Panjshir
پنجشیر | |
---|---|
![]() A view of the Panjshir valley, a Panjshir River, Tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud and Panjshir wind farm | |
![]() Map of Afghanistan with Panjshir highlighted | |
Coordinates (Capital): 35°24′N 70°00′E / 35.4°N 70.0°ECoordinates: 35°24′N 70°00′E / 35.4°N 70.0°E | |
Country | Afghanistan |
Capital | Bazarak |
Government | |
• Governor | Muhammad Arif Sarwari |
Area | |
• Total | 3,610 km2 (1,390 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 172,895 |
• Density | 48/km2 (120/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time) |
ISO 3166 code | AF-PAN |
Main languages | Dari |
Control | ![]()
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Panjshir (Dari/Pashto: پنجشیر, literally "Five Lions", also spelled as Panjsher and Panjsheer) 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.[1][2] Bazarak serves as the provincial capital. It is currently controlled by the Second Resistance, and with Baghlan is one of two provinces reportedly not controlled by the Taliban following the 2021 Taliban offensive.
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
The territory was ruled by the Khanate of Bukhara between the early 16th century and the mid-18th century. The Parwan region, including the later Panjshir, was conquered by Ahmad Shah Durrani, and officially accepted as a part of the Durrani Empire, by Murad Beg of Bukhara, after a treaty of friendship was signed in or about 1750.[citation needed] The rule of the Durranis was followed by that of the Barakzai dynasty. During the 19th century, the region was unaffected by British incursions, such as the Anglo-Afghan wars.
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20210828175436im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Wind_farm_in_Panjshir_Province-2.jpg/220px-Wind_farm_in_Panjshir_Province-2.jpg)
In 1973, Mohammed Daoud Khan took over power in Afghanistan and 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 Daoud spread the Afghan Armed Forces to the countryside.[3]
Panjshir was attacked multiple times during the 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.[4] Aided by its mountainous terrain,[5] the region was well defended by mujahedeen commanders during the 1980s Soviet–Afghan 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 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 Massoud was assassinated by two al-Qaeda operatives.[6] 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.
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, anti-Taliban forces loyal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan fled to the Panjshir Province.[7] They formed the Panjshir resistance and kept fighting the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with the ongoing Panjshir conflict. The new resistance forces flew the old flag of the Northern Alliance.[8] The Panjshir resistance continues to push the Taliban back and seize control in the Panjshir Province, however some experts have doubted the success.[9]
Politics and governance
The current governor of the province is Kamalludin Nezami. His predecessor was Mohammad Arif Seward and Keramuddin Keram (who raped two members of Afghanistan national women football team in Kabul and then escaped to Panjshir province).[10] Bazarak is the capital of Panjshir province. All law enforcement activities throughout the province are handled by the Afghan National Police (ANP). A provincial police chief is assigned to lead both the ANP. The police chief represents the Ministry of the Interior in Kabul. The ANP is backed by the military, including the NATO-led forces.
During the parliamentary elections of 2005, Saleh Mohammad Registani was elected as the only male representative of Panjshir province to Afghanistan's House of Representatives or Wolesi Jirga.
After the fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, Panjshir remains one of the few parts of Afghanistan still under effective control of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as opposed to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan led by the Taliban.[11]
Healthcare
The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 16% in 2005, to 17% in 2011.[12]
23% of births in 2011 were attended to by a skilled birth attendant.[12]
Education
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 33% in 2005 to 32% in 2011.[12] The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 42% in 2005 to 40% in 2011.[12] 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 has about 250 students and 22 staff members (as of August 2014).
Demography
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20210828175436im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Kuchi_nomads_in_Panjshir_River_Valley.jpg/220px-Kuchi_nomads_in_Panjshir_River_Valley.jpg)
As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 173,000.[1]
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Tajiks form the majority of the population.[2]
Dari (Afghan Persian) is the dominant language in the province. All inhabitants are followers of Islam, and exclusively Sunni while the Hazaras of other parts of Afghanistan are mostly Shias (Shiites).[2]
Population by districts
District | Capital | Population[1] | Area | Number of villages |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abshar District | 12,707 | |||
Anaba | 20,682 | 164 km2 | 31[13] | |
Bazarak | Bazarak | 21,629 | 378 km2 | 29[14] |
Darah | 15,951 | 709 km2 | 134[15] | |
Khenj | 45,961 | 688 km2 | 154[16] | |
Paryan | 17,033 | 1270 km2 | 67[17] | |
Rokha | 26,360 | 144 km2 | 72[18] | |
Shotul | 12,572 | 55 km2 | 23[19] |
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.
Notable people
- Abdullah Abdullah: Afghan politician, former Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation
- Qahar Asi: Afghan poet
- Muhammad Qasim Fahim: field marshal, former Vice President of Afghanistan
- Keramuddin Keram: former Governor of the province, chief executive of Afghanistan football.
- Mohammad Alam Izdyar First deputy house of elders
- Abdul Hafiz Mansoor: First director of radio and television in Afghanistan
- Ahmad Shah Massoud: Afghan national hero, military leader and former defense minister, known for leading armed resistances against Soviets and Taliban.
- Ahmad Massoud is the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud. He was appointed as the Massoud Foundation's CEO in November 2016.[20]
- Ahmad Wali Massoud: Afghan politician
- Ahmad Zia Massoud: Afghan politician, former Vice President of Afghanistan
- Bismillah Khan Mohammadi: Minister of defense
- Dastagir Panjsheri: Minister of education
- Yunus Qanuni: Afghan politician, former Vice President of Afghanistan
- Amrullah Saleh: Afghan politician, former Vice President of Afghanistan
- Haidari Wujodi, Sufi poet and scholar
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22" (PDF). National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA). April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Panjshir Province". Understanding War. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- ^ Bowersox, Gary W. (2004). The Gem Hunter: The Adventures of an American in Afghanistan. United States: GeoVision, Inc. p. 100. ISBN 0-9747-3231-1. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
To launch this plan, Bhutto recruited and trained a group of Afghans in the Bala-Hesar of Peshawar, in Pakistan's North-west Frontier Province. Among these young men were Massoud, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and other members of Jawanan-e Musulman. It served Massoud's interests, which were apparently opposition to the Soviets. Later, after Massoud and Hekmatyar had a terrible falling-out over Massoud's opposition to terrorist tactics and methods, Massoud overthrew from Jawanan-e Musulman. He joined Rabani's newly created Afghan political party, Jamiat-i-Islami, in exile in Pakistan.
- ^ Halim Tanwir, Dr. M. (February 2013). AFGHANISTAN: History, Diplomacy and Journalism Volume 1. ISBN 9781479760909.
- ^ "Operations". Northern Alliance: Fighting for a Free Afghanistan. Friends of the Northern Alliance. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ "The Spy Who Quit". PBS - Frontline. January 17, 2011. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
- ^ "The Panjshir Valley: what is the main bastion of resistance against the Taliban advance in Afghanistan". marketresearchtelecast.com.
- ^ "'Northern Alliance' flag hoisted in Panjshir in first resistance against Taliban". www.hindustantimes.com.
- ^ "Anti-Taliban fighters take back three districts as resistance builds up in Panjshir Valley, but experts cast doubts". www.firstpost.com.
- ^ "Database". www.nytimes.com.
- ^ "Panjshir flies flag of resistance". Tribune India.
- ^ a b c d Archive, Civil Military Fusion Centre, "PANJSHIR PROVINCE". Archived from the original on 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
- ^ Onaba District (Re-elected) Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bazarak District (Re-elected) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dara District (Re-elected) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Khenj District (Re-elected)
- ^ Pariyan District (Re-elected) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rukha District (Re-elected) Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shotol District (Re-elected) Archived 2016-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "گفت و گو با فرزند احمدشاه مسعود؛ "عملیات ما برای ادبیاتمان است"". February 24, 2014.
External links
- Panjshir Province by the Naval Postgraduate School
- Panjshir Province by the Institute for the Study of War
- [1] by Clarksville Online