The president of Afghanistan was Hamid Karzai. His term ended on September 21, 2014. Afterwards the president was Ashraf Ghani ;he was the president from 9.29.14 to 8.15.21. Hibatullah Akhundzada assumed office as president on 8.15.21.
The capital is Kabul. Islam is their official religion; 99.7 percentage. The official languages are Pashto and Dari.
Quick guide and life of the Afghan country.
The president of Pakistan is Asif Ali Zardari. His successor Mamnoon Hussain was elected on 30 July 2013. On 8 September 2013, Zardari became the country's first president to complete his constitutional term and handed over duties to a democratically elected successor.
The capital is Islamabad. CIA Factbook.
Who are the Taliban? They are islamic extremists/militants. It is commonly believed that they first appeared in religious seminaries - mostly paid for by money from Saudi Arabia - which preached a hard line form of Sunni Islam. Men are required to grow beards and women have to wear the all-covering burka. They show a similar disdain for television, music and cinema and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over from going to school. On October 9,2012, they shot a 15 year old girl name, Malala Yousafza, in the head for advocating education for girls in Swat Valley. In January 2009, militants took over her once-tranquil city in Swat Valley and ordered schools to stop educating girls. She blogged about the Taliban's efforts to scare girls away from learning institutions. She lives under constant threats for going to school in the conservative Swat Valley region in northwest Pakistan, where women are repressed under the militants' strict interpretation of Islam.
They emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. They first came to prominence in the autumn of 1994. Their leader was a village clergyman, Mullah Mohammad Omar , who lost his right eye fighting the occupying forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Their target was the feuding warlords known as the mujahideen who had forced Soviet troops out of the country. The Taliban was defeated November 21, 2001, but resurgent in 2003 after the United States shifted its military efforts to fighting the war in Iraq.
Pakistan's president is Asif Ali Zardari as of September 9, 2008. His election followed Pres. Pervez Musharraf's resignation on August 18, 2008. His successor Mamnoon Hussain was elected on 30 July 2013. The capital is Islamabad.
U.S.-Pakistan relations and Issue Guide. The U.S.-Afghanistan relations.
5.6.09 "Joined By a Common Goal"
What’s New in the Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan , and A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan , and Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan ,and The New Way Forward .
Pres. Obama assigned Richard Holbrooke as an envoy to both countries. He died on 12/13/2010 of a tear in his aorta.
FBI Chief says the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan are top terror threat
3.27.09 Video and Text: President Obama's comprehensive strategy
BBC reports: the plan has received a broad welcome from both countries
Zardari moves to end Pakistan political crisis
Karzai agrees with U.S. strategy, but says no al-Qaida bases in Afghanistan
NOTE: al qaeda leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said that he had personally beheaded Daniel Pearl, an American journalist who was the South Asia Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal, who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in early 2002, during the early months of the United States' War on Terror.
12.1.09 Pres. Obama is ordering 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Watch the video and read the transcript
Key points of Pres. Obama's strategy for Afghanistan.
• Send 30,000 additional U.S. troops. "So that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers," Pres. Obama said.
• Pursue a more effective civilian strategy. Pres. Obama said the U.S. would work to build up programs and institutions that will benefit Afghanistan's citizens.
• Have a more robust partnership with Pakistan. "We will strengthen Pakistan's capacity to target these groups [Taliban and al Qaeda] that threaten our countries. America is also providing substantial resources to support Pakistan's democracy and development." - Pres. Obama.
3.7.10 Adam Gadahn, America-born Jew converted to Islam is an al-qaeda spokesman. He's FBI most wanted terrorist who has been arrested in Karachi, Pakistan. Since 2004, he has been asking muslims in the U.S.A. to wage Jihad on Americans. Gadahn's arrest spells trouble for al-qaeda's regime and shows distrust in their inner circle. CNNs Amanpour interviews him.
3.8.10 VOANews: Al-Qaida suspect arrested in Pakistan is not Gadahn
3.16.10 Afghanistan-Pakistan Annual Review
Saving Aesha became a symbol of the oppression of women in Afghanistan, her war-torn country. Her Taliban husband and in-laws punished her for running away by hacking off her nose and ears and leaving her for dead.
