GENERAL OVERVIEW

Viktor KORGUN

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Viktor Korgun, D.Sc. (Hist.), head of the Afghanistan Sector, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russian Federation)

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Afghanistan entered the year 2006 with vague expectations of change and a heavy burden of unresolved problems. But early February brought a breakthrough: the London Conference on Afghanistan and the seminal Afghanistan Compact adopted at that conference raised visible hopes of faster national reconstruction. However, the continued worsening of the military-political situation in the country remains a serious obstacle in the way of this process.

The Afghanistan Compact is a kind of agreement between Afghanistan and the world community reaffirming the commitments undertaken by foreign donors and providing for an increase in their financial aid to that country by $10.5 billion over a term of five years. The Afghan government, for its part, pledged to strengthen democratic institutions, ensure security, curb the drug trade, promote economic development, uphold the rule of law, meet basic human needs, and protect human rights. Four years after the Bonn Agreement, this document provided a new road map for Afghanistan’s development in the next five years.

Shortly before the London Conference, the formation of the Afghan parliament (National Assembly) elected in September 2005 was completed. As expected, about half of the seats were won by former mojahed warlords (including Islamic radicals), who controlled the situation in the provinces and were in opposition to President Hamid Karzai and his government. Other seats went to representatives of left-wing forces (including the former PDPA), liberal circles and……………….

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