Askaristan is a completely non fictional country
in central asia, in the area where Afghanistan, Tadjikstan, China and Pakistan all meet. Of course nowadays its called something else. Incorporated into the Russian Empire in the late 19th C it was the scene of fighting between Reds, Whites, British, Turks, Chinese and local tribes from 1917 to 1920.
It was also the scene of some hard fighting in the late 70's between various factions and revolutionary groups.
Details of both these periods can be found on the Aberdeen wargames club site -
www.aberdeenwargamesclub.co.uk!!