A man sells Taliban flags in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamed Sarfarazi)

       The Mainichi Shimbun answers some common questions readers may have about Afghanistan, and the withdrawal of American troops from the country.

       Question: What are some important background points about Afghanistan?

       Answer: It's a landlocked nation surrounded by countries such as Iran and Pakistan, and is about 1.7 times larger than Japan with roughly three-quarters covered by mountains. The majority of the 38 million people are Muslim, with 40% of the population being Pashtuns, and others including Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. Buddhism once flourished and the country prospered as a "crossroad of civilizations." During the 1960s and 1970s, it maintained stable domestic security and public order and was visited by many tourists.

       Q: What has it been like there in the past decades?

       A: Security there is very poor right now. The administration that was established in 1978 after a coup promoted land reform and women's social advancement, and the political climate became unstable due to increased opposition, especially among Islamic conservatives. The Soviet Union in 1979 made a military invasion to support the pro-Soviet government, but withdrew in 1989 after losing to many uprising Islamic guerrillas. These guerrillas have since split up, and are continuing warfare.

       Afghans wait in long lines for hours to get visas in front of the Iranian embassy, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

       Q: Since when had the U.S. military been stationed in Afghanistan?

       A: U.S. troops began their occupation there in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by the international militant group al-Qaida, which was working together with the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group that had control of the Afghan government at the time. The U.S. asked the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden, who headed al-Qaida and was suspected as the mastermind of the terrorist attacks. The U.S. then embarked on a military operation after the Taliban declined the request.

       The U.S. military planned to withdraw from Afghanistan completely by Sept. 11 this year, and commenced pulling out the last of its troops on May 1.

       (Japanese original by So Matsui, New Delhi Bureau)

       This News Navigator was originally carried in Japanese on May 1, 2021.

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