| Gereshk | |
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Gereshk
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Afghanistan |
| Province | Helmand Province |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 |
Gereshk is a town in Nahr-e Saraj District in Helmand province on the Helmand River in central Afghanistan, some 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Kandahar at 817 m altitude. Gereshk is the centre of a rich agricultural region with the Kajakai dam upriver diverting water to the Boghra Irrigation Canal. Gereshk was originally built around a fort on the east bank of the river but was later rebuilt on the west. During the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42), the fort was captured by the British but it was later abandoned; the same thing happened in 1879. Gereshk has a population of about 48,546 and has a developed hospital and a school of engineering which was built back in 1957.
Gereshk is located on the important transport route known as Highway 1, which was built during the time of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. This route links Farah Province in the west and to Kandahar Province in the east. As part of Operation Moshtarak the British Army and Afghan workers are constructing Route Trident, a road that will eventually connect Gereshk with the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.[1] Gereshk is also the southern terminus of Route 611
Gereshk was under control of Noorzai tribe at the time of Taliban. Gereshk is one of the old and isolated Pashto-speaking towns flanking the southern half of the Hindu Kush mountains, in a countryside that is primarily Pashto in speech. In this, Gereshk resembles Farah, Sabzawar/Shindand, Lashkar Gah, Ghazni and Gardez. The ethnicity of the inhabitants by a majority is Pashtun. A strong majority of Pashtuns, Aimaq live peacefully alongside the old native inhabitants. A majority of the inhabitants are Sunnis Muslims, although the Sunnis are increasing their presence.
Mullah Mir Hamza an ethnic Pashtun from Noorzai tribe was the District governor of Gereshk
Mullah Mahmmad Azam an ethnic Pashtun from Noorzai tribe was the Commander of Taliban in Gereshk
Textual sources: Louis Dupree, Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1973; Ludwig W. Adamec, Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, 3rd ed., 2003.
Cartographic sources: S.I. Bruk, Narody Peredney Azii (1960); S.I. Bruk, and V. S. Apenchenko, Atlas Narodov Mira (Moscow: Academy of Science, 1964) A. Gabriel, Religionsgeographie von Persien (Vienna, 1971).
On December 4, 2008 two Danish soldiers were killed near Gereshk.[2]
In November, 2003, Abdul Wahed dies in Gereshk at the special forces base, after torture by the Afghan army.[3] In April 2008 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, Echo Co, which was sent there to help support train the Afghan Police, worked with the Danish and British military.[4]