Integrity Score 380
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Consequences of conflict in Afghanistan continues...
In spite of these obstacles, Afghanistan had achieved some notable progress by 1978. The country’s solid internal transport infrastructure handled even larger volumes of goods, at least between the cities. The economy remained dependent on the primitive agriculture sector, but fledgling industries such as textiles, cement, and electric power recorded steady increase in production. The trade balances showed repeated surpluses, foreign exchange reserves grew, and the currency, the afghani, appreciated in value. Afghanistan remained one of the world’s poorest countries by any standard, but there was tangible progress.
After the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the already relatively slow pace of economic development was halted as agricultural and industrial production declined, trade was disrupted, per capita gross national product fell. Inflation, however, was far greater than this, and therefore in real terms, i.e., discounted for inflation, economic output was depressed. As the war and its effects extended throughout the country in the early 1980s two separate economies could be seen emerging. The Kabul government and its Soviet backers held control of the urban areas with their financial and industrial facilities. These sectors were becoming increasingly dependent on the Soviet Union as the continued fighting cut their links with the rural areas not under government control. The countryside was reverting to a subsistence agriculture economy unaffected by government decrees and regulations emanating from Kabul.
To be continued......