Full Name of Registry: .AFDRA (.AF Domain Registration Authority)
Contact details (address, phone, fax, general enquiries):
Zmarialai Wafa
General Manager AfgNIC (Afghanistan Network Information Center)
Tel: (C) +93 700 28 38 68 (O) +93 20-210 26 84
Fax:
Email: zmarialai.wafa@mcit.gov.af
Founding date: 31-december-2001
Registration Model (Registry/Registrar system; Direct registrations; both): Registry system
Number of domain names: (5200)
History: The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (the IANA), as part of the administrative functions associated with management of the domain-name system root, is responsible for receiving requests for delegation and redelegation of top-level domains, investigating the circumstances pertinent to those requests, and reporting on the requests. On 10 September 2002, the IANA received a request for redelegation of the .af (Afghanistan) country-code top-level domain (ccTLD). This report gives the findings and conclusions of the IANA on its investigation of that request.
Factual and Procedural Background: The .af ccTLD registry was first delegated by the IANA in October 1997 to Mr. Abdul Razeeq of Kabul as administrative contact and Hostmaster, NetNames of London as technical contact. By arrangement with the IANA, NetNames agreed to perform the technical functions and to provide a free registration service for .af on a temporary basis, until a stable registry operation could be established within Afghanistan. In the late 1990s, the ongoing civil war in Afghanistan made Mr. Razeeq's role as administrative contact increasingly difficult.
On 31 December 2001, the IANA was contacted by Mr. Lawrence Yeung, Chief of the Office of Information Systems and Technology of the (UNDP), which had been charged by the United Nations to assist the Interim Authority of Afghanistan. Mr. Yeung stated that, with the approval of the Afghan Interim Authority, the UNDP would undertake to assume the administration of the .af registry. There is a near-total absence of a local Internet community within Afghanistan - at the time of Mr. Yeuns inquiry, only a few Internet links had been established in Kabul by international organizations and NGOs. The IANA was, however, rapidly able to confirm that the UNDP had the full backing of the Interim Authority to restore the .af registry to active status and to perform all necessary technical functions, with the understanding that the UNDP's role would be transitional and temporary. The UNDP agreed that its role would be to restore DNS service, to build technical and administrative capacity within Afghanistan, and to shift technical operations to a community-based management structure inclusive of multiple sectors within Afghanistan when feasible and appropriate.
In June 2002, the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan assumed governmental responsibility from the Interim Authority. On 10 September 2002, the Minister of Communications of the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan and the UNDP jointly communicated to the IANA a package of redelegation documents.The redelegation request proposed to change the sponsoring organization to the Ministry of Communications, the administrative contact to the Minister of Communications, and the technical contact to Mr. Marc Lepage of the UNDP, with the UNDP maintaining the authoritative nameservers and registration website for .af on the interim basis described above.
In 13-08-2002 The IANA concludes that the .af ccTLD should be redelegated, as requested, from the current delegees to the Ministry of Communications of the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan. Mohammad Masoom Stanakzai, in his capacity as Minister of Communications, should become administrative contact and Marc Lepage of the UNDP should become technical contact, as designated by the Ministry of Communications.