Baghlan Province

Baghlan
بغلان
Map of Afghanistan with Baghlan highlighted
Map of Afghanistan with Baghlan highlighted
Coordinates (Capital): 36°N 69°E / 36°N 69°E / 36; 69
Country Afghanistan
CapitalPuli Khumri
Government
 • GovernorQari Bakhtiar Muaz
 • Deputy GovernorMohammad Idris
 • Police ChiefSafiullah
Area
 • Total21,118 km2 (8,154 sq mi)
Population
(2021)
 • Total1,033,760
 • Density49/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time)
Postal code
36xx
ISO 3166 codeAF-BGL
Main languagesDari (Persian)

Baghlan (Dari: بغلان, romanized: Baġlān) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. As of 2020, the province has a population of about 1,014,634.

Its capital is Puli Khumri, but its name comes from the other major town in the province, Baghlan. The ruins of a Zoroastrian fire temple, the Surkh Kotal, are located in Baghlan. The lead nation of the local Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was Hungary, which operated from 2006 to 2015.

History

Early history

The name Baghlan is derived from Bagolango or "image-temple", inscribed on the temple of Surkh Kotal during the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka in the early 2nd century CE. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang traveled through Baghlan in the mid-7th century CE, and referred to it as the "kingdom of Fo-kia-lang".

In the 13th century CE, a permanent garrison of Mongol troops was quartered in the Kunduz-Baghlan area, and in 1253 fell under the jurisdiction of Sali Noyan Tatar, appointed by Möngke Khan. Sali Noyan's position was later inherited by his son Uladu and grandson Baktut. These Turco-Mongol garrison troops (tamma) formed the Qara'unas faction, and by the 14th Century had allied with the Chaghataite Khanate. Under the rule of Temür the Qara'unas were given to Chekü Barlas, and then to his son Jahānshāh. Beatrice Forbes Manz notes that these Kunduz-Baghlan forces appear to have remained cohesive and influential throughout the Timurid period, though under different leaders and different names, up until the Uzbek invasion.[when?] By the Islamic year 900 (1494–1495 CE), the area was noted in the Baburnama as ruled by a Qipchaq emir.

20th century

In the mid-20th century, as Afghanistan became the target of international development from both the Western and Soviet world, agricultural-industrial projects were initiated in Baghlan. These included factories for the production of sugar from sugar beets (initiated by Czech experts in the 1940s) and for vegetable oil. Czech expertise also figured heavily into the development of Baghlans' coal-mining industry, centred at Baghlan's Karkar Valley, the only coal mine in Afghanistan to remain operational up through 1992.

The modern Baghlan Province was created out of the former Qataghan Province in 1964.

During the Soviet–Afghan War, the Soviets in 1982 established the Kayan military zone in southern Baghlan. The area was defended by 10,000 Ismaili militiamen, increasing to 18,000 by 1992, who sided with the Soviets due to differences with the Islamist opposition. Afghan Ismailis overall were inclined to support the Communists, though a local Ismaili leader, Sayed Manuchehr, lead a partisan movement against the Communists until Ismaili leader Sayed Mansur Naderi accepted Soviet support.

Large portions of Baghlan and neighbouring Samangan Province were under the sway of the Soviet-aligned Naderi clan, the hereditary Ismaili Sayeds (spiritual leaders) of Kayan. Under their jurisdiction, was largely quiet and societally functional throughout the 1980s, with hospitals, schools, and administrative services, funded by the communist central government. Despite the Naderi's alliance with the Communists, they also maintained positive relations with the Mujahideen as well, permitting them to move through the area provided they refrained from attacks.

One of the Soviets' three primary bases in Afghanistan, Kiligai, was located in Baghlan Province, and served as the "largest military supply and armoury centre of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan."

Recent history

Outpost of the 209th corps of the Afghan National Army in Baghlan in 2010

As the 2001 Afghan War commenced, Ismaili leader Sayed Mansoor Naderi attempted to retake Baghlan from the Taliban. Naderi was aligned with Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum and his Jumbesh-e Milli party, and the competing Tajik-dominated Jamiat-e Islami party was also keen to seize control of Baghlan as Taliban power eroded. The Jamiat were able to seize the capital of Pul-i Khumri before Naderi, who despite his strong backing among the Afghan Ismailis and Shia Hazaras, was unable to rally enough supporters to control the province. Naderi failed to retake the capital in 2001 and 2003, in the latter event he negotiated a power-sharing agreement with the dominant Andarabi militias and made the Ismaili bastion of the Kayan Valley his base.

On 13 June 2012, two earthquakes hit Afghanistan and there was a major landslide in Burka District of Baghlan Province. The village of Sayi Hazara was buried under up to 30 meters of rock, killing an estimated 71 people.

On 13 April 2021, an official in Baghlan Province said a group of Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint in the province that day and killed six security personnel.[better source needed]

Claiming that the Taliban had not acted in the spirit of amnesty, the Public's Resistance Forces under Khair Muhammad Andarabi reportedly attacked Taliban fighters 20 August 2021 in several parts of Baghlan province, inflicting up to 60 Taliban killed or wounded. They claim to have captured Puli Hisar, Dih Salah and Banu districts, and are advancing on other Taliban-held districts. Clashes were still reported in Baghlan province by January 2022.

Politics and governance

The town of Puli Khumri serves as the capital of the province. All law enforcement activities throughout the province are handled by the Afghan National Police (ANP). The provincial police chief represents the Ministry of the Interior in Kabul. The ANP is backed by the Afghan Armed Forces, and previously by NATO-led forces. Taj Mohammad Jahid has been the governor of the province since July 2020.

Demographics

Languages

70% of people in Baghlan Province speak the Dari variety of Persian and 22% of people in Baghlan Province speak the Pashto language.

Ethnic groups

According to the National Statistics Agency of Afghanistan, as of 2021, Tajiks and Hazaras (mostly Sunni Hazaras) make up the majority of the population, followed by Pashtuns and Uzbeks.

These are the major tribes of Baghlan province: Hussainkhil (Pashtoon), Ahmadzai (Pashtoon), Gadi (Pashtoon), Aimaq (Tajik) and Arab (Tajik).

Baghlan is also home to a small community of Isma'ili Hazaras, led by the Sayeds of Kayan.

Healthcare

The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 19% in 2005 to 25% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 5.5% in 2005 to 22% in 2011.

Education

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 21% in 2005 to 24% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 29% in 2005 to 62% in 2011.

Economy

Agriculture

Baghlan's primary crops (as of 1974) were cotton and sugar beets, industrial sugar production having begun under Czech supervision in the 1940s. The area also produced grapes, pistachios, and pomegranates. The primary livestock is Karakul sheep.

Other products

The province also produces silk, and coal is mined in the Karkar Valley.

Districts

Districts of Baghlan Province before 2005, when Kahmard District was moved to Bamyan Province, and the districts of Andarab and Khost Wa Fereng were subdivided.
Districts of Baghlan Province
District Capital Population Area Pop.
density
Notes
Andarab 28,830 807 36 Sunni Hazaras, Tajiks
Baghlani Jadid Baghlan 198,382 1,676 118 Pashtuns 70%, Tajiks 20%, Uzbeks 10%
Burka 59,521 933 64 Uzbeks 60%, Tajiks 20%, Hazaras 10%, Pashtuns 10%
Dahana-I-Ghuri 66,618 1,333 50 80% Pashtuns, 10% Hazaras, Uzbeks 10%
Dih Salah 36,137 633 57 Tajik, Sunni Hazaras, created in 2005 within Andarab District
Dushi 75,597 2,356 32 60% Sunni Hazaras, 39% Tajiks
Farang Wa Gharu 18,733 244 77 Tajiks, Sunni Hazaras, created in 2005 within Khost Wa Fereng District
Guzargahi Nur 11,426 425 27 Tajiks, Sunni Hazaras, created in 2005 within Khost Wa Fereng District
Khinjan 34,411 1,017 34 Tajiks, Sunni Hazaras, Pashtuns
Khost Wa Fereng 71,345 1,898 38 90% Tajiks, 10% Hazaras, created in 2005
Khwaja Hijran 26,971 659 41 Tajiks, Sunni Hazaras, created in 2005 within Andarab District
Nahrin 78,438 998 79 Tajik 60%, Pashtun 35%, Uzbek 5%
Puli Hisar 31,222 905 35 Tajiks, Sunni Hazaras, created in 2005 within Andarab District
Puli Khumri Puli Khumri 242,859 664 366 Tajiks 60%, Hazaras 20%, Pashtuns 13%, Uzbeks 7%
Tala wa Barfak 34,144 2,525 14 70% Sunni Hazaras, 30% Tajik
Baghlan 1,014,634 18,255 56 Tajiks, Hazaras, Pashtuns, Uzbeks, others.
  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%.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-27 00:47 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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