Baghlan Province

Baghlan بغلان
Province
Afghan National Army in Baghlan province
Map of Afghanistan with Baghlan highlighted
Country	Afghanistan
Capital	Puli Khumri
Government
• Governor	Sultan Mohammad Ebadi
Area
• Total	21,118 km2 (8,154 sq mi)
Population  (2013)
• Total	863,700
• Density	41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+4:30
ISO 3166 code	AF-BGL
Main languages	Dari (Afghan Persian) Pashto

Baghlan (Pashto/Persian: بغلان Baġlān) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. As of 2013, the province has a population of about 910,700.

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

Further information: History of Afghanistan

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 there by Möngke Khan. Sali Noyan's positiion 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. 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. 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

As the 2001 Afghan War commenced, Ismaili spiritual 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 was forced by the dominant Andarabi militias to fall back to the Ismaili bastion of the Kayan Valley, and then to flee the region.

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.

Politics and governance

Further information: Politics of Afghanistan and List of governors of Baghlan

The current governor of the province is Sultan Mohammad Ebadi. 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 other Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including the NATO-led forces.

Demographics

Further information: Demographics of Afghanistan

Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan

The population of Baghlan province was reported at 863,700 in the year 2013. Tajiks make up 55% of the population, followed by 20% Pashtuns, 15% Hazaras, 9% Uzbeks, and the remainder are Tatar. In another source Tajiks along their sub-groups like Aimaks and Sayyid-Tajiks make more than 70% of the provincial population. In addition, a significant number of Hazaras are also counted as part of the Persian-speaking people which stating Persian language as overwhelming speaking language, followed by Pashhtu-speaking Pashtuns, Uzbeks and some Tatars. Baghlan is also home to a small community of Ismaili Muslims led by the Sayeds of Kayan.

Healthcare

Further information: Health in Afghanistan

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

Further information: Education in Afghanistan

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

Further information: Economy of Afghanistan

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 pommegranates. The primary livestock are Karakul sheep.

Other products

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

Districts

Districts of Baghlan Province

Districts of Baghlan Province

District	Capital	Population	Area	Notes
Andarab		24,800		Sub-divided in 2005
Baghlani Jadid		167,200
Burka		52,200
Dahana-I-Ghuri		57,300
Dih Salah		31,100		Created in 2005 within Andarab District
Dushi		65,000
Farang Wa Gharu		16,100		Created in 2005 within Khost Wa Fereng District
Guzargahi Nur		9,900		Created in 2005 within Khost Wa Fereng District
Khinjan		29,600
Khost Wa Fereng		61,300		Sub-divided in 2005
Khwaja Hijran		23,200		Created in 2005 within Andarab District
Nahrin		67,200
Puli Hisar		26,800		Created in 2005 within Andarab District
Puli Khumri	Puli Khumri	203,600
Tala wa Barfak		29,400

See also

• Baghlan
• 2007 Baghlan sugar factory bombing