Orūzgān Province

Orūzgān اروزگان
Capital  • Coordinates	Tarin Kowt  • 32.8° N 66.0° E
Population (2006)  • Density	~400,000  • /km²
Area	22,696 km²
Time zone	{{{time_zone}}}
Main language(s)	Pashto

Orūzgān (Persian and Pashto: اروزگان, also spelt Oruzgan or Uruzgan) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the centre of the country, though the area is considered part of southern Afghanistan and it is culturally and tribally linked to Kandahar. Its capital is Tarin Kowt. On March 28, 2004, the new Daykundi was carved out of an area in the north leaving Oruzgan with a majority Pashtun population and Daykundi with a majority of Hazaras. The map shows the provincial boundaries that resulted. But in May 2006, the district of Gizab was taken back from Daykundi and re-annexed to Oruzgan, becoming Oruzgan's sixth district. Taliban leader Mullah Omar was born in Singesar village, in Oruzgan province. Because of security concerns and the Taliban insurgency, no international aid agencies or NGOs have a permanent presence in Oruzgan. NATO's ISAF operates a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), in Tarin Kowt, transferred from U.S. to Dutch authority as of August 2006. From January 2002 through March 2006, the province was governed by Jan Mohammed Khan, a corrupt, illiterate warlord ally of President Karzai (they are both from the Pashtun Populzai tribe). On March 18, 2006, Karzai appointed Maulavi Abdul Hakim Munib (also spelled "Monib")("Maulavi" is a religious title), a former Taliban official who had reconciled with the Government of Afghanistan, to replace Khan. Munib was a Pashtun from Paktia Province who was educated and had good administrative skills. In September 2007, President Karzai removed Munib, who had become increasingly ineffective, and replaced him as governor with Hamdam, Asadullah, a native of nearby Zabul province. In August 2006, NATO assumed authority for Oruzgan from the US-led coalition, as the Netherlands took command of the PRT from the U.S. as Task Force Uruzgan. There is also an Australian element under the Dutch command. Also in Summer 2006, insurgents in Oruzgan were targeted by a NATO-Afghan military offensive called Operation Mountain Thrust. Under their so-called "inkspot policy", the Dutch have focused their efforts only on the largest population centres in Oruzgan (Dihrawud, Chora, and Tarin Kowt towns), though their Area of Responsibility includes the entire province. The Dutch have never made an effort to establish a presence in Gizab district. Oruzgan's opium poppy crop reached record levels in 2006 and 2007, as no significant eradication efforts were carried out either by the Dutch or Governor Munib. From June 15 to June 19, 2007 Dutch and Afghan soldiers fought off an assault on the town of Chora by a reported several hundred Taliban. Dozens of Taliban may have been killed, as well as an unknown number of Afghan civilians, 16 policemen and a Dutch soldier. Though this was merely another moderate-sized skirmish by Afghanistan's standards, it quickly assumed an exaggerated reputation among Dutch pundits as the so-called "Battle of Chora".

Districts

• Chora District
• Deh Rahwod District
• Gizab District
• Khas Uruzgan District
• Shahidi Hassas District (also called "Caher Cineh")
• Tarin Kowt District

•  • e Provinces of Afghanistan
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