The Afghan Interim Administration (AIA), also known as the Afghan Interim Authority, was the first administration of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
after the fall of the
Taliban regime and was the highest authority of the country from 22 December 2001 until 13 July 2002.
Background
After the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
, the United States launched a "
Global War on Terrorism
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
" as part of its
Operation Enduring Freedom, to remove the Taliban regime from power in Afghanistan. Just after the commencement of the
invasion of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operations ...
, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
sponsored an
international conference in Bonn, Germany, with Afghan anti-Taliban leaders to re-create the State of Afghanistan and form an interim government.
The
Bonn Agreement established an Afghan Interim Authority which would be established upon the official transfer of power on 22 December 2001. The Interim Authority would consist of Interim Administration a Supreme Court of Afghanistan and a Special Independent Commission for the Convening of an Emergency
Loya Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
(Grand Council). The Emergency Loya Jirga was to be held within 6 months after the establishing of the AIA and would put in place an
Afghan Transitional Authority
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
which would replace the Afghan Interim Authority.
The Afghan Interim Administration, the most important part of the Interim Authority, would be composed of a chairman, five vice chairmen and 24 other members which each head a department of the Interim Administration. Also decided was that
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
would be the chairman of the Interim Administration.
After the
2002 loya jirga concluded, the Interim Administration was replaced by a Transitional administration.
History
Negotiations in Bonn
Four delegations of anti-Taliban factions attended the Bonn Conference: the
Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...
or United Islamic Front; the "Cypress group," a group of exiles with ties to Iran; the "Rome group," loyal to former King
Mohammad Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
, who lived in exile in Rome and did not attend the meeting; and the "Peshawar group," a group of mostly Afghan exiles based in Pakistan. At the time of the conference half of Afghanistan was in the hands of the Northern Alliance, including
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
where
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (Persian: ; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghanistani politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 (in exile from 1996 to 2001).
Born in the Badakhshan Province, Ra ...
had taken over the Presidential Palace and said that any talks on the future of Afghanistan should take place inside the country.
[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/withus/cbonn.html Filling the Vacuum: The Bonn Conferen](_blank)
Frontline
There was a lot of debate about who would lead the interim government. Rabbani did not want the Bonn Conference to decide on names for the interim government but after pressure from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
the Northern Alliance delegation headed by younger leader
Yunus Qanuni
Younus Qanooni ( prs, یونس قانونی, born on 10 May 1957 in Panjshir Valley) is an Afghan politician who was Vice President of Afghanistan. An ethnic Tajik, Qanooni is the leader of the '' Afghanistan e Naween'' (New Afghanistan) politic ...
, decided to go on with the talks with or without the support of Rabbani.
At the beginning of the conference it seemed that King Zahir Shah had a lot of support, but the Northern Alliance opposed this. By the final days of the conference, it was down to two candidates:
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
, whom the United States was promoting as a viable candidate and
Abdul Satar Sirat
Abdul Satar Sirat ( , ps, عبدالستار سيرت; born October 15, 1937) is an Islamic Scholar and former Afghan Justice Minister, as well as Deputy Prime Minister.
Education
* Religious education from Madrasa-i Abu Hanifa
* Bachelor's de ...
, whose name was proposed by the Rome group.
The Bonn conference agreed that Karzai would head the Interim Administration.
Creation of the cabinet
With Karzai chosen as "Chairman" of the Interim Administration, he created a 30-member
cabinet. The Northern Alliance received about half of the posts in the interim cabinet, and members of the Rome group were named to eight positions. These included warlords with private militias. Among the most notable members of the interim administration were the trio Yunus Qanuni,
Mohammad Fahim and
Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah ( Dari/ ps, عبدالله عبدالله, ; born as Abdullah on 5 September 1960) is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government w ...
, three of the most well-known leaders of the Northern Alliance. Afghanistan had been in a state of serious fragmentation and factionalism since the early 1990s; Karzai attempted to unify the country by working with and representing all four major ethnic groups in the cabinet. The inclusion of different warlords in the cabinet (and appointment to high provincial positions) divided opinion in Afghanistan, but many saw it as an attempt by Karzai to include everyone in a post-Taliban era of Afghanistan to prevent further conflict.
During the time in power of the administration, clashes between certain warlords did occur, notably ethnic clashes between followers of
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; prs, عبدالرشید دوستم; Uzbek Latin: , Uzbek Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan exiled politician, former Marshal in the Afghan National Army, founder and leader of the political party Junbish- ...
and
Atta Muhammad Nur
Atta Muhammad Nur (also spelled Ata Mohammed Noor; fa, عطا محمد نور; born 1964) is an Afghan exiled politician and former militant who served as the Governor of Balkh Province in Afghanistan from 2004 to January 25, 2018. An ethnic ...
in northern Afghanistan (their rift would continue until c. 2003), and factional clashes between the militias of
Pacha Khan Zadran Pacha Khan Zadran ( ps, پاچا خان ځدراڼ) is a militia leader and a politician in the southeast of Afghanistan. He was an ex anti-Soviet-fighter militia leader who played a role in driving the Taliban from Paktia Province in the 2001 inva ...
and rivals including
Taj Mohammad Wardak in
Paktia
Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...
and
Khost
Khōst ( ps, خوست) is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram ...
provinces. Karzai's administration in Kabul did not always have power in the regions where warlords were battling.
Composition of Afghan Interim Administration
References
External links
Frontline report of Bonn ConferenceWho is who in Afghanistan
{{s-end
Former political entities in Afghanistan
Executive branch of the government of Afghanistan
2000s in Afghanistan
Provisional governments
Hamid Karzai
History of Afghanistan (1992–present)
Government agencies established in 2001
Government agencies disestablished in 2002
2001 establishments in Afghanistan
2002 disestablishments in Afghanistan
Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)