Afghanistan History: First America then Pakistan! Know how Afghanistan defeats its enemies despite not having nuclear power?

Afghanistan History: Afghanistan, which is often called the graveyard of empires, holds within itself thousands of years of history. Over the centuries, Afghanistan has seen the rise and fall of empires as well as invasions and foreign occupations. In recent times, its relations with Pakistan are becoming very tense. Although its roots are quite old. Similarly, Afghanistan’s relations with America were also not special. Today we will know how Afghanistan has been defeating its enemies even without nuclear power. Before this, let us take a look at the history of Afghanistan.

Ancient history and the spread of Islam

Human settlement in Afghanistan has been going on since the Stone Age. Over time, it became a part of major empires like the Persian Empire, the Maurya Empire and the conquests of Alexander the Great. Islam started spreading here by the seventh century AD and by the ninth century it became a major religion.

During the medieval period, Afghanistan was a war zone between the Mughal and Safavid Persian empires. Ahmed Shah Durrani established the Durrani Empire in the 18th century. This was followed by the ‘Great Game’, a geopolitical conflict between the British and Russian Empires in the 19th century. It also affected Afghanistan but in 1919 Afghanistan gained full sovereignty.

Soviet war and American intervention

The Soviet invasion of 1979 gave rise to a major war. After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, Afghanistan became embroiled in civil war. This was the reason why Taliban rule was established in the 1990s. After the 9/11 attacks, America attacked Afghanistan in 2001 and temporarily removed the Taliban. But even two decades of military presence could not achieve permanent control. After America’s withdrawal in 2021, Taliban regained power.

Strength of Afghanistan without nuclear weapons

Actually, Afghan fighters are experts in guerrilla warfare. They believe in ambush attacks and hide in mountain caves using hit and run attacks. Local knowledge of the area also gives them a much needed advantage. Apart from this, if we talk about weapons, America has been the biggest source of weapons for Afghanistan. In fact, when America returned with its army from Afghanistan in 2021, it left a large amount of military equipment and weapons there. Apart from this, Afghanistan also has Soviet era weapons. Not only this, in the last 40 years of wars, the Taliban have seized large quantities of arms and ammunition from Afghanistan and other groups.

Along with this, if we talk about the support of other countries, then China, Iran, Qatar and Russia have been accused of supporting Taliban. Not only this, but they have also been accusing Taliban of getting support from Pakistan. On the other hand, the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, especially the Hindu Kush mountain range, proves to be a big challenge for foreign fighters. Hundreds of caves provide safe shelter for fighters. Because of which it becomes very difficult for any army to achieve permanent control.