Pashtun Civil War

The Pashtun Civil War describes a phase of the conflict in Pashtunistan from 1990 until 1997. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Pashtunistan and the subsequent collapse of the Social Democratic Republic of Pashtunistan government under Mohammed Najibullah, a transitional government was establish consisting of a number of Islamist and nationalist resistance groups that had fought against them in the 1980s. The new Republic of Pashtunistan was proclaimed in December 1990. However, disagreements over the nature and structure of the new state caused the opposition alliance to break down and led to open conflict between more moderate groups and the Islamists, which in 1994 created the Taliban. The new government led by the Pashtun National Liberation Front fought with the Islamists across the country after being forced out of Kabul by 1994, and retook the capital in 1997. Following the liberation of Kabul, the PNLF decided to create a stable unifying government in the form of restoring the monarchy, creating a point of loyalty for all Pashtuns, with the coronation of King Mohammed Zahir Shah of the Barakzai dynasty in November 1997.