Nangarhar Province

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Nangarhar
ننګرهار
Province
Map of Afghanistan with Nangarhar highlighted
Coordinates (Capital): 34°15′N 70°30′E / 34.25°N 70.50°E / 34.25; 70.50Coordinates: 34°15′N 70°30′E / 34.25°N 70.50°E / 34.25; 70.50
Country Afghanistan
Capital Jalalabad
Government
 • Governor Mulawee Attaullah ludin
Area
 • Total 7,727 km2 (2,983 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 1,283,900
 • Density 170/km2 (430/sq mi)
Time zone GMT+4:30
ISO 3166 code AF-NAN
Main languages Pashto

Nangarhar (Pashto: ننګرهار‎ and Persian: ننگرهار‎ ; Nangarhār) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in the east of the country. Its capital is the city of Jalalabad. The population of the province is 1,383,900,[1] consisting of ethnic Pashtuns, Arabs, Pashais, Tajiks and others.[2] Wahara means place of prayers and worship which is present in the name of a number of cities as a suffix such as Kandahar, Nangarhar, Binhar, etc. it comes from the Buddhist term for Vihara.

History

Song Yun, a Chinese monk visited Nangarhar in 520 A.D. The people were Buddhists. Song Yun saw in Nangarhar (Na-lka-lo-hu) the temple containing the skull of Buddha in Hadda, and the monastery of Kekalam (probably the Mehterlam of Laghman) where 13 pieces of the cloak of Buddha and his 18 feet long mast were preserved. In the city of Naki, a tooth and hair of Buddha were preserved and in the Kupala cave Buddha’s shadow reflected close to which he saw a stone tablet which was at that time considered to be related to Buddha[vi] (probably the stone tablet of Ashoka in Darunta).[3] The region was slowly Islamised by preachings and conquests.

Governors

Main article: List of governors of Nangarhar

Geopolitical and military situation

Road from Jalalabad to the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Joint ISAF-ANA Commando patrol in the Achin District, in April 2009

Nangarhar shares a border with neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, and the two regions share very close ties, with significant travel and commerce in both directions.

The United States armed forces and the multi-national coalition forces, ISAF, are active in the area. The Shinwar district of Nangarhar was the site of the 2007 Shinwar shootings and the Dih Bala district was the site of the Deh Bala wedding party bombing.

Incidents

The province was where Osama bin Laden was cornered in the 2001 Tora Bora campaign.[4] He ultimately escaped to Abottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed by members of the United States Navy SEALs in 2011.

Shinwar shooting

Main article: 2007 Shinwar shooting

On March 4, 2007, F platoon of the US Marine Corps Special Operations Company killed as many as 19 civilians, and injured as many as 50, while fleeing the site of a bombing.[5]

Deh Bala wedding party bombing

On 6 July 2008, the United States military bombed a wedding in the Dih Bala district of Nangarhar province, killing 47 civilians.

Economy and poppy production

Once a major center of opium poppy production in Afghanistan, the province had reportedly decreased its production of poppy by up to 95% in 2005, one of the success stories of the Afghan eradication program. However, the eradication program has often left peasant farmers destitute and, in 2006, farmers were reported to have surrendered their children to opium dealers in payment on their debts.

Opium cultivation

The illicit poppy cultivation takes place in Khogiani, Ghanikhil, Chaparhar, and other remote districts. The farmers cite the lack of water and also poverty as the reasons for poppy cultivation. Poppy was also cultivated in Goshta District, Lalpura which borders Pakistan; but now the people just cultivate wheat and other legal crops.[citation needed]

Districts

Districts of Nangarhar (district names in Dari)

Nangarhar province is administratively subdivided into 22 districts, these are:

Districts of Nangarhar Province
District Capital Population[6] Area[7] Notes
Dih Bala 33,294 100% Pashtun,
Achin 95,468
Bihsud 118,934 80% Pahtun, 20% Arab
Chaparhar 57,339 Pashtun
Dara-I-Nur 98,202 30% pashtun, 70% Pashias
Bati Kot 31,308 Pashtun
Dur Baba 13,479 100 % Pashtun
Goshta 31,130
Hisarak 28,376 100% Pashtun
Jalalabad 205,423 Pashtun, Tajik, Arab, Pashias
Kama 52,527 100 % pashtun
Khogyani 111,479 pashtun
Kot 52,154 Created in 2005 within Rodat District
Kuz Kunar 42,823 80% Pashtun, 15% Pashias
Lal Pur 18,997
Momand Dara 42,103
Nazyan 16,328
Pachir Aw Agam 40,141
Rodat 63,357 Sub-divided in 2005
Sherzad 63,232
Shinwar 64,872
Surkh Rod 91,548 95% pashtun, 5% Tajik

Sports

The province is represented in domestic cricket competitions by the Nangarhar province cricket team. National team member Hamid Hasan was born in the province and he currently represents Afghanistan in international cricket.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2010/11 (PDF), Central Statistics Office Afghanistan
  2. ↑ "Cultural and Conflict Studies, Nangarhar Province". Nps.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-13. 
  3. ↑ Chinese Travelers in Afghanistan. Alamahabibi.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Stars and Stripes, Mideast edition, Friday, March 9, 2007
  6. ↑ "MRRD Provincial profile for Nangarhar Province". Mrrd.gov.af. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2013-03-13. 
  7. ↑ Andrew Ross. "Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers". Fao.org. Retrieved 2013-03-13. 

External links

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