The Kite Runner & The History of Afghanistan

By 21bandrapallin72

  • King Zahir Shah- Kite Runner

    During the year, King Zahir started his reign, Baba's Dad takes Ali in,and that is how Baba and Ali met. When thinking about how Ali and his father Amir recalled,"In 1933, the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan.... they struck and killed a Hazara husband and wife .... As for the orphan, my grandfather adopted him into his own household.... That boy was Ali" (19).

  • King Zahir Shah and Hamid Karzai

    King Zahir Shah was the former exiled King of Afghanistan, he became King in 1933. In 2001 Hamid Karzai, a relative of King Zahir, was placed as chairman of an "interim government".NYT says," ...Hamid Karzai...was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country."

  • Soviet Union Invasion

    In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan because they wanted to influence a communist government. NYT says, " .....Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, has known little peace since 1997, when the Soviet Union invaded."

  • The Last Soviet Troop Leaves Afghanistan

    After many peace talks by the United Nations, the Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in February 1989. Even though the Soviets left, there destruction and violence was left to haunt Afghans forever. "They left behind a country that was not only devastated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremists..."

  • Last Soviet Troop Leaves Afghanistan-Kite Runner

    The Soviets were withdrawn from Afghanistan after the Muslims put up a resistance. In the Kite Runner, Farid was one of those people. Amir thought, "...Had joined the jihad against the Shorawi"(230).

  • Pakistan Helps the Taliban

    Even though the Taliban had much support, they started to die down because they lacked resources. Pakistan was willing to help the Taliban by providing soldiers, money and supplies to Mullah Omar;s men. NYT says, "...The Taliban might have withered were it not for the intervention of Pakistan..."

  • Taliban Takes Control

    The Taliban took control of Afghanistan. They would enforce very harsh and strict rules, "basing" them off the fundamentals of Islamic Law. NYT says, " .....Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic Law...".

  • Taliban Takes Control-Kite Runner

    In the Kite Runner, Assef told Amir that the Taliban would break into people's homes and kill them and also feed them to dogs. Assef said,"We'd shoot them right there in front of their families"(277).

  • Soviet Union Invasion-Kite Runner

    In the Kite Runner, while Baba and Amir were escaping from the Soviet occupied Kabul, a Russian soldier at a checkpoint ordered them to let him spend time with an already married women. Karim translated, "...The soldier wanted a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck"(115).

  • The Taliban Resurface

    Even after the Taliban's defeat,they continue to fight using guerrilla war tactics and tread carefully between the Pakistan and Afghanistan boarders. NYT says," Despite their defeat in 2001, the Taliban continue to wage guerrilla warfare from.....and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan- Afghanistan border.

  • The Taliban Resurface- Kite Runner

    When Amir gets back to America, he starts to partake in events to help benefit civilians in Afghanistan. He hears people conversing about the latest Taliban battle and mentions Kami Karzai, the new chairman of Afghanistan, growing in popularity. When in Starbucks, Amir had heard,"people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about ....the Taliban's last stronghold in the north... Hamid Karzai's caracul hat and green chapan became famous"(365).