Kabul (city)

Kabul (city) or Kābol (city), city in east-central Afghanistan, capital of the country and Kabul Province. Kabul, situated at an elevation of about 1,800 m (5,900 ft), is on the Kabul river. The nation’s economic and cultural centre, it has long been of strategic importance because of its proximity to the Khyber Pass. Factories there produce textiles, processed food, wood products, and chemicals. Persian-speaking Tajiks are the predominant population group of Kabul, and Pashtuns are an important minority. Kabul University (1932), located here, had been the country’s most important institute of higher education prior to its closure due to war in 1992.

An ancient community, Kabul rose to prominence in 1504 when it was made the capital of the Mughal Empire by the conqueror Babur. Delhi replaced it as the imperial capital in 1526, but Kabul remained an important Mughal centre until it was captured in 1738 by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah. In 1747 Kabul became part of an independent Afghan state, and in the 1770s it replaced Kandahār as the capital of Afghanistan. It was a focus of British, Persian, and Russian rivalry for control of the Khyber Pass in the 19th century, when it was twice occupied (1839-1842 and 1879-1880) by British troops. The city developed into an industrial centre after 1940.

Kabul was occupied by troops of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1979 until Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan by early 1989. In January 1994 fighting erupted in Kabul between forces loyal to the president of Afghanistan, Burhanuddin Rabbani, and those loyal to Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Fighting continued in Kabul for several years, despite efforts by the United Nations to broker a peace settlement, and much of the city was destroyed by artillery and rocket attacks.

In September 1996 Kabul was captured by the Taliban army of Islamic fundamentalists who had by then taken effective control of most of Afghanistan. Although the Taliban brought relative calm to the city with the restoration of law and order, they also attempted to remove any remaining vestiges of cosmopolitan life and imposed a harsh Islamic regime on the populace. In October 2001, the United States launched military strikes against Kabul and several other Afghan cities following a refusal by the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden, the Saudi militant believed to be responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Although the strikes were initially aimed at tactical sites around the city, including the airport and Taliban command centres, some civilian casualties were reported. Many inhabitants fled the city, some heading for the border with Pakistan. The strikes were followed by a rapid advance by the opposition Northern Alliance troops from the north of the country. On November 13 Northern Alliance forces took control of Kabul, forcing the Taliban further south, towards their stronghold of Kandahār. Population 2,678,000 (2003 estimate).