| |||||||
| Anthem | "The Internationale" | ||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Fayzabad | ||||||
| Language official |
Dari, Persian | ||||||
| others | Tajik | ||||||
| Religion main |
Islam | ||||||
| others | Zoroastrianism, Sikhism | ||||||
| Ethnic Group | Persian, Tajik | ||||||
| Demonym | Badakh | ||||||
| Government | Islamic socialist state | ||||||
| President | Muhammad Jassur | ||||||
| Area | 44,059 km2 | ||||||
| Population | 904,700 | ||||||
| Independence | from Afghanistan | ||||||
| declared | November 1, 2000 | ||||||
| Currency | Afghani | ||||||
| Time Zone | UTC +4.5 | ||||||
Badakhshan, officially the United Badakhshan People's Republic, is a sovereign landlocked state located in Central Asia.
Badakhshan is bordered by Afghanistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Gorno-Badakhshan, Kashmir, and Khyber.
History[]
Pre-Y2K[]
Badakhshan Province had a long history of a separatist movement, oftentimes accompanied by a desire to unite with Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan. However, such a movement had never been militant in the Pre-Y2K years. Badakhshan has always been said to be one of the most stable regions of Afghanistan due to its heavy government presence.
Y2K[]
Because the Northern Alliance was not targeted during Y2K, no location in Badakhshan was affected by the destruction and eventual fallout.
Post-Y2K[]
Migration of the Northern Alliance[]
With the Taliban leadership quite literally vaporized out of existence in the nuclear destruction of multiple Taliban-controlled Afghan cities, the Northern Alliance that controlled Badakhshan was forced to decide whether or not to venture out. Fearing that the Taliban could rise from the wastes and again take control of Afghanistan, President Rabbani finally decided to order the Northern Alliance military to expand outward. Leaving only a small amount of military personnel in Badakhshan, Afghanistan was on the road to be retaken.
The Watan Coup[]
The Watan Party was the successor to the People's Democratic Party, the ruling party of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic regime. Moderately successful before Y2K, the party saw new light in the chaos of the Northern Alliance's migration. Convinced that the Northern Alliance had abandoned them in the wake of Afghanistan's most dire hour, the Watan Party decided to take matters into their own hands. On November 2 in the year 2000, the Watan Party marched onto the interim Fayzabad City Hall in Fayzabad Airport, and burned it to the ground. Utilizing supporters of the old regime and other communist militias, the Watan Party took control of the city within the day. Setting themselves up at the Government Hospital, the Watan Party unanimously declared that Badakhshan was independent. In their declaration, the Watan Party outlined that Badakhshan Province would remain independent until Northern Alliance presence was restored to its Pre-Y2K numbers.
Full Independence[]
In the early days of January 2001, a letter had finally reached Fayzabad, the first one in months. An official letter from the Northern Alliance, now once again retitled the Islamic State of Afghanistan, detailed that the state was once again rexpanding outward and that order was slowly being restored. As their hands were tied, they explained that the Badakhshan provinical government (which no longer existed), would have to keep order themselves in the meantime. Interpreting this as Afghanistan finally abandoning the province, President Jassur ordered that Badakhshan was no longer provisional, but fully independent.
The Attempted Unification[]
After many months as a fully independent state, Badakhshan was beginning to stabilize once again. Crime was at an all-time low since Y2K, and Fayzabad was once more a liveable city. Completing the trifecta of good fortune, the nation of Gorno-Badakhshan, a once autonomous republic of Tajikistan, had made contact with Badakhshan. Lali Badakhson, the party in power, motioned that the two nations unite to truly form a United Badakhshan. The negotiations eventually failed, due to key disagreements. The main disagreement was on the system of government. While Gorno-Badakhshan wanted a non-religious state similar to the United States of America, Badakhshan wanted to keep the Islamic socialist state system that had made their story so successful. While they continue to remain as close allies in the region, to this day, no further unification attempt has taken place.
The Afghan-Badakh War[]
Badakh troops celebrate following their victory at the Battle of Kishim.
By late 2006, relations between Afghanistan and Badakhshan had been all but severed. Forgotten by the Afghan government, Badakhshan had become a stable state in a sea of lawlessness. With moderately high literacy rates, old, but well-repaired infrastructure, and single-party rule the norm, the rule of the Northern Alliance had become a distant, forgettable memory in the minds of many Badakh citizens. All that changed in October of that year when an Afghan messenger wandered into Fayzabad with an official declaration from the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Afghan President Rabbani wrote that if the so-called "independent" Badakhshan would not surrender within the year, the country would invade and take it by force. Badakh President Jassur, who had long since renounced Afghanistan, vowed that Badakhshan would remain an independent nation.
Calling upon its old ally, Gorno-Badakhshan, the two nations built up a defensive line around the Afghan-Badakh border. Afghanistan, only sending 3,000 troops on account of its need to maintain order in western Afghanistan, was utterly decimated when faced with the strength of 17,000 opposing soldiers. After three months at the border, the battle ended. 2,349 Afghans, 1,682 Badakh, and 775 Gorno-Badakh have died. Having utterly failed, the Afghan government sent no further troops although technically still at war. It would take four more months before a declaration of white peace was sent to the Badakhshan government.
Government[]
The United Badakhshan People's Republic is ruled by a single party, the Watan Party of Badakhshan. Originally a secular socialist state, this system fell out of favor and was eventually replaced by an Islamic socialist state. Badakhshan has been ruled by President Muhammad Jassur for 13 years, who has shown no sign of stepping down in the near future. Elections have never been held, although there have been proposals in Parliament to hold them. If members of the leadership council die in office, the President appoints new members.
Religion[]
Since no census has ever been conducted in Badakhshan, it is difficult to calculate the religious numbers of Badakhshan's populace. However, it is known that a heavy majority of Badakh citizens are Sunni Muslims. Because of this fact, the Badakhshan government has adopted Islam as the state religion to appease its many fundamentalists.