Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Pashto: د اÙ�غانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Persian: جمهوری اسلامی اÙ�غانستان), is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is variously designated as geographically located within Central Asia,The 2007 Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics,and Society Conference University of Utah "Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East & Central Asia" May 2006, International Monetary Fund South Asia,CIA world factbook, Afghanistan - Geography (Location: Southern Asia)University of California, [1], University of Pennsylvania, World Bank; US maps; [2] ; University of Washington Syracuse University and the Middle East.Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC), University of Texas at Austin Afghanistan Profile, National Geographic (accessed 20 January 2006) Afghanistan, Middle East Institute (accessed 20 January 2006) It has religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighboring states. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east,Footnote: The Government of India also considers Afghanistan to be a bordering country. This is because it considers the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir to be a part of India including the portion bordering