GEOGRAPHY: POLITICAL HISTORY

Kandahar is the second-largest Since the 1978Marxist

cityinAfghanistan. Located in revolution, the city has been a
Country Afghanistan south-central Afghanistan, It lies magnet for groups such as the
on a plain next to the Tarnak Pakistan-basedHaqqani
Province Kandahar
River, at an elevation of about network,Quetta Shura,Hezbi
Population 391,190 1,000 meters.
Islami,al-Qaidaand other
Elevation 1,007 m It is southern Afghanistans
terrorist groups, many of which
over sea level chief commercial center and is
situated at the junction of are believed to receive support
Time ZoneAFT highways from Kabul, Hert, from Pakistan'sISIspy
network.From late 1994 to 2001,
Longitude 65.710130 and Quetta (Pakistan).
Kandahar has aninternational it served as the capital of
Latitude 31.613320 airportand extensive road links theTaliban governmentuntil
withLashkar GahandHeratto they were toppled byUS-
the west,GhazniandKabulto ledNATO forcesduringOperation
the northeast,Tarinkotto the Enduring Freedomin late 2001
north, andQuettain and replaced by the government
TALIBAN IN KANDAHAR neighboringBalochistanto the ofPresidentHamid Karzai.
The Taliban was founded in the southern south.
Afghan city of Kandahar by graduates of
Pakistani religious colleges. Their aims
were to end the political chaos that had
been ongoing in Afghanistan since the
Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and to impose
a strict interpretation of Islam.
The Taliban is a radically militant Islamic
movement that controlled some 90
percent ofAfghanistanbetween 1996
and 2001. The Taliban emerged from
their base inKandaharin southwestern
Afghanistan in reaction to the
lawlessness caused by infighting
between rival mujahideen forces in the
wake of the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
The Talibans declared aims included the
restoration of peace, rigid enforcement
of Islamic law, disarming the population,
and defending the Islamic character of
Afghanistan.
ACT OF CONFLICT:
The statues were destroyed by dynamite over several
weeks, starting on 2 March 2001,carried out in stages.
Initially, the statues were fired at for several days using
anti-aircraft guns and artillery. This caused severe
damage, but did not obliterate them. Later, the Taliban
placed anti-tank mines at the bottom of the niches, so
that when fragments of rock broke off from artillery fire,
the statues would receive additional destruction from
particles that set off the mines. In the end, the Taliban
lowered men down the cliff face and placed explosives
into holes in the Buddhas.After one of the explosions
failed to completely obliterate the face of one of the
Buddhas, a rocket was launched that left a hole in the
DEVELOPMENT:
remains of the stone head.
Decades of war left Kandahar and the rest of the country

destroyed and depopulated, but in recent years billions of

dollars began pouring in for construction purposes and millions
of expats have returned to Afghanistan. New neighborhoods
have been established around the city, and a number of
modern-style buildings have been constructed.
TheAino Minais a new housing project for up to two million
people on the northern edge of the city.Originally called
theKandahar Valleyand started byMahmud Karzai, [it was
announced that the project would build up to 20,000 single-
family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads,
water and sewer systems, andcommunity buildings, including
schools.
About 10km (6mi) east of Kandahar, a hugeindustrial parkis
under construction with modern facilities. The park will have
professional management for the daily maintenance of public
roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours
perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.
Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area
of the city began in August 2011. It is named afterGhulam
Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated
by militants in late July 2011.Situated along the Kandahar-
Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new
township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots.
Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics,
canals and other facilities.