ABSTRACT
The national identity crisis in Afghanistan, lies at the root of the social, political, economic and cultural underdevelopment of Afghanistan. For in Afghanistan, ‘central government’ has traditionally meant the monopoly of power and domination by the Afghans, with the inevitable consequence of the underdevelopment of the whole of society in Afghanistan. The identification and comprehension of the taboo of Afghan nationalism or Pashtunism are vital to the understanding of Afghanistan’s internal conflicts, its slow pace of political and social development, and its failure to evolve and consolidate itself into a powerful and effective ‘nation-state’. The history and geography of Afghanistan are mutually and inextricably connected with that of the whole of Central Asia, a region with frequently changing boundaries and many thousands of years of history and cultural background. Khorasan was a country in whose cultural, economic and political development they have taken part, without submission to domination or monopoly of power by any one nationality or tribe.
