February 10 - The hijacking of an Ariana (Afghani airline) Boeing 727 aircraft, which was seized on an internal flight, and forced to fly via Central Asia to Moscow and then on to the UK, ends peacefully at Stansted airport north of London
April 13 - After reaching an agreement with the UNHCR, Iran started a repatriation program that would send 7,700 Afghan refugees back to their homeland over the next three weeks.
April 20 - UNICEF announced that over the past three weeks the measles had killed nearly 100 children in Tolak district, Ghor province, Afghanistan, and over 50 children in the Yaftalafain district of Badakhshan province. This brought the death toll to more than 1000. The outbreak first erupted in Dara-e-Souf district, Samangan province in January. UNICEF dispatched vaccine and other medicines to the areas.
April 20 - A six-month repatriation program designed by Iran and the UNHCR for Afghan refugees began. Under the agreement, 3000 refugees would be repatriated to Afghanistan every week.
April 24 - Northern Alliance forces captured three Taliban military posts in Parwan province. Five Taliban militiamen were killed in the attack. The Taliban claimed these offensives were illegal under international rules because they occurred during an agreed cease fire meant to allow the U.N. to carry out a poliovaccination campaign. The Taliban voiced concerns that the U.N. made no condemnation of the breach by the Northern Alliance.
April 26 - Under a decree by Supreme Leader Mulla Mohammed Omar, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan released approximately 300 opposition prisoners from the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in central Kabul. Many of those released were elderly. The decree was described as a goodwill gesture to mark the anniversary of the defeat of Afghanistan's communist government in 1992. About 1,500 prisoners remained in the jail.
April 27 - The World Food Program reported that the drought situation in Kandahar province and Zabul province were desperate. The Koochi people had lost up to 80% of their cattle and irrigation systems built to collect rainwater had dried up. Apricot and almond trees had withered and were without fruit. Camels were dying. Since February, the WFP had been feeding 30,000 families in the region and planned on adding another 10,000 families in May. The WFP was offering Afghans additional flour as an incentive if they remain in their villages.
April 27 - Dozens of Afghans awaiting the decision of their requests for asylum staged a demonstration in front of the Parliament House in Stockholm, Sweden. They called on officials to quicken their requests for immigration and positively respond to them.
May 1 - The annual U.S. report on international terrorism was released and named Afghanistan as posing a major terrorist threat, partly because it sheltered Osama bin Laden. The report also said that Pakistan refused to end support for groups that trained terrorists in Afghanistan[2] and in Pakistan itself and that Pakistan did not close schools that serve as conduits for terrorism.
May 1 - In a sports stadium in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, before a crowd of several thousand spectators, a woman found guilty of committing adultery was stoned to death.
May 2 - Eric de Mul, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, made an urgent appeal for US$1.8 million for Afghan people affected by tremendous drought.
Early May - Peace talks are held between representatives of the warring factions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An earlier round of talks in March ended inconclusively.
Mid-May - The Iraniangovernment decides to secure the Iran-Afghanistan border with the constructionofwalls and high-security fencing along the almost 1,000 km stretch of desert.
Early June - The UN calls for immediate international drought relief of around U.S. $67 million to aid over 10 million people affected by severe droughts across Afghanistan.
July 9 - Mary McMakin, a U.S.aid worker in her 70s who has spent the last 30 years in Afghanistan, is arrested in Kabul on suspicion of espionage. The U.S. government calls the accusations "ridiculous."
Mid-July - The Taliban authorities order the UN and foreign aid agencies to dismiss all Afghan women working for them.
Mid- to late July 2000 - Kabul is hit by five bomb attacks in two weeks. The Taliban authorities accuse saboteurs of trying to create the impression of anarchy in the capital.
Late July - The authorities announce the arrest of Commander Bashir Baghlani, a key Taliban leader in the northern regions, on suspicion of colluding with anti-government forces.
July 27 - The Taliban issued a decree banning opium poppy cultivation.[4]
July 31 - The Taliban authorities announce that the severe drought affecting much of the country was God's punishment for the people's neglect of their religious beliefs.
Early September - Despite encouraging hints of peace initiatives brokered by neighbouring Turkmenistan in late August, Taliban forces press on with their attack on the oppositionNorthern Alliance's northeast supply routes, taking the key townofTaloqan after heavy fighting.
September - The Taliban regime steps up its efforts to gain diplomatic and UN recognition, having reinforced its claims to effective control of the country thanks to military successes in the northeast. The U.S. sustains its criticisms over drug trafficking, support for terrorism, and a "deplorable human rights record," although State Department officials do meet Taliban representatives in Washington, D.C., on September 29 to discuss these issues.
Mid-September - Around 150,000 people are said to be heading for the sealed border with Tajikistan in the wake of the successful advance of Taliban forces in the north of the country. The refugees include almost the entire population of Taloqan.
Mid-September - Although Afghanistan remains the world's biggest producer of opium, the UN drug control agency announces that the country's crop for 2000 appears to be 30% smaller than that harvested in 1999. Despite the agency's program to convince local farmers to grow other crops, the fall may be solely due to the terrible drought affecting the region.
Mid-September - The Taliban authorities announce that traders arriving from Pakistan will be allowed to transport their goods through Afghanistan without paying customs duties. Taliban deputy commerce minister Faiz Faizan also says that any foreigners are welcome to invest in the country tax-free.
October 10 - A three-day cease-fire is called to allow UNmedical officers to continue providing polio vaccinations for children displaced by the fighting. A massive campaign to immunize approximately 4.5 million children in Afghanistan, one of only 30 countries where the disease still exists, began in early June.
Late October - A ban on the farmingofopium poppy, from which heroin is derived, starts to be implemented by the Taliban authorities. The fatwa against opium poppy cultivation had been pronounced in July 2000, after which followed a period when local shuras disseminated the information among the population. Finally, in October 2000 the shuras started the enforcement of the opium cultivation ban.[5]
Mid-December - Fearing a violent response to a UN resolution tightening international sanctions against the Taliban regime, non-Afghan UN staff are gradually withdrawn from the country, resulting in their complete absence in Afghanistan from December 19.[6]
December 19 - The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1333 that expands the regime of anti-Taliban sanctions imposed by Resolution 1267 back in 1999. The key drivers behind the new Resolution are Russia and the US. UN Secretary General, UN relief officials and some analysts like Barnett Rubin express disappointment with the severity of the imposed sanctions.[6]
Late December 2000 - The return of exiled opposition leader Karim Khalili from Iran prompts a new offensive by the Northern Alliance in north-central Afghanistan. The governing Talibanregime admits it has temporarily lost control of the central town of Yakawlang, near Bamyan, but denies opposition claims of further gains in neighbouring Ghor Province.
