentary elections. Three fundamentalist parties, which had been protagonists of the 1992-1996 factional war, led by warlords Rabbani, Mohaqiq, and Dostum, win the majority of seats.

2009

  • The Taliban control three-quarters of the country and are at the gates of Kabul. Attacks multiply, claiming mainly innocent civilian lives. A decree legalizing discrimination against Shia women is converted into law.
  • August 20: Second presidential elections are held. After alternating events and accusations of fraud, Hamid Karzai is confirmed as president.

2007

  • NATO extends the ISAF mandate by another 12 months. Violence continues, and the country sees no tangible signs of reconstruction. Parliament passes the Law on National Reconciliation, General Amnesty, and National Stability, guaranteeing complete impunity to those responsible for atrocities.
  • May 21: Malalai Joya is illegally suspended from her position as a deputy.

2005

  • September 18: First parliamentary elections are held. A parliament is elected, mostly composed of leaders of fundamentalist factions responsible for war crimes. Activist Malalai Joya is elected with thousands of votes.
  • Taliban resistance actions intensify. NATO expands ISAF presence in the country’s west.

2004

  • January 25: President Karzai promulgates the new constitution, which enshrines equality between men and women “before the law” (art. 22). However, the constitutional text states that “no law shall contravene the principles and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam in Afghanistan” (art. 3).
  • October 9: First presidential elections are held. Hamid Karzai is confirmed as president.

2001

  • October 7: In response to the September 11 attacks, the US, with UK support, launches “Operation Enduring Freedom” to topple the Taliban. The operation concludes with the defeat of the Taliban and the establishment of a transitional government led by Hamid Karzai, based on the decisions of the Bonn Conference held in December.

1994

  • The Taliban movement emerges. Composed of Islamic students from religious schools, they rapidly seize control of Kandahar, Herat, Jalalabad, and Kabul. They establish a regime based on their interpretation of Islamic law, characterized by extreme repression, particularly towards women.

1993

The civil war among warlords Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdul Rashid Dostum, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar causes tens of thousands of deaths.

1992

April: The mujahideen take Kabul and overthrow Najibullah.

1989

February: Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan, leaving Najibullah’s puppet regime in power, which the mujahideen continue to fight against.

1987

The mujahideen achieve significant victories.

1982

Osama bin Laden relocates to Pakistan.

1980

The mujahideen, composed of anti-communist and Islamic rebel groups, begin resisting the Soviet occupiers. There are massive anti-Soviet student demonstrations in Kabul.

1979

February: The U.S. ambassador is kidnapped and killed. The new regime signs agreements with the USSR. Two Afghan presidents are killed one after the other.

December: Soviet troops invade Afghanistan.

1978

April: The PDPA stages a coup and kills Daud. Thousands of Afghan intellectuals and democrats are imprisoned or killed.

1977

Activist Meena Keshwar Kamal founds RAWA.

1973

King Zahir is deposed by Daud and members of the PDPA. The monarchy is abolished. Daud declares himself president.

1965

First national elections are held. Both men and women vote. The pro-Soviet People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) is founded.

1964

A new democratic constitution is enacted, granting women the right to vote.

1963

King Zahir removes Prime Minister Daud from office.

1959

Daud and other ministers appear in public with their wives unveiled. Wearing the veil becomes optional. Kabul University opens its doors to women. Women enter the workforce and public institutions.

1955

Daud seeks support and aid from the USSR.

1953

Prince Mohammed Daud becomes Prime Minister of Afghanistan under King Zahir, his cousin.

1947

The United Kingdom withdraws from India: Pakistan is separated from India.

1933-1973

Reign of Mohammed Zahir, a ruler open to the Western world.

1921

Third Anglo-Afghan War. Afghanistan gains full independence. King Amanullah initiates social and political modernization of the country. Women’s education receives particular attention.

1878-1880

Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which Afghan heroine “Malalai of Maiwand” distinguishes herself.

1839-1842

First Anglo-Afghan War.

 

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Doha 3: the “first time” of the Taliban
The Hamoon Mobile Health Unit in a slum near Kabul