Beginning in 1985, the CIA supplied mujahideen rebels with extensive satellite reconnaissance data of Soviet targets on the Afghan battlefield, plans for military operations based on the satellite intelligence, intercepts of Soviet communications, secret communications networks for the rebels, delayed timing devices for tons of C-4 plastic explosives for urban sabotage, and sophisticated guerrilla attacks, long-range sniper rifles, a targeting device for mortars that was linked to a U.S. Navy satellite, wire-guided anti-tank missiles, and other equipment.
Modern Afghanistan was created in the nineteenth century as a buffer state between the Russian and British empires as they played their "great game" in the region. This historical circumstance, coupled with the country's forbidding mountainous terrain, not only made it difficult for imperialist countries to conquer Afghanistan (it did not undergo colonial rule), but also resulted in little economic development.
The country contains many different ethnic groups. The Pashtuns–from whom Afghanistan's traditional rulers have come–constitute 52 percent of the population. The Hazaras are 19 percent of the population. The Tajiks in the north constitute 21 percent; Uzbeks, also in the north, 5 percent. About 85 percent of Afghans are Sunni Muslims, and about 15 percent, among the Hazaras, are Shia Muslims.
Afghanistan survived as a medieval island in the modern world, characterized by backwardness and extreme poverty. In the postwar period, some changes began to occur as a result of foreign aid from the USSR and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., which were vying for influence during the Cold War. Power shifted toward the state, and an educated middle class began to emerge.
"U.S. policies in Afghanistan a decade and more ago helped to create both Osama bin Laden and the fundamentalist Taliban regime that shelters him.
"An examination of this history will reveal the extent to which U.S. foreign policy is based on hypocrisy, realpolitik, and the short-term pursuit of narrow interests.
Pakistan had no such support. The country was created after the bloodbath of Partition (by the way, Iqbal never advocated the idea of transfer of population; it was Lala Lajpat Rai's idea). It had no resources and, right from the moment of its creation, it was at war with India, its blood brother, and neighbour.
That is not true! The part of British india that became pakistan was traditionally rich areas. Centuries of looting and dominnce by mughals made those regions flithy rich and also these regions were more or less homogenous in race and religion less diversity and hence less challengenes. it was indian side that had more poor population, backward tribals and extreme diversity and despite partition heavy muslim population. Initially pakistan was doing well only when it started invloving in russia/usa/afghanistan situaion it started having problems and results are for all to see . India inherited problems while pakistan created its own problems.
