1990 in Afghanistan

See also: 1989 in Afghanistan and 1991 in Afghanistan.

Fierce fighting flares anew at the beginning of the year between government troops and the mujaheddin guerrillas, but by winter no military victory is in sight for either side. In the face of an extended stalemate and in a bid to end the 12-year-old war, Washington and Moscow agree that elections should be held to decide the political future of the country. Neither superpower can agree on what role Najibullah would play in the interim government, however. Washington insists he relinquish control over the military and intelligence, a demand that Najibullah and Moscow reject. Nevertheless, the president is willing to relinquish control of the state media and a limited number of troops to an interim commission if new elections are held. Since their withdrawal after a nine-year intervention, the Soviets have sent an estimated $500 million in weapons and supplies to Kabul every month. The U.S. have funneled $300 million in aid to the Muslim resistance through Pakistan, but Washington lobbies for reduced aid to fundamentalist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, considered the most anti-Western of all the seven resistance leaders, after numerous reports blamed him for brutal infighting that killed scores of Afghan civilians and guerrilla fighters. Pakistan's Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto also seeks a reduced role for the rebel leader, contradicting the Pakistani military's policy of favouring Hekmatyar for most of the civil war. But arms shipments to Hekmatyar reportedly rise dramatically after Bhutto is ousted August 6 and replaced by right-wing opponents. Renewed arms shipments coincide with escalating rocket attacks on Kabul in the first two weeks of October that kill at least 60 people and injure scores of others.

Incumbents

President: Mohammad Najibullah

Early March 1990

Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Shahnawaz Tanay, with the alleged support of the air force and some divisions of the army, leads an unsuccessful coup attempt against Najibullah's government.

May 8, 1990

Fazal Haq Khaliqyar replaces Keshtmand as prime minister.

May 20, 1990

The state of emergency is lifted.

End of May 1990

A loya jirga is convened in Kabul, which ratifies constitutional amendments providing for multiple political parties, ending the PDPA's and the National Front's monopoly over executive power.

June 1990

Najibullah creates a new political party, the Hezb-i-Wattan, or Homeland Party, in an attempt to whip up mass support. The announcement turns out to be a largely cosmetic exercise, however, as all top posts go to stalwarts from his old PDPA.

July 1990

Major guerrilla leaders form a Commanders' Council in Pakistan. It is seen as a deliberate attempt to sideline the moribund government-in-exile originally established as an alternative to Najibullah but later dismissed as a sham. The ethnic squabbles in the government-in-exile have reportedly contributed to the U.S.-backed guerrillas' failure to dislodge the Kabul government.

October 1990

After a lull in fighting, the Pakistan-based guerrillas stage a fresh assault and claim to have captured strategic outposts in the south and the capitals of Tarin Kowt and Qalat in Oruzgan and Zabol provinces. The guerrillas also step up fighting around the capital city of Kabul and in at least four other provinces. The latest offensive, led by Hekmatyar, is viewed as a prelude to a major attack on Kabul. Most moderate guerrilla leaders, however, seem to oppose an attack on Kabul, saying they have neither the equipment nor the manpower to overcome the government's overwhelming air power.

Early October 1990

The 40 major guerrilla commanders meet in northern Pakistan and agree to set aside their ethnic differences and draw up an overall coordinated strategy to counter Hekmatyar.

November 1990

It is reported that guerrillas have killed more than 200 government soldiers after the soldiers had surrendered.

Sports

On December 2, 1990 at the California International Marathon in Sacramento, California, Waheed Karim set an Afghan national record in the marathon (2:28:46).^[1]

References

↑ "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009." (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. 494, 497. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2011.

Years in Afghanistan

1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899

1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.