1981 in Afghanistan

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1981 in Afghanistan" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

← 1980 1979 1978 1981 in Afghanistan → 1982 1983 1984
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	Other events of 1981 List of years in Afghanistan

The following lists events that happened during 1981 in Afghanistan.

The stalemate in the Afghan crisis continues throughout the year. Babrak Karmal's government rejects negotiations except on its own terms, and the Soviets show no desire to withdraw or reduce their military presence. Rebel resistance against the Soviet presence intensifies throughout the country, despite all-out efforts by the 85,000-strong Soviet force and the Afghan Army to curb it. There are reports of widespread fighting between the Mujahideen (Islamic guerrillas) and the security forces in vast areas stretching from Kandahar in the south to Badakhshan on the Soviet border. The presence of rebels brings reprisals from the Soviet forces, and helicopter gunship and artillery attacks devastate several villages. Although there are no official estimates, Soviet casualties are also believed to be heavy. Although Pakistan denies the allegation, there is said to be evidence of a regular arms flow to the Mujahideen inside Afghanistan from across the border. During this year, the country and the USSR made a trade agreement for 1981 to 1985. Afghanistan shall provide the USSR with food, natural gas and raw materials while the USSR will provide machinery and industrial materials.^[1]