Parwan Province

Parwān (پروان)
Province
Country Afghanistan
Capital Charikar
 - coordinates
Area 5,974 km2 (2,307 sq mi)
Population 560,000 [1]
Timezone UTC+4:30
Main language Dari (Persian)
Pashto [2]
Map of Afghanistan with Parwan highlighted

Parwān (Pashto/Persian: پروان), also spelled Parvān, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 560,000[1] and its capital is Charikar. Located north of Kabul Province, it was once the name of an ancient town in the Hindu Kush mountains.[3]

Parwan was one of the most secure provinces in the country, however recently there have been reports of some militant activities.[4][5] The largest U.S.-military base in Afghanistan, the Bagram Air Base, is also located in Parwan.

Contents

History

In 329 BC, Alexander the Great founded the settlement of Parwan as his Alexandria of the Caucasus. It was conquered by the Arabs in 792.[3] In 1221, the town was the site of the battle between the invading Mongols and the Khwarezmian Empire led by Jalal ad-Din, where the Mongols were defeated.[3] In 1840, Parwan was also the site of a major battle in the First Anglo-Afghan War where the invading British were defeated.[3]]. Parwan's modern history began with the construction of a new textile factory in the town of Jabal Saraj in 1937.[3] Since then, Parwan was involved in the Soviet war in Afghanistan as some of the fiercest fighting took place in the area.[6] In the 1990s it was the site of heavy resistance against the Taliban.

Since 2009 at Parwan, an ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Team led by the Republic of Korea is active[7] in reconstruction of the province. In mid-February 2011, five rocket-propelled grenades hit the newly built South Korean military base housing the provincial reconstruction team and civilian aid workers. No one was injured in the attack, but it came hours after a visit by South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, raising suspicions of Taliban involvement. The opening ceremony of the base was postponed indefinitely.[8]

A further plan to build a power plant is also under consideration.[9]

A large portion of Parwan's economy relies on the money that Afghan laborers send home from Iran and some other countries. The current governor is Abdul Baseer Salangi.

Demographics

The population of the province is around 560,000 and is made up of multi-ethnic groups. According to the Naval Postgraduate School, the population is composed of Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Qizilbash, Kuchi, Hazara, and other minority groups.[1] According to Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development:

Around three quarters (73%) of the population of Parwan lives in rural districts, while one quarter (27%) lives in urban areas, Around 50% of the population is male and 50% is female. Dari and Pashto are the main languages spoken in the province, however Dari speakers outnumber Pashto speakers by a ratio of 5 to 2.[2]
Parwan province also has a population of Kuchis or nomads whose numbers vary in different seasons. In winter 30,290 Kuchi live in Parwan province, of which 66% are short-range migratory and the remaining 34% are long-range migratory. During the summer, Kuchi migrate to Parwan province from Laghman, Kapisa, Baghlan and to a lesser extent from Kabul, Nangarhar and Kunar. The Kuchi population in the summer is 121,517 individuals.[2]

Districts

Districts of Parwan Province
District Capital Population Area[10] Notes
Bagram 75,423
Charikar (Capital) 130,613
Ghorband 74,123
Jabal Saraj 48,052 Sub-divided in 2005
Kohi Safi 13,627
Salang 13,627
Sayed Khel 33,334 Created in 2005 within Jabul Saraj District
Shekh Ali 22,831
Shinwari 39,057
Surkhi Parsa 33,639

Notable towns and villages

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Parwan Province". Program for Culture & Conflict Studies. Naval Postgraduate School. November 15, 2011. http://www.nps.edu/Programs/CCS/Parwan.html. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c "Parwan Province: B. Demography and Population". United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2006, Central Statistics Office. Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Parwan%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c d e Frye, Richard Nelson (1999). "Farwan (also Parwan)". Encyclopaedia of Islam CD-ROM Edition v. 1.0. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  4. ^ Wood, David. “Afghan Police the Key to Victory.” Politics Daily. http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/08/17/afghan-police-the-key-to-victory/ Access September 14th, 2009.
  5. ^ The Times News. “A soldier’s Return.” The Times News. http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/return-28102-soldier-.html Accessed September 14th, 2009
  6. ^ "Charikar". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition ed.). Columbia University Press. 2007. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Charikar.html. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  7. ^ http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2922615
  8. ^ Moon, Gwang-lip (2-12-2011). "Taliban strike on Koreans confirmed". Joongang Daily. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932108. Retrieved 2-11-2011. 
  9. ^ http://english.taand.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=News&article=835
  10. ^ Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers

External links

Baghlan Province Panjshir Province
Bamyan Province Kapisa Province
   Parwan Province    
Wardak Province Kabul Province

Badakhshan · Badghis · Baghlan · Balkh · Bamyan · Daykundi · Farah · Faryab · Ghazni · Ghor · Helmand · Herat · Jowzjan · Kabul · Kandahar · Kapisa · Khost · Kunar · Kunduz · Laghman · Logar · Nangarhar · Nimruz · Nuristan · Oruzgan · Paktia · Paktika · Panjshir · Parwan · Samangan · Sar-e Pol · Takhar · Wardak · Zabul