__NOTOC__ ---- The following details notable events from the year 1971 in Afghanistan. The Afghan Islamic Republic, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, and the

Greater Middle East The Greater Middle East, is a political term, introduced in March 2004 in a paper by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as part of the U.S. administration's preparatory work for the Group of Eight summit of June 2004, denoting a v ...

. Political life in the capital is dominated by squabbles between the administration and the People's Council. The 1969

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s had returned assembly members who were for the most part quite unfamiliar with parliamentary methods and procedure, at least as laid down in the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. The final brush comes over a widely supported demand that questions concerning the administration be dealt with by the minister concerned at the time they are asked. This may not seem serious, but it follows a series of deliberate refusals to pass bills that the government regarded as essential. These refusals were based less on any difference over principles than on the rivalry between groups headed by individual parliamentarians, who, in the absence of political parties, formed cabals linked by a determination to promote local interests. To secure the passage of essential legislation, the king is obliged to intervene, with a threat to dissolve parliament.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

Mohammed 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 ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

- Mohammad Nur Ahmad Etemadi (until 9 June), Abdul Zahir (starting 9 June)

May 17, 1971

Nur Ahmad Etemadi, after being continually frustrated in his efforts to modernize the administration and bring the country forward, resigns. He is persuaded to continue as head of the government until his successor, Abdul Zahir, who was ambassador in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, is confirmed as prime minister on June 9. Zahir makes earnest efforts to reach a good understanding with parliament; and when he presents his list of ministers to the king in July, he is able to put forward the general desire that the administration concentrate attention on the difficulties of low-income groups. The king gives an assurance that the wishes of the legislators will be respected.

August 1971

The government takes the unprecedented step of launching a worldwide appeal for food after the most serious

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

in the country's history. The economic life of the country is severely affected; it is feared that almost three-quarters of the nation's

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

, the main meat staple, might have perished. Large numbers of people migrated in search of food and water. The response, especially from Pakistan and Iran, is generous. The government undertakes a massive campaign of relief operations to deal with the emergency, but is hampered by the traditionally independent attitude of remote outlying areas.

September 1971

Afghanistan's ties with the Muslim world are strengthened by participation in the Islamic conference of foreign ministers that meets in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1971 In Afghanistan

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 ...

Years of the 20th century in Afghanistan

1970s in Afghanistan