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On 7 December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of
Afghanistan. The National Assembly was inaugurated on 19 December 2005 and consists of
249 elected representatives.
Kabul is the Afghanistan capital, largest city, economic and cultural center. Kabul is
on the Kabul River and long been of strategic importance because of its proximity
to the Khyber Pass, an important pass in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Other important cities include Kandahar (Qandahar) in the south, Herat in the west, and
Mazar-e Sharif in the north. Smaller cities include Jalalabad in the east, Charikar just
north of Kabul, and the northern centers of Kondoz and Feyzabad (Faizabad). The Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan includes 34 provinces: velayat, singular - velayat);
Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Daykondi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr,
Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar,
Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e
Pol, Takhar, Vardak and Zabol.
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