1964 in Afghanistan

See also: 1963 in Afghanistan and 1965 in Afghanistan.

July 1, 1964

Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, president of Pakistan, visits Kabul briefly where he meets with King Mohammad Zahir. For the first time in several years relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are relatively amicable following the decision of the government of Afghanistan to deal with the Pakhtunistan dispute only through diplomatic negotiations and to carry on normal relations with Pakistan in other respects. Afghanistan does not, however, join the Istanbul Pact drawn up in July between Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey to foster economic cooperation. Observers voice the belief that Afghanistan's desire to maintain a strictly neutral policy is the basis of the decision not to join, since all three of the other countries are members of pro-Western alliances.

September 9, 1964

The Grand Council (loya jirga) is convened to discuss and ratify a new constitution; the latter event takes place on September 19. The House of the People is to have 216 elected members, and the House of the Elders is to have 84 members, one-third elected by the people, one-third appointed by the king, and one-third elected indirectly by new provincial assemblies. Under the terms of the new constitution no members of the royal family may become Prime Minister or hold any other ministerial portfolio; neither may a member of the royal family become a member of the loya jirga, or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This is a complete reversal of the situation that prevailed until 1963 when Mohammad Yusuf became the first Afghan Prime Minister not of royal blood. On the other hand, the constitution also provides that only descendants of Mohammad Nadir Shah, father of the present king, may ascend the throne. Democratic reforms in the new constitution include the guaranteeing of such individual liberties as the right of free trial in all criminal cases, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to form political parties.

September 1964

The Salang Highway is opened, linking Kandahar in south Afghanistan and Kabul with Kushka, the southernmost town of the Soviet Union on the 1,900-km border between the U.S.S.R. and Afghanistan. This highway provides the first motor access through the mountains of the Hindu Kush to connect the northern towns of Afghanistan with the capital and the south. Built by Soviet engineers and with Soviet aid, the highway took more than four years to complete and cost about $38 million, which is to be repaid by Afghanistan. Its most spectacular feature is a tunnel 2,670 m long. In the meantime, the U.S. Agency for International Development authorized a loan of $7.7 million for the construction of an all-weather highway from Herat to Islam Qala on the Iranian border, and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to provide the equivalent of £10.5 million for another highway in northern Afghanistan.

End of 1964

Afghanistan's new progressive outlook is recognized when it receives a credit of $3.5 million from the International Development Association, the first ever granted to Afghanistan by that organization. Seven secondary vocational schools are created with the funds.

Years in Afghanistan

1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899

1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/14/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.