Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat);
Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni,
Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar,
Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika,
Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol
note: there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst
Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance
Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August
Constitution: none
Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law)
Suffrage: NA; previously males 15-50 years of age
Executive branch: on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country remains divided among fighting factions note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the country is essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north
Legislative branch: non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch: non-functioning as of March 1995, although there are local Shari'a (Islamic law) courts throughout the country
Political parties and leaders: Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement)
; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic
Revolutionary Movement) ; Hizbi
Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party) ; Hizbi
Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) ; Hizbi
Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party) ;
Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the
Liberation of Afghanistan) ; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli
Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front) [Sibghatullah
MOJADDEDI]; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front) [Sayed
Ahamad GAILANI]; Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mohammad
OMAR]; United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan comprised
of Jumbesh-i-Melli Islami (National Islamic Movement) [Abdul Rashid
DOSTAM]; Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society) [Burhanuddin RABBANI and
Ahmad Shah MASOOD]; and Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic Unity
Party)