April 3 – About 1,000 Muslim clergymen elect Taliban leaderMohammed Omar asamir al-momineen (commander of the faithful), denouncing Rabbani as unfit to lead the Islamic nation.
June 26 –Hekmatyar, whose Hezb-i-Islami forces have bombarded the government in Kabul until driven from their positions by the Taliban, is sworn in again as prime minister. He immediately attempts to open contacts with northern Afghanistan's powerful warlord,General Dostum. From his power base in Mazari Sharif, Dostum continues to control a virtually independent northern Afghanistan. On July 3 President Rabbani names a 10-man cabinet under Prime Minister Hekmatyar. Foreign minister: Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai; defense:Waheedullah Sabawoon; finance:Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal; interior:Mohammad Yunus Qanuni.
September 5 – The Taliban launch a rapid offensive in eastern Afghanistan. Their forces capture the city of Jalalabad, together with important areas in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces. With these territorial advances most of Afghanistan's traditionally Pashtun homelands are united under Taliban control. The gains include Kabul's main road to Pakistan and seal the fate of Rabbani's mostlyTajik government.
November 11 – InTehran,Iran,Afghanistan's ousted presidentBurhanuddin Rabbani arrived for talks with high-ranking Iranian officials to discuss developments in Afghanistan.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, the chairman of theTaliban's Central Bank, declared mostAfghani notes in circulation to be worthless and cancelled the contract with theRussian firm that had been printing the currency since 1992. Ehsan accused the firm of sending new shipments of Afghani notes to ousted presidentBurhanuddin Rabbani in northernTakhar Province.
InJalalabad,Afghanistan, the local Department for Promoting the Good and Suppressing the Bad issued a directive prohibitingtaxi drivers from giving rides to women wearingchadors.
UNICEF announced that it would stop funding education projects inKabul,Afghanistan if girls were not allowed by theTaliban to go to school.
TheTaliban punished 225 women for violatingTaliban clothing rules, and punished several men for violating Taliban beard rules. The men were advised to "grow thick beards and small moustaches within one and a half months."
December 6 -
InIstalif,Afghanistan enemy troops poundedTaliban positions with heavy artillery and rockets, prompting Taliban troops to pull out of the village.
Taliban officials met withPakistani Foreign SecretaryNajmuddin ShaikhThe subject discussed as during Mr. Shaikh's meeting with Dostum and Dr. Abdullah in Mazar Sharif a day earlier was the working out of ceasefire arrangements between the contending factions in Afghanistan and suggesting talks with the Northern Alliance for the formation of a coalition government
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