The Islamic State of Afghanistan (, Dawlat-i Islāmī-yi Afġānistān, , Da Afghanistan Islami Dowlat) was a unitary Islamic state that was established in April 1992 under the Peshawar Accord. Its power was limited due to the country's second civil war, which was won by the Taliban, who seized Kabul in September 1996. The Islamic state then transitioned to a government-in-exile and led the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. It remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan at the United Nations until 2001, when the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan was created and an Afghan Interim Administration took control of Afghanistan with US and NATO assistance following the overthrow of the first Taliban government. The Transitional Islamic State was subsequently transformed into the Islamic Republic, which existed until the Taliban seized power again in 2021 following a prolonged insurgency.
Background
In March 1992, President Mohammad Najibullah, having lost the Russian support that upheld his government, agreed to resign and make way for a neutral, interim government. Several mujahideen parties started negotiations to form a national coalition government. But one group, the Hezb-e Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, presumably supported and directed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), did not join the negotiations and announced its intent to conquer Kabul alone. Hekmatyar moved his troops to Kabul, and was allowed into the town soon after 17 April. This left the other mujahideen groups no choice but to enter Kabul, on 24 April, to prevent Hekmatyar from taking over national government.<br/>This ignited a civil war between five or six rival armies, (nearly) all backed by foreign states. Several mujahideen groups proclaimed an 'interim government' on 26 April 1992 but this never attained real authority over Afghanistan. Many Afghan mujahideen parties participated in its creation, after the fall of the socialist government.
History
Rabbani and Hekmatyar
President Mohammad Najibullah, leader of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, was forced to resign on 15 April 1992. The Peshawar Accord of 25 April 1992, which established a power-sharing interim government to take control of Kabul, was signed by six of the seven major Afghan anti-Soviet resistance parties