Afghanistan

Why in news?

• The Afghan government and the Taliban will this weekend begin talks at Doha.
• India has, for the first time, agreed to be part of the Talks.

About Doha Talks:

• It is intended to bring peace between Taliban and the Afghan government possibly through integration of Taliban into the Afghan political system.
• However concerns related to erosion of women and minority rights under a future with Taliban in the mainstream have been raised.

About Afghanistan:

• Afghanistan is a landlocked mountainous country located within South Asia and Central Asia.
• The Hindu Kush Mountains runs northeast to southwest across the country.
• Afghanistan is bounded by seven different countries.
  • Pakistan (longest boundary),
  • India (through PoK)
  •  Tajikistan,
  • Turkmenistan
  • Iran
  •  China (shortest border)
  • Uzbekistan

Important Places/features: 

• Durand Line: The Durand Line is the 2,430-kilometre international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• Wakhan Corridor: The Wakhan Corridor, wedged between the Pamir Mountains to the north and the Karakoram Range to the south, is a narrow strip of territory in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from Pakistan.
• Zaranj-Delaram highway: This is an India financed Highway in Afghanistan, which connects the Garland Highway, linked to all Afghan cities, to Chabahar port in Iran and provides Afghanistan stable access to regional markets.
• Salma Dam:It is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam project located on the Hari River in Chishti Sharif District of Herat Province in western Afghanistan. Since this project is funded and constructed by the Government of India, the Afghan cabinet renamed the Salma Dam to the Afghan-India Friendship Dam
• Important cities: Kabul, Herat, Ghazni, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Kunduz, Mazar-i-sharif

Prelims Question

"Doha Talks” recently in news is primarily related to the affairs of:
(a)Syria
(b)Palestine
(c)Afghanistan
(d)South Sudan

Answer to prelims question