Afghanistan

Jamal Effendi, possibly in the late 1880s, visited Java, Siam and Singapore. In the north he visited Kashmír, Tibet, Yárqand and Khuqand in Chinese Turkistán, then Badakhshán and Balkh in Afghánistán.[1]  In the late 1930s Shoghi Effendi had urged the Persian Bahá'ís to send a pioneer to Afghanistan. A young Persian educated in India, Mr 'Ali-Muhammad Nabílí, was able to go to Afghanistan on "for purposes of commerce".[2] He flew to Kábul on a teaching trip sometime 1938-40 (BW38-40, p.718).  Dr Misbáh, pioneered from Persia, was unable to remain there, and returned to Iran c. 1944-5.(BW44-6, 47). Muhammad-Husayn Tám and family also arrived, but their visitorâs permits were not renewed (BW44-6, 47).  A Persian Bahá'í family, Nemat and Ghodseh Ala'i, pioneered to Afghanistan in 1946, returning to Iran after one difficult year. 

   Afghanistan was a Consolidation Territory in Asia allocated to the Bahá'ís of Persia during the Crusade. A National Haziratu'l-Quds was established in Kabul, purchased by October 1954 (Guardian's cable, 1 October 1954, (Messages to the Bahá'í World, 70; noted also in his Ridvan message, April 1955, p.81). The Persian community was to assist in helping establish a Baha'i court in Kabul (Guardian's cablegram of 8 October, 1952, (Messages to the Bahá'í World, 45).  It had been intended that the Persian NSA oversee the establishment of an NSA in Afghanistan, but the plan ended with 1 group - Kabul.  Barrett (p.133) lists 400 Bahá'ís in mid 1970s, and 4 LSAs in 1973, mostly Persian.  The NSA was established in 1972.