Kunduz Province

Kunduz قندوز کندوز
Province
An aerial view from the window of a Blackhawk helicopter between Balkh Province and Kunduz Province
Map of Afghanistan with Kunduz highlighted
Coordinates (Capital): 36°48′N 68°48′E / 36.8°N 68.8°E / 36.8; 68.8Coordinates: 36°48′N 68°48′E / 36.8°N 68.8°E / 36.8; 68.8
Country	Afghanistan
Capital	Kunduz
Government
• Governor	Asadullah Omarkhail[1]
Area
• Total	8,040 km2 (3,100 sq mi)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	1,136,677
• Density	140/km2 (370/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time)
ISO 3166 code	AF-KDZ
Main languages	Dari Pashto Uzbek Turkmen Arabic

Kunduz or Qunduz (Dari: قندوز, Pashto: کندوز) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677,^[2] which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically diverse provinces with many different ethnicities in large numbers living there.^[3][4][5] The city of Kunduz serves as the capital of the province. It borders the provinces of Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan and Balkh, as well as the Khatlon Region of Tajikistan. The Kunduz Airport is located next to the provincial capital.

The Kunduz River valley dominates the Kunduz Province. The river flows irregularly from south to north into the Amu Darya river which forms the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A newly constructed bridge crosses the Amu Darya at Sherkhan Bandar and the international trade is a large source of Kunduz's economy. The river, its tributaries, and derivative canals provide irrigation to the irrigated fields that dominate land usage in the agricultural province. There are also rain-fed fields and open range land that span several miles. Kunduz was once a major economic center for Afghanistan, but the wars since 1978 have changed fortunes for the province.^[4] Once one of the more stable regions of Afghanistan, Kunduz has since the early 2010s become one of the most unstable provinces of the country, and today large parts are under Taliban control.^[6]

In 2021, the Taliban gained control of the province during the 2021 Taliban offensive.

History[]

Part of a series on the
History of Afghanistan
Timeline
show Ancient Indus Valley Civilisation 2200–1800 BC Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BC Gandhara Kingdom 1500–535 BC Median Empire 728–550 BC Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BC Seleucid Empire 330–150 BC Maurya Empire 305–180 BC Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 256–125 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Indo-Greek Kingdom 180–130 BC Indo-Scythian Kingdom 155–80? BC Kushan Empire 135 BC – 248 AD Indo-Parthian Kingdom 20 BC – 50? AD Sasanian Empire 230–651 Kidarite Kingdom 320–465 Alchon Huns 380–560 Hephthalite Empire 410–557 Nezak Huns 484–711
show Medieval Kabul Shahi 565–879 Principality of Chaghaniyan 7th–8th centuries Rashidun Caliphate 652–661 Umayyads 661–750 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Ghurids before 879–1215 Seljuks 1037–1194 Khwarezmids 1215–1231 Mongol Invasion 1219–1226 Chagatai Khanate 1226–1245 Qarlughids 1224–1266 Ilkhanate 1256–1335 Kartids 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1507 Arghuns 1520–1591
show Modern Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709 Hotak dynasty 1709–1738 Afsharid dynasty 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1823 Emirate 1823–1926 Saqqawist Emirate 1929 Kingdom 1926–1973 Daoud coup 1973 Republic 1973–1978 Saur Revolution 1978 Democratic Republic 1978–1992 Tanai coup attempt 1990 Islamic State 1992–2001 Islamic Emirate 1996–2001 US invasion 2001 Interim/Transitional Administration 2001–2004 Islamic Republic 2004–2021 Islamic Emirate's return to power since 2021
Related historical names of the region
Arachosia Aria Ariana Bactria Gandhara Iran Kabulistan Kafiristan Khorasan Kushanshahr Paropamisadae Sistan Zabulistan
Related topics
Name Afghan (ethnonym) List of years List of heads of state List of wars Hinduism history Hindu and Buddhist heritage Muslim conquests
Category  Afghanistan portal
v t

The area has been part of many empires in the past. It became part of the Afghan Durrani Empire in the mid-18th century. It saw a major migration from Russian Turkestan in the north during the early 1920s. During the governance of Sher Khan Nasher, Kunduz became one of the wealthiest of Afghanistan's provinces, mainly due to Nasher's founding of the , which continues to exist in post-war Afghanistan in the early 20th century.

Between one hundred and two-hundred thousand Tajiks and Uzbeks fled the conquest of their homeland by Russian Red Army and settled in northern Afghanistan.^[7]

The province witnessed much violence and fighting during the Soviet-Afghan War.^[5]

During the war in Afghanistan Kunduz was captured by NATO forces. In November 2001, members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, along with Pakistani military personnel and Afghan sympathizers were airlifted to Pakistan to evade NATO capture in the Kunduz Airlift.

Sherkhan Bandar, located in the Imam Sahib District of Kunduz province, is the border crossing between Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan.

Germany has 4000 soldiers stationed in the NATO-ISAF Kunduz province Provincial Reconstruction Team, along with Regional Command North. The province was largely peaceful until Taliban militants started infiltrating the area in 2009.^[8]

On 4 September 2009, the German commander called in an American jet fighter, which attacked two NATO fuel trucks, which had been captured by insurgents. More than 90 people died, among them at least 40 civilians, who had gathered to collect fuel.^[9][10]

It was reported that on 21 November 2009 a bomb going off along the Takhar Kunduz highway killed a child and injured two others.^[11]

The governor, Mohammad Omar, was killed by a bomb on 8 October 2010.

On 10 February 2011, a suicide bomber killed a district governor and six other people in the district of Chardara in Kunduz Province, where the insurgency is well entrenched.^[12]

As part of the Taliban's resurgence in northern Afghanistan, Kunduz has been increasingly affected by war and instability. The Taliban after their ouster did not gain a foothold in Kunduz Province until 2009, but since then their influence expanded and they eventually captured the capital city of Kunduz briefly in 2015 and 2016.^[13] As of 2021, many parts are under Taliban control. Since the mid-2010s and in 2021 many residents have been forced to flee the province to places like Kabul or across the border to Tajikistan.^[14]

On 8 August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Kunduz City according to local sources. ^[15]

Politics and governance[]

The current governor of Kunduz province is vacant.^[16] The city of Kunduz is the capital of the province. All law enforcement activities throughout the province are controlled by the Afghan National Police (ANP). The Kunduz border with neighboring Tajikistan is monitored and protected by the Afghan Border Police (ABP), which is part of the ANP. A provincial police chief is assigned to lead both the ANP and ABP. The police chief represents the Ministry of the Interior in Kabul. The ANP is backed by other Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including the NATO-led forces.

According to the News reports, on 28 September 2015, Afghan Taliban has captured the Kunduz province.

Transportation[]

The province is served by Kunduz Airport which had regularly scheduled direct flights to Kabul as of May 2014. The Tajikistan–Afghanistan bridge at Panji Poyon connects the province to Tajikistan.

Economy[]

Agriculture and livestock husbandry are the primary occupations of the provinces residents. Fruit and vegetable are the most commonly farms items but there is also some cotton and sesame production.^[17] Farmers faced water shortages.^[18]

Men and women in Kunduz were employed in clothing production, metal working, carpentry and hide business.^[18]

The port of Sherkhan Bandar provides an international outlet for Kunduz's goods and has allowed for importing commercial goods from Asia, Middle East, and the Persian Gulf.^[18]

Healthcare[]

The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 25% in 2005 to 16% in 2011.^[19] The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 6% in 2005 to 22% in 2011.^[19]

Education[]

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 33% in 2005 to 20% in 2011.^[19] The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 62% in 2005 to 50% in 2011.^[19]

Demographics[]

Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan

Districts of Kunduz

Although a reliable census has not been carried out, as of 2020 the population of Kunduz province is estimated to be around 1,136,677 people.^[2] The province is mostly rural and very ethnically diverse of Afghanistan's provinces.^[20] According to the Naval Postgraduate School, the ethnic groups of the province are as follows: Pashtun 33%; Uzbek 27%; Tajik 22%; Turkmen 11%; Hazara 6%; and Pashai 1%.^{[3] [7]}

About 94% of the population practice Sunni Islam and 6% are followers of Shia Islam.^[3] The major languages spoken in the area are Pashto, Dari Persian, and Uzbeki.

Districts[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kunduz Province.

• Naval Postgraduate School - Kunduz Province