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{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
[[Afghanistan timeline]]
{{Year in Afghanistan|1996}}
__NOTOC__

==[[1996]]== Popular enthusiasm about the Taliban is soon diluted, when the Taliban turn their captured rockets against civilians, especially in Kabul. In all areas under their control, the Taliban enforce a rigorous Islamic social order, insisting that all men grow beards and forbidding women to work outside their homes. Schools for girls are closed, and Islamic law is enforced by amputations and public executions. Restrictions on women provoke international criticism.
The following lists events that happened during '''[[1996]] in [[Afghanistan]]'''.
==[[April 3]], [[1996]]== About 1,000 Muslim clergymen elect Taliban leader Omar as ''amir al-momineen'' (commander of the faithful), denouncing Rabbani as unfit to lead the Islamic nation.

==[[June 26]], [[1996]]== Hekmatyar, whose Hezb-i-Islami forces have bombarded the government in Kabul until driven from their positions by the Taliban, is sworn in again as prime minister. He immediately attempts to open contacts with northern Afghanistan's powerful warlord, General Dostum. From his power base in Mazar-i-Sharif, Dostum continues to control a virtually independent northern Afghanistan. On July 3 President Rabbani names a 10-man cabinet under Prime Minister Hekmatyar. Foreign minister: Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai; defense: Wahidullah Sabawoon; finance: Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal; interior: Mohammad Younus Qanuni.
==Incumbents==
==[[September 5]], [[1996]]== The Taliban launch a rapid offensive in eastern Afghanistan. Their forces capture the city of Jalalabad, together with important areas in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces. With these territorial advances most of Afghanistan's traditionally Pashtun homelands are united under Taliban control. The gains include Kabul's main road to Pakistan and seal the fate of Rabbani's mostly Tajik government.
*[[List of heads of state of Afghanistan|De facto head of state]]: [[Mullah Omar|Mohammed Omar]]
==[[September 27]], [[1996]]== The long power struggle between Afghanistan's armed factions takes a decisive turn when Taliban militias enter Kabul, where they meet little resistance from government forces. Despite the fundamentalist nature of the Taliban movement, many hope that it might mean an end to the deadly rivalry between Afghan factions, which have killed 25,000-45,000 Afghans, mostly civilians, since the collapse of Afghanistan's communist government in April 1992. The Taliban's first act is to execute the last communist president, Najibullah, together with his brother, Shahpur Ahmadzai. Najibullah had been living inside the UN compound in Kabul since 1992. Rabbani and other members of his government retreat north of Kabul. Government forces under Ahmad Shah Masood withdraw to the Panjsher valley. The country is now to be run by a six-man Supreme Council headed by Mullah Mohammad Rabbani (no relation), who appoints Mullah Mohammad Ghous as his foreign minister.
* [[President of Afghanistan|President]]: [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]]
==[[October]] [[1996]]== Masood and other former government forces form a military alliance with General Dostum.
* [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan|Prime Minister]]: [[Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai]] (until 26 June), [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]] (starting 26 June)
==[[December 1]], [[1996]]== Former head of state Babrak Karmal dies in Moscow.
* [[Vice President of Afghanistan|Vice President]]: [[Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi]] (left)
==End of [[1996]]== It is reported that Taliban forces have captured an opposition air base north of Kabul.

==[[May 24]], [[1997]]== Opposition warlord Dostum is ousted from his fiefdom in northern Afghanistan by a combined assault of Taliban fighters and followers of Gen. Abdul Malik, who switched sides to the Taliban. The Taliban forces and their new allies capture Kunduz, Baghlan and Samangan provinces, now controlling 26 of the 32 provinces. Dostum flees to Turkey, vowing to continue his struggle. Malik promises a strict Islamic regime in the northern areas under his control, centred on Mazar-i-Sharif, which was the last major city to hold out against the Taliban. On May 25 Pakistan becomes the first country to recognize the Taliban government. On May 28, however, Malik turns against the Taliban again, and the Taliban are driven out of Mazar-i-Sharif in a bloody battle in which several thousand of them are taken captive.
==Events==
==[[June 13]], [[1997]]== The Taliban leadership names a new foreign minister, Mullah Abdul Jalil, to replace Mullah Mohammad Ghous, who was taken prisoner by opposition forces in late May.

==[[July 24]], [[1997]]== Opposition forces come within 20 km of Kabul, within rocket range. Aid workers leave.
===April===
==[[July 30]], [[1997]]== The Taliban tighten regulations in Kabul, punishing over 700 people for breaking Islamic laws forbidding women from working outside their homes and men from trimming beards.
*April 3 – About 1,000 Muslim clergymen elect Taliban leader [[Mullah Omar|Mohammed Omar]] as ''amir al-momineen'' (commander of the faithful), denouncing Rabbani as unfit to lead the Islamic nation.
==[[August 7]], [[1997]]== Aid workers return to Kabul, but are hampered by Taliban rules limiting access to women.

==[[August 11]], [[1997]]== Following an initiative by the UN special representative in Afghanistan, Norbert Holl, to build a broad-based government, the opposition names a new administration lineup, including Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai as prime minister, Abdul Malik Pahlawan as foreign minister, and Ahmad Shah Masood as defense minister. Burhanuddin Rabbani is to remain as president. The Hezb-i-Islami faction of former prime minister Hekmatyar denounces the new cabinet without any Hezb representation and based in the northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif as designed to divide Afghanistan. In fact, this government is little more than a cover for the northern alliance's military effort to retake Kabul. The reinvigorated northern alliance of Malik's and Masood's forces plus Hazara Shi`ite militias push the Taliban back to within a few kilometres of Kabul.
===May===
==[[August 21]], [[1997]]== Ghafoorzai dies in a plane crash. Abdul Ghafoor Rawan Farhadi later replaces him as prime minister.
*May 18 – the [[Taliban]] provided protection to [[Al-Qaeda]]'s leader [[Osama bin Laden]] after relocating to Afghanistan following his expulsion from [[Sudan]].
==[[September 9]], [[1997]]== Fighting rages outside Mazar-i-Sharif after the Taliban try again to take the city.

==[[September 20]], [[1997]]== Over 70 aid workers and dependants evacuate Mazar-i-Sharif after their premises are ransacked and looted.
===June===
==[[September 29]], [[1997]]== The Taliban arrest European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs Emma Bonino, EU delegates, and journalists for taking pictures in a women's hospital in Kabul. They are released the same day.
*June 26 – [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar|Hekmatyar]], whose Hezb-i-Islami forces have bombarded the government in Kabul until driven from their positions by the Taliban, is sworn in again as prime minister. He immediately attempts to open contacts with northern Afghanistan's powerful warlord, [[Abdul Rashid Dostum|General Dostum]]. From his power base in Mazari Sharif, Dostum continues to control a virtually independent northern Afghanistan. On July 3 President Rabbani names a 10-man cabinet under Prime Minister Hekmatyar. Foreign minister: Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai; defense: [[Waheedullah Sabawoon]]; finance: [[Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal]]; interior: [[Yunus Qanuni|Mohammad Yunus Qanuni]].
==[[October 14]], [[1997]]== Dostum returns to Mazar-i-Sharif from exile in Turkey.

==[[October 26]], [[1997]]== The Taliban change the name of the country to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, underlining the importance of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who is known as ''amir al-momineen'' (Leader of the Faithful), although his constitutional position remains unclear. Although controlling about two-thirds of the country, the Taliban have only been recognized by three countries - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's seat in the UN is occupied by representatives of the administration of Burhanuddin Rabbani that has been ousted from Kabul 13 months ago, while the Organization of the Islamic Conference declared Afghanistan's seat vacant.
===September===
==[[November 2]], [[1997]]== Malik is routed by Dostum and forced to flee.
*September 5 – The Taliban launch a rapid offensive in eastern Afghanistan. Their forces capture the city of Jalalabad, together with important areas in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces. With these territorial advances most of Afghanistan's traditionally Pashtun homelands are united under Taliban control. The gains include Kabul's main road to Pakistan and seal the fate of Rabbani's mostly [[Tājik people|Tajik]] government.
==[[February 4]], [[1998]]== At least 4,500 people die when a severe earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale strikes the opposition-ruled Rustaq district of Takhar province in northeastern Afghanistan. Another earthquake hits the same region on May 30 (magnitude 6.9), claiming another several thousand lives.
*September 27 – The long power struggle between [[Afghanistan]]'s armed factions takes a decisive turn when [[Taliban]] militias enter [[Kabul]], where they meet little resistance from government forces.<ref name=IRB,Can.,1997>{{cite report |ref={{sfnRef|Chronology of Events|1997}} |title=Afghanistan: Chronology of Events January 1995 – February 1997 |date=February 1997 |publisher=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/01/16/Af_chronology_1995-.pdf|page=15}}</ref> The Taliban's first act is to execute the last [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]] president [[Mohammad Najibullah]] along with his brother [[Shahpur Ahmadzai]]. Najibullah had been living inside a [[United Nations]] compound in Kabul since 1992. The new state, the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] was recognized only by three UN member states: [[Pakistan]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]].
==[[July 8]], [[1998]]== The Taliban movement gives Afghans 15 days to get rid of their television sets, video players, and satellite receivers. The Taliban has anyway put a stop to television broadcasts in the two-thirds of the country it controls. But Maulvi Qalamuddin, the Taliban deputy minister in charge of its Department for Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, said people continued to watch video tapes and foreign television channels received via satellite dishes. He said watching video tapes and satellite television broadcasts was inadmissible in Islam, damaging to morals, and caused mental disorders.

==[[July 12]], [[1998]]== The Taliban capture the key opposition stronghold of Maimana, capital of Faryab province in the northwest.
===October===
==[[July 21]], [[1998]]== 140 detainees were released in Afghanistan under the auspices of the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]. Half of the detainees were being held by Taliban authorities in Kandahar and the other half by authorities of the Northern Alliance in Panshir.
*October 4 – In [[Almaty]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Russia]] and four other Central Asian countries adopted a declaration expressing concern regarding the conflict in [[Afghanistan]], assessing it as a direct threat to the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]].
==[[August 2]], [[1998]]== The opposition alliance admits the loss of the key northern town of Shiberghan to the Taliban. The entire province of Sar-i-Pul falls on August 4.

==[[August 8]], [[1998]]== The Taliban capture the northern opposition capital of Mazar-i-Sharif. On August 11, they capture Taloqan, the Takhar provincial capital, the latest in a series of spectacular victories.
===November===
==[[August 20]], [[1998]]== The U.S. launch cruise missile attacks on suspected terrorist training camps allegedly run by Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden in eastern Afghanistan.
*November 11 – In [[Tehran]], [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]]'s ousted president [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]] arrived for talks with high-ranking Iranian officials to discuss developments in Afghanistan.
==[[August 21]], [[1998]]== An Italian army officer working for the United Nations is shot dead in Kabul. All foreigners working for the UN in Afghanistan are evacuated.

==[[September 3]], [[1998]]== Tensions between Afghanistan and Iran increase as 70,000 Iranian troops engage in war games on their border.
===December===
==[[September 10]], [[1998]]== The Taliban movement says it has found the bodies of nine Iranian diplomats whose disappearance sparked tension with neighbouring Iran; two survivors return to Iran.
*December 2 – The season's first snowfall in [[Badghis Province]], [[Afghanistan]] severely hampered fighting between [[Taliban]] and [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] forces, and halted humanitarian relief efforts.
==[[September 13]], [[1998]]== The Taliban militia says its fighters have captured the central Shi`ite town of Bamiyan, the last major opposition stronghold in Afghanistan. On September 14, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns the Taliban and Pakistan that their actions could provoke a major regional conflict.
*December 3 -
==[[September 21]], [[1998]]== Anti-Taliban forces shell Kabul with rockets for a second day, bringing the death toll to over 70 people.
**Former [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] head of state [[Babrak Karmal]] died in [[Moscow, Russia]].
==[[October 8]], [[1998]]== Iran inflicts "heavy casualties" in a first armed clash with Afghan Taliban forces after weeks of tension between the hostile neighbours.
**[[Ehsanullah Ehsan (banker)|Ehsanullah Ehsan]], the chairman of the [[Taliban]]'s Central Bank, declared most [[Afghani note]]s in circulation to be worthless and cancelled the contract with the [[Russia]]n firm that had been printing the currency since 1992. Ehsan accused the firm of sending new shipments of Afghani notes to ousted president [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]] in northern [[Takhar Province]].
==[[October 12]], [[1998]]== The last three bodies of Iranian diplomats killed by Afghan Taliban militiamen are flown back to Tehran.
**In [[Kabul]], [[Mazari Sharif]], [[Geneva]] and [[New York City|New York]] the [[United Nations]] launched its fifth annual appeal for $133 million in [[humanitarian aid]] to [[Afghanistan]], but warned [[Taliban]] leaders that policies toward conduct of women would have to change.
==[[October 23]], [[1998]]== The UN and the Taliban movement sign an agreement paving the way for the return of UN international staff to Afghanistan.
**In [[Jalalabad]], [[Afghanistan]], the local Department for Promoting the Good and Suppressing the Bad issued a directive prohibiting [[taxicab driver|taxi driver]]s from giving rides to women wearing [[chador]]s.
==[[1999]]==
**[[UNICEF]] announced that it would stop funding education projects in [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] if girls were not allowed by the [[Taliban]] to go to school.
Afghanistan produces 73% of the world's [[opium]], according to the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.
*December 4 -
==[[February 13]], [[1999]]== America's public enemy number one, Osama Bin Laden, is reported missing by his Taliban hosts in Afghanistan.
**In [[Mazari Sharif]], [[Afghanistan]] faction leader [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]] joined the anti-[[Taliban]] [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] formed by ousted president [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]] and northern militia leader General [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]].
==[[May 9]], [[1999]]== The Taliban movement says that its forces have retaken the key central town of Bamiyan from the opposition alliance.
**In [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Radio Shariat]] (Radio Islamic Law) announced that women should be covered from head to foot.
==[[June 20]], [[1999]]== The Red Cross pulls non-essential foreign staff out of Afghanistan after 10 of its workers were beaten.
*December 5 -
==[[July 6]], [[1999]]== U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes financial and commercial sanctions on Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement because of its support of Saudi terrorism suspect Osama Bin Laden.
**In [[Tehran]], [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]]'s ousted president [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]] arrived for talks with [[President of Iran|President]] [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] to discuss developments in Afghanistan.
==[[July 28]], [[1999]]== Thousands of Taliban fighters launch an offensive to crush Ahmad Shah Masood, the last hurdle between the Islamic militia and control of the whole of Afghanistan.
**The [[Taliban]] punished 225 women for violating [[Taliban]] clothing rules, and punished several men for violating Taliban beard rules. The men were advised to "grow thick beards and small moustaches within one and a half months."
==[[August 1]], [[1999]]== Taliban fighters seize opposition leader Ahmad Shah Masood's key Bagram airbase in an offensive to establish total dominance of Afghanistan; anti-Taliban fighters recapture the airbase on August 5.
*December 6 -
==[[October 27]], [[1999]]== Mullah Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil is named foreign minister, replacing Mullah Mohammad Hassan. Mullah Abdul Razzaq is made interior minister, replacing Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, who is appointed as governor of the western province of Herat.
**In [[Istalif]], [[Afghanistan]] enemy troops pounded [[Taliban]] positions with heavy artillery and rockets, prompting Taliban troops to pull out of the village.
==[[October 29]], [[1999]]== Saudi-born terrorism suspect Osama Bin Laden is reported to have sought safe passage from the Taliban's Afghanistan to an unknown country.
**[[United Nations]] special envoy [[Norbert Holl]] met with [[Taliban]] Foreign Minister Mullah [[Mohammed Ghous]].
==[[November 14]], [[1999]]== UN sanctions against Afghanistan go into force, imposed for not handing over Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden.
**A [[Russia]]n military airplane transported the body of former [[President of Afghanistan|Afghan President]] [[Babrak Karmal]] to [[Mazari Sharif]] to be buried.
==[[January 16]], [[2000]]== The ruling Taliban movement announces its formal diplomatic recognition of the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya.
*December 7 -
==[[February 10]], [[2000]]== The hijacking of an Ariana (Afghani airline) Boeing 727 aircraft, which was seized on an internal flight and forced to fly via Central Asia to Moscow and then on to the U.K., ends peacefully at Stansted airport north of London. Four days later 72 of the passengers are flown back to Afghanistan. A similar number apply for asylum in the U.K. - a request complicated by uncertainty as to how many might have been complicit in the hijack.
**A [[United Nations]] 10-seater [[Beechcraft]] airplane carrying [[Tājik people|Tajik]] opposition leader [[Sayid Abdulloh Nuri]] and seven other Tajik passengers from [[Mashhad]], [[Iran]] to [[Taloqan]], [[Afghanistan]] was intercepted by [[Taliban]] aircraft and forced to land in [[Shindand, Herat|Shindand]].
==End of [[March]] [[2000]]== Ismail Khan, a former governor of Herat and leading opponent of the ruling Taliban regime, escapes from prison in Kandahar.
**[[Pakistan]]i Foreign Secretary [[Najmuddin Shaikh]] met with rebel forces in [[Mazari Sharif]], [[Afghanistan]].
==Late [[April]] [[2000]]== All foreign currency transactions are banned by the Taliban regime in an attempt to bolster the weakened national currency, the afghani.
*December 8 -
==Early [[May]] [[2000]]== Peace talks are held between representatives of the warring factions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An earlier round of talks in March ended inconclusively.
**In [[Shindand, Herat|Shindand]], [[Afghanistan]], the [[Taliban]] released the [[United Nations]] a 10-seater [[Beechcraft]] airplane they had forced to land the previous day, and had it flown to Taliban headquarters in [[Kandahar]] for repairs rather than allowing it to complete its flight to [[Kunduz]].
==Mid-[[May]] [[2000]]== The Iranian government decides to secure the Iran-Afghanistan border with the construction of walls and high-security fencing along the almost-1,000-km stretch of desert.
**[[Taliban]] officials met with [[Pakistan]]i Foreign Secretary [[Najmuddin Shaikh]]The subject discussed as during Mr. Shaikh's meeting with Dostum and Dr. Abdullah in Mazar Sharif a day earlier was the working out of ceasefire arrangements between the contending factions in Afghanistan and suggesting talks with the Northern Alliance for the formation of a coalition government
==[[May 24]], [[2000]]== Russia threatens air strikes against "terrorist training camps," in response to which the Taliban authorities warn neighbouring countries of retaliation if they play host to Russian forces launching such attacks. They also come to an agreement with the military authorities in Islamabad to close down camps training Pakistani nationals, and assure the Chinese foreign minister in late July that they will not tolerate Chinese Muslim extremists using Afghan territory for military training.
**[[Taliban]] leadership nominated [[Abdul Hakeem Mujahed]] as [[Afghanistan]]'s ambassador to the [[United Nations]].
==Early [[June]] [[2000]]== The UN calls for immediate international drought relief of around U.S. $67 million to aid over 10 million people affected by severe droughts across the country.
==[[July 1]], [[2000]]== Government forces clash with troops loyal to northern ''mujahideen'' commander Ahmad Shah Masood around Bagram airbase, just north of Kabul. Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties.
**In [[Kunduz]], [[Afghanistan]], [[United Nations]] special envoy [[Norbert Holl]] met with ousted commander [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]] to discuss U.N. proposals for an Afghan [[ceasefire]], the demilitarization of [[Kabul]], and the formation of a neutral [[Afghan Police Force]].
*December 10 – In [[Kandahar]], [[Afghanistan]], [[United Nations]] special envoy [[Norbert Holl]] with senior [[Taliban]] officials.
==[[July 9]], [[2000]]== Mary MacMakin, a U.S. aid worker in her 70s who has spent the last 30 years in Afghanistan, is arrested in Kabul on suspicion of espionage. The U.S. government calls the accusations "ridiculous."
*December 12 – In [[Mazari Sharif]], [[Afghanistan]], [[United Nations]] special envoy [[Norbert Holl]] met with rebel leader General [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]].
==Mid-[[July]] [[2000]]== The Taliban authorities order the UN and foreign aid agencies to dismiss all Afghan women working for them.

==Mid- to late [[July]] [[2000]]== Kabul is hit by five bomb attacks in two weeks. The Taliban authorities accuse saboteurs of trying to create the impression of anarchy in the capital.
==Births==
==Late [[July]] [[2000]]== The authorities announce the arrest of Commander Bashir Baghlani, a key Taliban leader in the northern regions, on suspicion of colluding with anti-government forces.
*July 7 – [[Zekeria Ebrahimi]], actor
==[[July 31]], [[2000]]== The Taliban authorities announce that the severe drought affecting much of the country was God's punishment for the people's neglect of their religious beliefs.

==Early [[September]] [[2000]]== Despite encouraging hints of peace initiatives brokered by neighbouring Turkmenistan in late August, Taliban forces press on with their attack on the opposition Northern Alliance's northeast supply routes, taking the key town of Taloqan after heavy fighting.
==References==
==[[September]] [[2000]]== The Taliban regime steps up its efforts to gain diplomatic and UN recognition, having reinforced its claims to effective control of the country thanks to military successes in the northeast. The U.S. sustains its criticisms over drug trafficking, support for terrorism, and a "deplorable human rights record," although State Department officials do meet Taliban representatives in Washington, D.C., on September 29 to discuss these issues.
{{reflist}}
==Mid-[[September]] [[2000]]== Around 150,000 people are said to be heading for the sealed border with Tajikistan in the wake of the successful advance of Taliban forces in the north of the country. The refugees include almost the entire population of Taloqan.

==Mid-[[September]] [[2000]]== Although Afghanistan remains the world's biggest producer of opium, the UN drug control agency announces that the country's crop for 2000 appears to be 30% smaller than that harvested in 1999. Despite the agency's program to convince local farmers to grow other crops, the fall may be solely due to the terrible drought affecting the region.
{{Years in Afghanistan}}
==Mid-[[September]] [[2000]]== The Taliban authorities announce that traders arriving from Pakistan will be allowed to transport their goods through Afghanistan without paying customs duties. Taliban deputy commerce minister Faiz Faizan also says that any foreigners are welcome to invest in the country tax-free.
{{Year in Asia|1996}}
==[[October 10]], [[2000]]== A three-day cease-fire is called to allow UN medical officers to continue providing polio vaccinations for children displaced by the fighting. A massive campaign to immunize approximately 4.5 million children in Afghanistan, one of only 30 countries where the disease still exists, began in early June.

==Late [[October]] [[2000]]== A ban on the farming of opium poppies, from which heroin is derived, is introduced by the Taliban authorities.
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 In Afghanistan}}
==Mid-[[November]] [[2000]]== Commander Mahmoud Surkha of the Northern Alliance defects to the Taliban claiming dissatisfaction with Russian interference in the resistance movement. The Northern Alliance denies the allegation but says that it has the right to seek international assistance as the recognized government of Afghanistan.
[[Category:1996 in Afghanistan| ]]
==Late [[November]] [[2000]]== Kazakhstan becomes the latest Central Asian country to relax its attitude to the Taliban regime when it announces it will establish regular contact with the Islamic administration. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have already expressed a willingness to talk to the regime.
[[Category:1996 by country|Afghanistan]]
==Mid-[[December]] [[2000]]== Fearing a violent response to a UN resolution tightening international sanctions against the Taliban regime, non-Afghan UN staff are gradually withdrawn from the country.
[[Category:Years of the 20th century in Afghanistan]]
==Late [[December]] [[2000]]== The return of exiled opposition leader Karim Khalili from Iran prompts a new offensive by the Northern Alliance in north-central Afghanistan. The governing Taliban regime admits it has temporarily lost control of the central town of Yakawlang, near Bamiyan, but denies opposition claims of further gains in neighbouring Ghowr province.
[[Category:1996 in Asia|Afghanistan]]
[[Category:1990s in Afghanistan]]

Latest revision as of 23:21, 15 August 2024

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See also:Other events of 1996
List of years in Afghanistan

The following lists events that happened during 1996 in Afghanistan.

Incumbents

[edit]

Events

[edit]

April

[edit]
  • April 3 – About 1,000 Muslim clergymen elect Taliban leader Mohammed Omar as amir al-momineen (commander of the faithful), denouncing Rabbani as unfit to lead the Islamic nation.

May

[edit]

June

[edit]
  • June 26 – Hekmatyar, whose Hezb-i-Islami forces have bombarded the government in Kabul until driven from their positions by the Taliban, is sworn in again as prime minister. He immediately attempts to open contacts with northern Afghanistan's powerful warlord, General Dostum. From his power base in Mazari Sharif, Dostum continues to control a virtually independent northern Afghanistan. On July 3 President Rabbani names a 10-man cabinet under Prime Minister Hekmatyar. Foreign minister: Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai; defense: Waheedullah Sabawoon; finance: Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal; interior: Mohammad Yunus Qanuni.

September

[edit]
  • September 5 – The Taliban launch a rapid offensive in eastern Afghanistan. Their forces capture the city of Jalalabad, together with important areas in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces. With these territorial advances most of Afghanistan's traditionally Pashtun homelands are united under Taliban control. The gains include Kabul's main road to Pakistan and seal the fate of Rabbani's mostly Tajik government.
  • September 27 – The long power struggle between Afghanistan's armed factions takes a decisive turn when Taliban militias enter Kabul, where they meet little resistance from government forces.[1] The Taliban's first act is to execute the last Democratic Republic of Afghanistan president Mohammad Najibullah along with his brother Shahpur Ahmadzai. Najibullah had been living inside a United Nations compound in Kabul since 1992. The new state, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was recognized only by three UN member states: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

October

[edit]

November

[edit]

December

[edit]

Births

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Afghanistan: Chronology of Events January 1995 – February 1997 (PDF) (Report). Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. February 1997. p. 15.
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