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Event 1
British forces invade, install King Shah Shujah. He is assassinated in 1842. British and Indian troops are massacred during retreat from Kabul. -
Period: to
Afgan/Hazara Timeline
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Event 2
Second Anglo-Afghan War. A treaty gives Britain control of Afghan foreign affairs. -
Event 3
Zahir Shah becomes king and Afghanistan remains a monarchy for next four decades. -
Event 4
General Mohammed Daud becomes prime minister. Turns to Soviet Union for economic and military assistance. Introduces social reforms, such as abolition of purdah (practice of secluding women from public view). -
Event 5
General Daud is overthrown and killed in a pro-Soviet coup. The People's Democratic Party comes to power but is paralysed by violent infighting and faces opposition by US-backed mujahideen groups. -
Event 6
Soviet InterventionSoviet Army invades and props up communist government. -
Event 7
Babrak Karmal installed as ruler, backed by Soviet troops. But opposition intensifies with various mujahideen groups fighting Soviet forces. US, Pakistan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply money and arms to the mujahideen. -
Event 8
Mujahideen come together in Pakistan to form alliance against Soviet forces. Half of Afghan population now estimated to be displaced by war, with many fleeing to neighbouring Iran or Pakistan. -
Event 9
US begins supplying mujahideen with Stinger missiles, enabling them to shoot down Soviet helicopter gunships. Babrak Karmal replaced by Najibullah as head of Soviet-backed regime. -
Event 10
Afghanistan, USSR, the US and Pakistan sign peace accords and Soviet Union begins pulling out troops. -
Event 11
Last Soviet troops leave, but civil war continues as mujahideen push to overthrow Najibullah. -
Event 12
Taliban seize control of Kabul and introduce hard-line version of Islam, banning women from work, and introducing Islamic punishments, which include stoning to death and amputations. -
Event 13
US launches missile strikes at suspected bases of militant Osama bin Laden, accused of bombing US embassies in Africa. -
Event 14
Ahmad Shah Masood, leader of the main opposition to the Taliban - the Northern Alliance - is assassinated. -
Event 15
US-led bombing of Afghanistan begins following the September 11 attacks on the United States. Anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces enter Kabul shortly afterwards. -
Event 16
Nato takes control of security in Kabul, its first-ever operational commitment outside Europe. -
Event 17
US President Barack Obama unveils new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. An extra 4,000 US personnel will train and bolster the Afghan army and police and there will be support for civilian development. -
Event 18
Presidential and provincial elections are marred by widespread Taliban attacks, patchy turnout and claims of serious fraud. -
Event 19
US President Obama decides to boost US troop numbers in Afghanistan by 30,000, bringing total to 100,000. He says US will begin withdrawing its forces by 2011. -
event 20
Burning of Koran by a US pastor prompts country-wide protests in which foreign UN workers and several Afghans are killed. -
Event 21
As relations with Pakistan worsen after a series of attacks, Afghanistan and India sign a strategic partnership to expand co-operation in security and development. -
Event 22
President Karzai wins the endorsement of tribal elders to negotiate a 10-year military partnership with the US at a loya jirga traditional assembly. The proposed pact will see US troops remain after 2014, when foreign troops are due to leave the country. -
Event 23
2011 December - At least 58 peo ple are killed in twin attacks at a Shia shrine in Kabul and a Shia mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif. -
Event 24
Taliban agree to open office in Dubai as a move towards peace talks with the US and the Afghan government. -
Event 25
At least 30 people are killed in protests about the burning of copies of the Koran at the US Bagram airbase. US officials believed Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages, and that they were extremist texts not Korans. Two soldiers are also killed in reprisal attacks -
Event 26
The US military discipline six soldiers for accidentally burning copies of the Koran and other religious texts in Afghanistan. They will not face criminal prosecution. Three US Marines are also disciplined for a video in which the bodies of dead Taliban fighters were urinated on. -
Event 27
President Karzai and Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari agree to work for an Afghan peace deal within six months after talks hosted by Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron. They back the opening of an Afghan office in Doha and urge the Taliban to do the same for talks to take place. -
Event 28
2013 June - Afghan army takes command of all military and security operations from Nato forces. -
Event 29
Consultative loya jirga assembly of elders backs President Karzai's proposed security agreement to provide US military with bases after Nato troops formally withdraw in 2014. President Karzai delays signing the deal. -
Event 30
Start of presidential election campaign, which is marked by a rise in attacks by the Taliban.
