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Panjshir Province

Province of Afghanistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Panjshir Province

Panjshir (Dari: پنجشیر, literally "Five Lions," pronounced /pand͡ʒʃeːɾ/, also spelled as Panjsher) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley. The province is divided into seven districts and contains 512 villages. As of 2021, the population of Panjshir province was about 173,000. Its current governor is Mohammad Agha Hakim.[6]

Quick Facts پنجشیر, Country ...
Panjshir
پنجشیر
Province
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Clockwise: the Panjshir valley, the Panjshir River, the tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud, and a Panjshir wind farm
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Map of Afghanistan with Panjshir highlighted
Coordinates: 35°25′39″N 69°44′06″E
Country Afghanistan
CapitalBazarak
Government
 • GovernorMohammad Agha Hakim[1]
 • Deputy GovernorQari Asrar[2]
Area
 • Total
3,771 km2 (1,456 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total
172,895
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+04:30 (Afghanistan Time)
Postal code
15XX
ISO 3166 codeAF-PAN[4]
Main languagesDari; Pashto[5]
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Panjshir became an independent province from neighboring Parwan Province in 2004. It is bordered by Baghlan and Takhar in the north, Badakhshan and Nuristan in the east, Laghman and Kapisa in the south, and Parwan in the west.

History

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Further information: History of Afghanistan, Panjshir offensives (Soviet–Afghan War), and Panjshir conflict

The territory fell to Babur in the early 16th century.[7] It was later conquered by Ahmad Shah Durrani, and officially became part of the Durrani Empire.[8] The rule of the Durranis was followed by that of the Barakzai dynasty. During the 19th century, the region was governed by the Emirate of Afghanistan. Florentia Sale crossed this river during her captivity under Wazir Akbar Khan in 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Like the rest of Afghanistan, Panjshir became part of the newly established Kingdom of Afghanistan in June 1926.

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Afghanistan's first wind farm in Panjshir Province.

In July 1973, troops under the command of General Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan overthrew the Afghan monarchy and established the Republic of Afghanistan. In this coup d'état, General Daoud seized power for himself, effectively proclaiming himself as the first President of Afghanistan. He began making claims over large swathes of Pashtun-dominant territory in Pakistan, causing great anxiety to the government of Pakistan. By 1975, the young Ahmad Shah Massoud and his followers initiated an uprising in Panjshir, but were forced to flee to Peshawar in Pakistan where they received support from Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto is said to have paved the way for the April 1978 Saur Revolution in Kabul by making General Daoud spread the Afghan Armed Forces to the countryside.[9]

Panjshir was attacked multiple times during the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, against Ahmad Shah Massoud and his forces. The Panjshir region was in rebel control from August 17, 1979, after a regional uprising.[10] Aided by its mountainous terrain,[11] the region was well defended by mujahedeen commanders during the war against the PDPA government and the Soviet Union.

After the collapse of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, the area became part of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. By the late 1990s, Panjshir and neighboring Badakhshan province served as a staging ground for the Northern Alliance against the Taliban. On September 9, 2001, Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated by two al-Qaeda operatives.[12] Two days later the September 2001 attacks occurred in the United States and this led to the start of a major U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

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Construction of the Panjshir football stadium, 2011

Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 Panjshir District of Parwan Province was turned into a province under the Karzai administration. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) established several bases in the province. In the meantime, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also established bases, a US-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) began operating in Panjshir in the late 2000s.

Following the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, anti-Taliban forces loyal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan fled to the Panjshir Province.[13] They formed the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan and kept fighting the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in an ongoing conflict. The new resistance forces flew the old flag of the Northern Alliance.[14] The resistance has held the Panjshir Valley and captured districts in neighboring provinces.[15] By early September 2021, Taliban forces managed to push into Panjshir and capture several districts from the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan,[16] before gaining control of Bazarak on 6 September, pushing remaining resistance fighters into the mountains.[17][18][19] However, clashes still remain ongoing between the Taliban and resistance fighters in Panjshir Province.[20][21] A subsequent visit by Radio Télévision Suisse and Journeyman Pictures into Bazarak in October 2021 also revealed that despite claims of NRF inactivity by local Taliban officials, an armed confrontation between the NRF Taliban was in fact occurring in an undisclosed location in the mountains surrounding Bazarak, with resistance forces gaining the upper hand, thus confirming that the NRF remains still active near Bazarak and in Panjshir Province.[22] Although the NRF continues to carry out attacks, it does not control any territory in the province.[23]

Healthcare

Further information: Health in Afghanistan

The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 16% in 2005, to 17% in 2011.[24]

23% of births in 2011 were attended to by a skilled birth attendant.[24]

Education

Further information: Education in Afghanistan

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 33% in 2005 to 32% in 2011.[24] The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 42% in 2005 to 40% in 2011.[24] Four Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools service the agriculturally-oriented Panjshir Province, including the Ahmad Shah Massoud TVET. The school was established with the help from the Hilfe Paderborn and German Foreign Office and as of 2014 had about 250 students and 22 staff members.[citation needed]

Demographics

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Further information: Demographics of Afghanistan
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Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan

As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 173,000.[3] "Ethnic Tajiks form the majority of the population, but there are small numbers of Hazaras and Pashtuns as well."[5] There is a Sunni Hazara minority in the province, who form the majority in Darah district.[25]

Dari is the dominant language in the province. Pashto is understood by a few as a second or third language.[5] All inhabitants are followers of Islam, and exclusively Sunni.

The proportion of residents living below the national poverty line was 19.1%.[26]

Population by districts

More information District, Capital ...
Districts of Panjshir Province
District Capital Population[3] Area
in km2		 Pop.
density		 Ethnicites and Number of villages
Anaba20,328186109Predominantly Tajik, few Ormuri. 31 villages.[27]
BazarakBazarak21,25739454100% Tajik. 29 villages.[28]
Darah15,67719282Predominantly Hazara, few Pashai. 134 villages.[29]
Khenj45,17268966100% Tajik. 154 villages.[30]
Paryan16,7401,42812100% Tajik. 67 villages.[31]
Rokha25,908113230Predominantly Tajik, few Pashai. 72 villages.[32]
Shotul12,35622555100% Tajik. 23 villages.[33]
Panjshir 169,926 3,772 45 90.4% Tajiks, 9.2% Hazaras, 0.4% Pashayi, 0.1% Ormuri.[note 1]
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  1. [N 1]
    Note: "Predominantely" or "dominated" is interpreted as 99%, "majority" as 70%, "mixed" as 1/(number of ethnicities), "minority" as 30% and "few" or "some" as 1%.

Places of interest

  • The tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud, is located in Saricha, Bazarak, Panjshir.
  • The Football Stadium in Panjshir Valley, next to the Panjshir River.
  • Famous Mountains of Panjshir for Hiking Includes:Panjshir Mountains
  • Kuh-e Mir Samir 5 768 m (prom: 1 204 m)
  • Band-e Ghār 5 387 m (prom: 465 m)
  • Kōh-e Maldaygmay 5 340 m (prom: 690 m)
  • Mungashayr 5 222 m (prom: 254 m)
  • Kōh-e Wār 5 141 m (prom: 131 m)
  • Shāhāk 5 110 m (prom: 1 471 m)
  • Nāw-e Kalān 5 064 m (prom: 130 m)
  • Siyāh Khār Now 5 059 m (prom: 863 m)
  • Ghowch 5 012 m (prom: 129 m)
  • Kōtal-e Zard 4 996 m (prom: 260 m)

Notable people

See also

References

External links

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