Badghis Province

Badghis   بادغیس   Province of Afghanistan
35°0′N, 63°45′E
Administration		Government
-	Provincial seat	Qala i Naw
-	Governor	Enayatullah Enayat
Population
-	2002 estimate	413,245 (20th of 32)
-	Population density	20.1 per km²
-	Ethnic groups	Aimak Tajiks Pashtun Turkmen Uzbeks
-	Languages	Persian (Dari)
Geography
-	Total area	20,591 km² (11th of 31)
-	Water area	0 km²
-	Time zone	UTC+4:30
Subdivisions
-	Districts	7
Districts prior to 2005 realignment
Identifiers
-	ISO 3166-2 code	AF-BDG

Badghis (Persian: بادغیس) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in northwestern Afghanistan, between the Murghab and Hari rivers, extending as far northward as the edge of the desert of Sarakhs. The province was carved out of portions of Herat and Meymaneh provinces in 1964 and has a total area of 20,591 km².^[1] Its name is from Persian word Bâdkhiz (بادخیز) meaning "where the winds arise" or "home of the winds".

Contents 1 History 2 Demography 3 Notable people 4 Politics 4.1 Districts 5 Economy 5.1 Transportation 6 References 7 External links

History

The province was one of the last captured by the Taliban in their military offensive previous to the American invasion in 2001. Even after their official takeover of the province, the largely Tajik population of the province never welcomed the Pashtun Taliban. The province was quickly retaken by Northern Alliance forces as the United States initiated hostilities, which was followed by a brutal cleansing of the Pashtun minority in the province. Various influential warlords have traded control of the province in recent years, including: Abdul Malik, Rashid Dostum, Juma Khan and Ismail Khan. During the fight against the Taliban, the Northern Alliance commanders received military aid from Shia Iran, fearful of the Sunni Taliban. In one notable incident, Malik temporarily switched his allegiances from Dostum, allowing the Taliban to gain control of the province.

Demography

The province has a mixed population of Aimak, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and Pashtuns. It is counted as one of the most underdeveloped of the country's 34 provinces. Qala i Naw, a small town half-way between Sheberghan and Herat serves as the provincial center.

Notable people

Badghis is home to what some consider the first Persian poet, Hanzala Badghisi.

Politics

The current Governor of the province is Enayatullah Enayat. At the province is a Provincial Reconstruction Team, which is led by Spain.

Districts

District map of Badghis Province

Districts of Badghis Province

District	Capital	Population	Area[2]	Notes
Ab Kamari	Sang Atesh	36,300	1,233 km²
Ghormach	Ghormach	34,455	km²	Created in 2004
Jawand		186,000	7,925 km²
Muqur		15,900	695 km²
Murghab	Murghab	63,798	4,708 km²
Qadis	Qadis	55,727	3,202 km²
Qala i Naw	Qala i Naw	88,032	1,061 km²

Economy

Agriculture is the main source of people's income and the existence of Murghab and Hari rivers makes the available land suitable for cultivation. The province faced severe drought during the late 1990s and early 2000s, causing tens of thousands of residents to flee to refugee camps outside Herat. The situation has since improved [1]. Badghis is also one of the carpet-making capitals of the country.

Transportation

Badghis Province suffers from a lack of adequate transportation. A single airport exists at the provincial seat--Qala i Naw Airport (QAQN) which is capable of handling light aircraft^[3].

References

• Afghanistan Information Management Service
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Map of Badghis Province (PDF)

•  • e Provinces of Afghanistan
Badakhshan • Badghis • Baghlan • Balkh • Bamiyan • Daykundi • Farah • Faryab • Ghazni • Ghor • Helmand • Herat • Jowzjan • Kabul • Kandahar • Kapisa • Khost • Kunar • Kunduz • Laghman • Lowgar • Nangarhar • Nimruz • Nuristan • Oruzgan • Paktia • Paktika • Panjshir • Parwan • Samangan • Sar-e Pol • Takhar • Wardak • Zabul

•  • e Districts of Badghis
Ab Kamari • Ghormach • Jawand • Muqur • Murghab • Qadis • Qala i Naw

Coordinates: 35°00′N, 63°45′E