Helmand Province

Helmand (Pashto: هلمند) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation.

Helmand is the world's largest opium-producing region, responsible for 42% of the world's total production. This is more than the whole of Burma, which is the second largest producing nation after Afghanistan.

The Helmand valley region, to include Sistan in Iran, is mentioned by name in the Avesta (Fargard 1:13) as Haetumant, one of the early centers of the Zoroastrian faith, in pre-Islamic Persian times. However, owing to the preponderance of non-Zoroastrians (Brahmans and Buddhists), the Helmand and Kabul regions were also known as "White India" in those days. Some Vedic scholars also believe the Helmand valley corresponds to the Sarasvati area mentioned in the Rig Veda as the homeland for the Indo-Aryan migrations into India, ca. 1500 BC.

The current governor is Mohammad Golab Mangal (since March 2008).

Much of the fighting between NATO and Taliban forces is taking place in this province.

USAID programs

Gerishk dam, built by the U.S. before the Soviet invasion

Helmand was the center of a U.S. development program in the 1960s – it was even nicknamed "little America". The program laid out tree-lined streets in Lashkar Gah, built a network of irrigation canals and constructed a large hydroelectric dam. The program was abandoned when the communists seized power in 1978.

More recently the American USAID program has contributed to a counter-narcotics initiative called the Alternative Livelihoods Program (ALP) in the province. It pays communities to work to improve their environment and economic infrastructure as an alternative to Opium poppy farming. The project undertakes drainage and canal rehabilitation projects. In 2005 and 2006 there were problems in getting promised finance to communities and this is a source of considerable tension between the farmers and the Coalition forces.

Current military situation

Main article: Helmand province campaign

A view of Sangin Valley in Helmand province - 2007.

It was announced on January 27 2006 in the British Parliament that a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would be replacing the US troops in the province as part of Operation Herrick. The British 16th Air Assault Brigade would be the core of the force in Helmand Province. British bases are located in the towns of Sangin, Lashkar Gah and Gereshk.

As of Summer 2006, Helmand was one of the districts involved in Operation Mountain Thrust, a combined NATO-Afghan mission targeted at Taliban fighters in the south of the country. In July 2006, this offensive mission essentially stalled in Helmand as NATO, primarily British, and Afghan troops were forced to take increasingly defensive positions under heavy insurgent pressure. In response, British troop levels in the province were increased, and new encampments were established in Sangin and Gerishk. Fighting has been particularly heavy in the towns of Sangin, Naway, Nawzad and Garmsir. There are reports that the Taliban see Helmand province as a key testing area for their ability to take and hold Afghan territory from NATO and Afghan National Army troops . Commanders on the ground have described the situation as the most brutal conflict the British army has been involved in since the Korean war.

In Autumn 2006, British troops started to reach "cessation of hostilities" agreements with local Taliban forces around the district centres where they had been stationed earlier in the summer . Under the terms of the agreement, both sets of forces will withdraw from the conflict zone. This agreement from the British forces implies that the strategy of holding key bases in the district, as requested by Hamid Karzai, is essentially untenable with the current levels of British troop deployment. The agreement is also a setback for Taliban fighters, who were desperate to consolidate their gains in the province, but are under heavy pressure from various NATO offensives.

News reports identified the insurgents involved in the fighting as a mix of Taliban fighters and warring tribal groups who are heavily involved in the province's lucrative opium trade .

Fighting continued throughout the winter, with British and allied troops taking a more pro-active stance against the Taliban. Several operations were launched including the more recent Operation Silicone at the start of spring. On May 12, 2007, Mullah Dadullah, one of the Taliban's top commanders, along with 11 of his men were killed by NATO and Afghan forces in Helmand.

In July 2009, 4,000 U.S. Marines pushed into the Helmand River valley in a major offensive to liberate the area from Taliban combatants. The operation, dubbed Operation Khanjar, is the first major push since President Obama's request for 21,000 additional soldiers in Afghanistan, targeting the Taliban rebels.

Border with Pakistan

Helmand has a southern border with the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Many domestic and international observers have criticized Pakistan's efforts towards securing the border against Taliban insurgents. Fight for freedom

Cities

Districts of Helmand

• Lashkar Gah
• Sangin
• Musa Qala

Demographics

The population is 1,441,769 and the surface area is 58,584 square kilometres. Pashtuns are the majority, who are 92% of the population, and there are also Balochs who are concentrated in the south, as well as smaller minorities of Hazara, Brahui and Tajik, who live mostly in Lashkar Gah.

Districts

Districts of Helmand Province

District	Capital	Population	Area	Notes
Baghran		129,947
Dishu		29,005
Garmsir		107,153
Gerishk		166,827		also known as Nahri Saraj
Kajaki		119,023
Khanashin		17,333
Lashkargah		201,546
Musa Qala	Musa Qala	138,896
Nad Ali		235,590
Nawa-I-Barakzayi		89,814
Nawzad		108,258
Sangin	Sangin	66,901
Washir		31,476

Politicians

File:AFGH HELM SOTS-01.jpg

Satellite image of the Province.

• Asadullah Wafa
• Dad Mohammad Khan
• Sher Mohammed Akhundzada
• Engineer Mohammad Daoud

See also

• 2007 Helmand province incident
• Dashti Margo
• Operation Khanjar

External links

• USAID information
• Provincial Government site
• Op/Ed by Holly Barnes Higgins who spent a year in Helmand with USAID