The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) is a Central European country and member of the European Union, G4, G7, the G20, the Organizations for Economic Co-operation and Development and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It maintains a network of 229 diplomatic missions abroad and holds relations with more than 190 countries. As one of the world's leading industrialized countries it is recognized as a major power in European and global affairs.
Mazar-i-Sharīf, also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fourth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with an estimated 500,207 residents in 2021. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highways with Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the southeast, Herat in the southwest and Termez, Uzbekistan in the north. It is about 55 km (34 mi) from the Uzbek border. The city is also a tourist attraction because of its famous shrines as well as the Islamic and Hellenistic archeological sites. The ancient city of Balkh is also nearby.
The 1996–2001 Afghan Civil War, also known as the Third Afghan Civil War, took place between the Taliban's conquest of Kabul and their establishing of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on 27 September 1996, and the US and UK invasion of Afghanistan on 7 October 2001: a period that was part of the Afghan Civil War that had started in 1989, and also part of the war in Afghanistan that had started in 1978.
The following lists events that happened during 1995 in Afghanistan.
On 8 August 1998, amidst the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif was attacked as the Taliban were besieging the city. Initially, only the deaths of eight Iranian diplomats was reported, but two other diplomats and a journalist were later confirmed dead as well, bringing the total casualty rate to 11 personnel. The executions of the diplomats are speculated to have been carried out by Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. During this time, Iran was supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, and the killings heightened direct military tensions along the Afghanistan–Iran border, which was controlled on the Afghan side by the Taliban's Islamic Emirate at the time.
The Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif were a part of the Afghan Civil War and took place in 1997 and 1998 between the forces of Abdul Malik Pahlawan and his Hazara allies, Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan, and the Taliban.
The 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings were a pair of bombings in the Afghan capital of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. The Kabul suicide bombing took place at around noon local time, on the day when Muslims commemorate Ashura, an annual holy day throughout the Muslim world particularly by the Shi'a Muslims.
The 209th 'Shaheen' (Falcon) Corps was a corps, or military district, of the Afghan National Army. Its headquarters, Camp Shaheen, was at Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province. It worked closely with the German-led Resolute Support Mission TAAC North, and had its 1st Brigade at Mazar-i-Sharif and a Second Brigade at Kunduz. A United States Army Corps of Engineers solicitation for Kunduz headquarters facilities for the Second Brigade was issued in March 2008. The corps was supported by the Mazar-i-Sharif Regional Support Squadron of the AAF, equipped with eight helicopters: four transport to support the Corps' commando battalion, two attack, and two medical transport helicopters. In October 2015, as a response to the Battle of Kunduz, reports came that a new division would be formed in the area.
A group of three suicide attackers rammed a truck bomb into the wall of the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan on 10 November 2016. Six people were killed and more than 120 others were injured, while the sole remaining attacker was captured by Afghan security forces. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the bombing was in retaliation for an airstrike in Kunduz that killed 30 civilians the week before.
The Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul is the diplomatic mission of Pakistan in Afghanistan. Pakistan also operates consulates in the Afghan cities of Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.
The Embassy of India in Kabul is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of India to Afghanistan. The current Ambassador is Rudrendra Tandon.
The Embassy of Germanyin Athens is the chief diplomatic mission of Germany in Greece. It is located in Kolonaki, one of the most prestigious neighbourhoods in central Athens. As of 2023 the German Ambassador to Greece was Dr. Ernst Reichel.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Berlin is the diplomatic mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Germany. Yama Yari has been the ambassador since February 3, 2021.
On 21 April 2022, a powerful bomb rocked the Shia Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 87 others. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility via Telegram.
