The Watan Party of Afghanistan ( prs, حزب وطن افغانستان, ''Hezeb-e Vâtân-e Afqanustan'') is a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. The party describes itself as "national and democratic, progressive and reformist".

History

The party was founded in exile during the time of the

Taliban regime The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...

on 28 June 1997 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and has members inside the country where it is not officially registered. It considers itself a continuation of the leftist ideas of

Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیب‌الله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...

and his

Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgh ...

, which was established in 1990 as the successor to the ruling

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgh ...

(PDPA). The Munich conference elected Muhammad Isa Jassur as the leader of the party. The party held its second congress in

Frankfurt/Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

in 2000. On 28 July 2017, thousands attended an event at a

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

hotel for the fourth "consultative gathering for a legal relaunch of Watan Party". In the past, the party has attempted to register under the PDPA name, but has been refused registration.

References

1997 establishments in Afghanistan Democratic socialist parties in Asia Left-wing nationalist parties Nationalist parties in Asia Political parties established in 1997 Political parties in Afghanistan Progressive parties Secularism in Afghanistan Secularist organizations Social democratic parties in Asia Socialist organizations Socialist parties in Afghanistan {{Afghanistan-party-stub ru:Национальная объединенная партия Афганистана

History

See also

References