Afghanistan Government

What is the capital of Afghanistan?

Country Name	Afghanistan
Full Country Name	formerly Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Local - Long	formerly Jamhuri-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan
Local - Short	Afghanistan
Former Name	Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Etymology- history of name	the name "Afghan" originally referred to the Pashtun people (today it is understood to include all the country's ethnic groups), while the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country"; so Afghanistan literally means the "Land of the Afghans"
Government Type	theocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government
Capital Name	Kabul
Capital - geographic coordinate	34 31 N, 69 11 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	does not observe daylight savings time
Independence	19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
National Holiday	previous: Independence Day, 19 August (1919); under the Taliban Government, 15 August (2022) is declared a national holiday, marking the anniversary of the victory of the Afghan jihad
Constitution	history: several previous; latest ratified in 2004, suspended by the Taliban after taking over the country in 2021

Afghanistan Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Afghanistan Government and Politics

Who is the president of Afghanistan?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: Overall Taliban Leader HAYBATULLAH Akhundzada serves as the head of the Taliban government as Amir-ul Momineen note - on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the “acting prime minister” of the "caretaker government”; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting “deputy prime ministers” - Abdul Ghani BERADER, Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Abdul KABIR head of government: Overall Taliban Leader HAYBATULLAH Akhundzada serves as the head of the Taliban government as Amir-ul Momineen cabinet: includes the acting prime minister, acting deputy prime ministers, and 26 ministries elections/appointments: the 2004 Afghan constitution directed that the president should be elected by majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 September 2019
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must have been born in - and continuously lived in - Afghanistan dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Legal System:	the Taliban is implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, which partially based on the Hanifi school of Islamic jurisprudence; before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law (2021)
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: the Taliban Government has not announced the formation of a legislative branch; before the 2021 Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had a bicameral National Assembly that consisted of the House of Elders and House of the People
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): the Taliban Government has a Supreme Court: number of judges and organizational structure NA note - before 15 August 2021, Afghanistan had a Supreme Court (consisting of a supreme court chief and 8 justices organized into criminal, public security, civil, and commercial divisions) judge selection and term of office: the Taliban Supreme Court judge selection and term of office NA note - before 15 August 2021, the Supreme Court chief and justices were appointed by the president with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga; court chief and justices served single 10-year terms subordinate courts: the Taliban Government has many provincial-level courts, religious courts, and specialty courts note - before 15 August 2021, consisted of Appeals Courts; Primary Courts; and Special Courts for issues including narcotics, security, property, family, and juveniles
Regions or States:	34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat) Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul
Political Parties and Leaders:	the Taliban Government enforces an authoritarian state and has banned other political parties note - before 15 August 2021, the Ministry of Justice had licensed 72 political parties as of April 2019
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; formerly accepted ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	member of the following organizations but cannot participate because the international community does not recognize the Taliban Government: ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNAMA, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: none note - the Afghan Embassy closed in March 2022
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: the United States does not maintain a presence in Afghanistan and bases the Department of State's Afghanistan Affairs Unit in Doha, Qatar note - the US Embassy in Kabul closed in August 2021 embassy: Embassy Kabul, operations have been suspended; Department of State’s Afghanistan Affairs Unit operates from Doha, Qatar.

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