Six Afghan civilians die in roadside bomb blast

 Six Afghan civilians die in roadside bomb blast

 Sunday, August 01, 2010
 KANDAHAR: Six civilians were killed on Sunday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, an official said, as civilian casualties continued to mount amid an increase in violence by insurgents.

Nine civilians were wounded in the blast, which hit their vehicle on the western edge of Kandahar city, said Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Roadside bombs are a favorite weapon for Taliban insurgents in their campaign against foreign forces and the Afghan government, but civilians often fall prey to such attacks.

According to government figures at least 40 non-combatants were killed in various parts of the country last week.

Kandahar Province Photos Pictures Images Gallery Landscapes

Kandahar Province Photos Pictures Images Gallery Landscapes

Kandahar Operation 2010

Kandahar Operation 2010

Karzai Asks Tribes To Support Kandahar Operation

 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai addressed a jirga — a gathering of several hundred tribal leaders — Sunday in Kandahar, trying to win support for a government and NATO operation there. He called on the leaders to stand with him even if it means sacrifices, and tried to address fears that a planned military operation could mean more civilian casualties.
Karzai played up his strong connection to Kandahar at the jirga. He was born on the outskirts of the city that later became the spiritual center of the Taliban insurgency. He is a member of the Pashtun ethnic group that makes up the majority in southern Afghanistan.
At the gathering, Karzai exchanged his trademark peaked cap for a traditional Pashtun-style turban, decked with red flowers. Most of the men who sat cross-legged on the carpets before him wore similar garb.
Before the president spoke, some men at the jirga were wary about supporting the operation, and they were suspicious of a government that, to many of them, typifies corruption.
One man, Haji Naik Mohammed, said bluntly that the president should start reforming his own government first. The elder said local officials in his district are involved in corruption, and if that doesn't change, "we can expect another 30 years of war."
But Haji Naik didn't seem to blame Karzai directly. In fact, he said his message to the president would be, "the Taliban is not your enemy, Mr. Karzai. Your own officials are your enemies."
When President Karzai spoke, his message seemed aimed at that very concern. He called repeatedly on Taliban members to reconcile with the government, and he promised to fight corruption among government officials, local power brokers and private security contractors.
Karzai called attention to Taliban violence against Afghan civilians by expressing his condolences to the families of some 56 people killed in a suicide attack on a wedding near Kandahar last week.
That attack was apparently aimed at a man who had recently joined an anti-Taliban militia. It drew such widespread condemnation from local people that the Taliban later denied involvement.
But while he called on the Taliban to stop the violence, Karzai focused much of his rhetoric on reconciliation. And he appeared to play down the likelihood of a violent military offensive.
At times during the 45-minute speech, he pounded the podium, insisting to the elders, "You are going to help us," and calling on them to stand up and show their support.
Many men did stand, although Karzai stressed that their backing would mean sacrifice.
Afterward, not everyone was convinced. Shah Mohammed, a farmer, says the problem is more complicated. "If you send someone to my district, you'll see cruelties everywhere," he said. "People who oppose the power structure are killed, and local government authorities are working with the Taliban to keep the people under their control."
Karzai's problem is typified by his own half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful figures in Kandahar. The younger Karzai has been repeatedly accused of corruption over the years — charges that he denies.
Wali Karzai told reporters after the speech that the president's denunciation of corruption was a good move. He added that the president had reassured the tribal leaders that the area was not going to be plunged into a violent military confrontation.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO military commander in Afghanistan, accompanied President Karzai at the gathering, though he didn't speak to the elders.
Later, when asked whether he agreed with Karzai's seeming de-emphasis on a military victory against the Taliban, McChrystal said he believes that when the government attacks problems such as governance and corruption, the relevance of the Taliban is likely to fall significantly.
McChrystal and other top officials have also played down the military aspects of the Kandahar operation in recent weeks, preferring to call it an ongoing process that includes reconciliation and rebuilding, rather than an offensive or a campaign.

 

Kandahar operation will take longer

Kandahar operation will take longer

On Thursday, during a visit to NATO headquarters here, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal admitted that preparations for perhaps the most critical operation of the war -- the campaign to take control of Kandahar, the Taliban's birthplace -- weren't going as planned. He said winning support from local leaders, some of whom see the Taliban fighters not as oppressors but as their Muslim brothers, was proving tougher than expected. The military side of the campaign, originally scheduled to surge in June and finish by August, is now likely to extend into the fall.

"I don't intend to hurry it," McChrystal told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. "It will take a number of months for this to play out. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It's more important we get it right than we get it fast."
But McChrystal does not have time on his side. The day before he revealed the Kandahar delay, his boss, Gates, said that the U.S.-led coalition has until the end of the year to show progress in the war and prove to the United States and its allies that their forces have broken a stalemate with the Taliban.
"All of us, for our publics, are going to have to show by the end of the year that our strategy is on the right track and making some headway," Gates said Wednesday during a visit to London to meet with British leaders.

McChrystal said he was confident that his counterinsurgency strategy was bearing fruit and that he would be in position to demonstrate that by year's end. "The perception that the insurgency has momentum is reversing," he said. "Progress won't show every day, but it will show over time."
But much will hinge on the outcome of the Kandahar campaign. Asked whether the delay still left time for a decisive outcome by the end of the year, McChrystal was noncommittal. "It will be very clear by the end of the calendar year that the Kandahar operation is progressing," he said. "I don't know whether we'll know whether it's decisive. Historians will tell us that."
U.S. and NATO commanders began preparing this spring for their campaign to gain control of Kandahar, an operation considered crucial to the success of President Obama's strategy for the Afghan war.
But McChrystal said it was taking longer than expected to gain the blessing of local tribal leaders -- and Kandaharis in general -- for the operation. He also said commanders needed more time to ensure that the Afghan government could step in after the fighting stops and provide effective public services, which Kandahar has lacked for years.
"When you go to protect people, the people have to want you to protect them," McChrystal told reporters. "It's a deliberate process. It takes time to convince people."
As part of that effort, he said, he will join Afghan President Hamid Karzai on a visit to Kandahar in the next few days to hold "shuras," or council meetings with tribal elders. Karzai, he said, would focus "on all things to improve in Kandahar: security, governance, reducing corruption."
McChrystal did not specify how the timeline of the Kandahar operation would change. But he projected that U.S. and NATO forces in Kandahar would total about 23,300 by the end of August, about three times as many as a year ago.
He also did not say why it was taking longer to lay the political groundwork for the operation. But one problem has been that the Taliban has already responded by assassinating several key local leaders, part of an intimidation campaign to warn Kandaharis against helping the foreigners.
The Afghan government is already officially in charge of Kandahar, the country's second-largest city, but its control is tenuous. The Taliban has steadily made a comeback since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Another difficulty for U.S. officials has been deciding how to handle local power broker Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's brother and head of the Kandahar provincial council. Some U.S. agencies, including the CIA, see Ahmed Wali Karzai as an asset, while others view him as a stumbling block who has allowed corruption to flourish on his watch.
McChrystal said the decision to move more slowly in Kandahar was influenced by the experience of U.S. and NATO forces in next-door Helmand province. In February, foreign and Afghan troops led by U.S. Marines took control of Marja and other districts long held by the Taliban. But the effort to install a functioning Afghan government in the wake of the fighting has stumbled and now the Taliban is trying to reassert itself.
"Some of the lessons we learned in Marja is we did very good coordination with the Afghan people, shuras and whatnot, but then as we did it, we found it even more complex than we thought," McChrystal said. "And so we need to educate ourselves from that and do it even better in Kandahar."
Asked whether he considered the Kandahar delay a setback in the Afghan war, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary general, said the difficulties actually indicate progress in the overall war effort.
"I foresee a very tough time in the coming weeks and months, because we are now targeting what I call the Taliban heartland in Helmand and Kandahar," he said at a news conference here. "But that's exactly our goal."

Explosion in Kandahar Province Afghansistan

Explosion in Kandahar Province Afghansistan

British airman killed in Kandahar province explosion 

 

A British airman has been killed in an explosion in Kandahar province in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The airman, from 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment, part of the Kandahar Airfield Defence Force, was killed on vehicle patrol on Wednesday evening.
His death was not connected to Operation Moshtarak, which involves British troops in Helmand province.
The MoD says the dead man's next of kin have been informed.
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lt Col David Wakefield, said the airman was on mobile patrol about 4km (2.5 miles)north of Kandahar Airfield when the explosion happened.
He said: "He died doing his duty and among his fellow airmen; his sacrifice will not be forgotten."
A total of 264 British military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

NATO troops bombed wedding in Kandahar

NATO troops bombed wedding in Kandahar

The first news, Wednesday, explosion at a wedding ceremony in Arghandab district of Kandahar province, and the second news, about executing of a 7 years old boy in Sangin district of Helmand province.
 
In both cases western propaganda said that Taliban was behind these actions.
 
Theunjustmdia: Wednesday, a powerful explosion took place at a wedding ceremony in Nangahaan area in Arghandab district of Kandahar province, in which 45 people including women and children were martyred and 78 were wounded, can you please provide some information to what really happened and who is behind this.
 
Zabihullah Mujahid: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Mujahideen in the region have conducted an investigation, which has revealed that this crime was committed by the invaders.
 
The Mujahideen spoke to some of the survivals who were attending the wedding ceremony at the time it was attacked by the invaders.
 
The survivals have mentioned that just before the bombing took place they heard spy planes (drones - KC) hovering over the area, and soon after they heard a loud explosion, and then there was panic, there were dead and injured bodies every were.
 
This cowardly act of the invaders will not deter the freedom loving Afghan's from their struggled to liberate their country from the invading forces.
 
Theunjustmdia: Dawoud Ahmadi the puppet provincial governor's spokesman is claiming that the Mujahideen have executed a 7-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan after accusing him of spying for the invaders and puppet government forces in the region.
 
Zabihullah Mujahid: This propaganda news illustrates the desperation of the invaders and their puppets, the assertion that the Mujahideen would execute a 7-year-old boy is ridiculous.
 
The Mujahideen have too much honor to be committing such a cowardly act. The purpose of propagating this type of propaganda news is to defame the Mujahideen and to create animosity in the general public for the Mujahideen.
 
It is to be mentioned that Western and Russian press widely spread false information that the Taliban had allegedly executed a 7-year-old boy because he was spying for the United States.
 
Numerous comments by Karzai puppets, condemning this "atrocious crime", immediately followed this report.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Hamid Karzai and Kandahar Province Operation - Afghanistan

Hamid Karzai and Kandahar Province Operation - Afghanistan

President Hamid Karzai called Sunday on community leaders in Kandahar to support a NATO campaign to bolster security in this Taliban stronghold, urging people to work with his government to "bring dignity back."
NATO has already begun an operation to ramp up security in Kandahar, and the campaign is expected to accelerate the coming months. Many of the estimated half million Kandahar residents are skeptical of the operation, fearing it will lead to more bloodshed.
During a meeting in a stuffy conference hall in Kandahar city, several hundred people including tribal chiefs and religious leaders cheered as Karzai denounced corruption among police and local powerbrokers.
He pounded the podium as he said corruption was undermining security as his government and its international partners struggle to turn back a resurgent Taliban. The majority of the crowd stood and raised their hands as Karzai asked for their support.
"Please give me your hand to bring dignity back," Karzai said. He appealed again to the Taliban to lay down their weapons and reconcile with the U.S.-backed government. "Step by step we can go forward," he said. "Let's cooperate. Let's coordinate."
It was only Karzai's second visit in recent years to Kandahar, the biggest city in the south and the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. U.S. commanders believe control of Kandahar is the key to wresting the ethnic Pashtun south away from the Taliban, who have exploited public discontent with the central government to win broad support in the strategic region.
Insurgents have responded to NATO plans with a rash of attacks against those who support the government and its international partners. So far this month, at least 39 international troops have been killed in Afghanistan, including 27 Americans.
Six Afghan policemen and three NATO service members died Saturday in separate roadside bomb blasts. In addition, 39 insurgents were killed Saturday in two operations - one in Kandahar province and the other in Uruzgan province, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
On the eve of his visit, Karzai met in the capital of Kabul with Afghan security officials and the top U.S. and NATO commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who accompanied the president to Kandahar. Aides described the Saturday meeting as a "decision brief" where the president was briefed on all aspects of the Kandahar security campaign.
NATO and Afghan officials have taken pains to avoid describing the Kandahar operation as a military offensive, a term that has made the residents wary about what was to come. Presidential spokesman Waheed Omar said Karzai would call the campaign a "process of stabilization" to bring better governance, services and new development to the area. Omar said the president was expected to announce a few development projects for Kandahar in a move to gain public support for his government.
Karzai's influential half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, considered among Kandahar's most powerful figures, said the favorable response from those at the meeting amounted to a green light for the security operation. "The military operation is always a concern," he said. "The way the president described the military operation, there will no longer be a concern from the people."
During his remarks, Karzai sought to address issues often raised by Kandahar community leaders - notably corruption that has driven many southern Pashtuns into Taliban ranks.
As the representatives sat cross-legged on a large red carpet, Karzai spoke about last week's national conference, or peace jirga, in Kabul, saying it showed the Afghan people were united in their desire for peace. Addressing the Taliban, Karzai said "please respect this call from the people of Afghanistan."
Karzai said people detained by the U.S. and Afghan government for suspected insurgent links should be freed unless there were compelling evidence against them. "God willing in the coming weeks ... they will be released," he said.

Places of interest Kandahar Province Afghanistan

Places of interest Kandahar Province Afghanistan


The most important historical monument in Kandahar is the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who founded the Durrani Empire. The shrine of the Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed, adjoining Ahmad Shah’s mausoleum, is one of the holiest shrines in Afghanistan. The Mosque that contains Hair of Muhammad is located inside the covered bazaar, on the left as you enter from Kabul Bazaar.
The charming village of Sher Surkh is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of Eidgah Durwaza (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan’s leading artists.
Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of buria (matting) bazaar, there is a charming shrine dedicated to a celebrated saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of Hazratji Baba, 23 feet (7.0 m) long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to pious martyrs (Shahidan: those who died in battle defending their land) stands in the center of Kandahar’s main square called Da Shahidanu Chawk, which was built in the 1940s.
The Chilzina is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar’s Old City. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of Moghul conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the Chilzina was hewn form the natural western bastion of the Old City of Kandahar which was destroyed in 1738 by Nadir Shah Afshar of Persia.
A short distance from Chilzina, going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of Mir Wais Khan, the Ghilzai chieftain who declared Kandahar’s independence from the Persians in 1709.

History of Kandahar Province Afghanistan

History of Kandahar Province Afghanistan

About Kandahar Province


Kandahār, also spelled Qandahār, (Pashto and Persian: کندهار or قندهار) is the third largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of 324,800 (2006 estimate). It is the capital of Kandahar province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m (3,297 feet) above sea level. The Arghandab River runs right next to the city. Kandahar is a major trading center for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit. Kandahar has an international airport and extensive road links with Farah and Herat to the west, Ghazni and Kabul to the northeast, Tarin Kowt to the north, and Quetta in Pakistan to the south.

Explosion in Wedding Kandahar Province of Afghanistan

 Explosion in Wedding Kandahar Province of Afghanistan

An explosion killed at least 40 people on Wednesday during a wedding in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, according to a local official cited by the AFP news agency. The cause of the explosion remains unknown.


At least 40 people were killed and 77 injured by a suicide bomb attack on a wedding party in insurgency-plagued southern Afghanistan, a police official said on Thursday.
"A suicide bomber went inside the party where hundreds of people were sitting and blew himself up," the official said of Wednesday night's blast in Arghandab district, north of Kandahar, where foreign troops are focusing on a push in coming months to whittle out the Taliban.
A Kandahar policeman said many of the guests had links to local police officials or a local militia, which was why it was likely targeted by the Taliban.
In the immediate aftermath, he said, some panicked guests mistakenly thought the party had been struck by an air raid.
A spokeswoman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan said it was aware of the blast and had helped local security forces in follow up operations.
"This is an Afghan matter," the spokeswoman said.
While the Taliban are responsible for most civilian deaths in the country, foreign forces have killed hundreds of civilians -- either mistaking them for insurgents or as a result of misdirected air strikes.
Rural wedding parties in Afghanistan can often be raucous affairs with large gatherings of people and frequently accompanied by celebratory gunfire. Several have mistakenly been attacked in the past by foreign forces.
The Taliban have regrouped since their U.S.-led overthrow in 2001 and now engage a foreign force that is expected to grow to 150,000 in coming months as part of an offensive against insurgent strongholds in the south.
A favoured tactic is improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or suicide attacks on foreign or Afghan forces, but pro-government sympathisers are also targeted and the insurgency used as a cover to settle old scores.

US Forces Attack Kills Afghan Civilians

US Forces Attack Kills Afghan Civilians

At least three civilians have been killed in an ongoing US military operation in eastern Afghanistan as discontent grows over the civilian casualties in the country.

The civilians were killed in a US attack in the northeastern Afghan province of Kunar on Tuesday.

The media office of the US forces in the region has confirmed the fatalities, adding that two more civilians have also been wounded in the incident.

The attack comes a day after foreign troops killed eight civilians inside their houses during an operation in Kandahar Province.

In a separate incident in the country, Afghan police forces clashed with angry protesters near Kabul after US forces attacked a religious school on the southern outskirts of the capital.

Some 600 Afghan and foreign troops are taking part in the operation against militants in Kunar Province.

The fresh wave of violence comes amid rising casualties of foreign troops in the country, which has made June the deadliest month for foreign forces stationed in Afghanistan with the death toll surpassing the 100 mark.

In addition to the foreign troops' casualties, thousands of civilians have also lost their lives either in US-led raids or in the Taliban-led militancy across the violence-wracked country.

According to official figures, more than 2,500 civilians were killed in NATO operations last year, undermining support for the presence of US-led forces in the country.

JR/CS/MMN

Security in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan

Security in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan

Ensuring a legitimate monopoly on force and law enforcement that provides a secure environment for
the fulfilment of the rights of all Afghans is essential to ensure freedom of movement for people,
commodities and ideas, and to promote social and economic development. A recent assessment made
by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) reported that Kandahar Province
continues to experience a high level of volatility, characterised by frequent insurgent operations in the
western districts, suicide attacks in Kandahar City and assassinations of soft targets. The Province and
the City remain the most influential in the region, however, there is an endemic problem of corruption,
including among the security forces which undermines their effectiveness. The western districts of
Kandahar, (Panjwayi, Zherai, Maiwand) continue to be the focus of activity for International Security

Assistance Forces (ISAF) and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) as well as for insurgent
operations. The Canadian International Security Assistance Forces (CISAF) are the largest forces in
number in the area. The province is not only ideologically significant for the insurgency, but also a
battle ground of their choice for fighting, offering rocky outcrops, desert routes and agricultural
facilities that offer cover such as orchards and karezes. The insurgency exploits the ring road in the area
which runs through three Districts, offering them not only mobility facilities but also opportunities to
target SAF, ANSF and civilian convoys very easily. Tactics most commonly used by the insurgencies
include suicide attacks, road side Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), laying of land mines, ambushes
and direct attacks.
The northern districts of Ghorak, Khakrez, Shah Wali Kot and Mianshin, although they have not
experienced the same level of insurgent operations as western Kandahar, still remain unstable. These
areas are now used as transit routes and support/supply lines to the high level of insurgent operations in
the Sangin Valley/Kajaki in Hilmand, Dihrawood/Nesh/Chora in Uruzgan and Mizan/Daychopan in
Zabul.

Social Protection in Kandahar Province

Social Protection in Kandahar Province

Building the capacities, opportunities and security of extremely poor and vulnerable
Afghans through a process of economic empowerment is essential in order to reduce poverty and
increase self-reliance. The level of economic hardship in Kandahar is reasonably high. Around one third
of households in the province report having problems satisfying their food needs at least 3 – 6 times a
year (33%), and more than a fifth of households face this problem up to three times a year (22%),

Around a third of the population in the province is estimated to receive less than the minimum daily
caloric intake necessary to maintain good health. This figure is smaller for the rural population (26%)
than for people living in the urban area (37%). In both rural and urban areas nearly three quarter of
households (73%) has low dietary diversity and poor or very poor food consumption.

total of 870938 beneficiaries. In addition, of the 33% of households who reported taking out loans, 58%
said that the main use of their largest loan was to buy food. A further 11% used the money to cover
expenses for health emergencies. In the same year more than forty percent of households (41%) in the
province reported feeling that their economic situation remained the same compared to a year ago, and
the same number (40%) felt that it had got worse or much worse.

In 2005 around half of all households in the province report having been negatively affected by some
unexpected event in the last year, which was beyond their control (48%). Rural households were much
more vulnerable to such shocks, with 55% of households affected, as opposed to urban households
with only 32%. People living in urban areas were most vulnerable to shocks related to natural disasters
and insecurity, whereas those in rural areas were most at risk from drinking water problems and
natural disasters.

Health & Kandahar Province

Health & Kandahar Province

Ensuring the availability of basic health and hospital services, and developing human resources in the
health sector, is essential to reduce the incidence of disease, increase life expectancy and enable the
whole population to participate in sustainable development. A basic infrastructure of health services
exists in Kandahar province. In 2005 there were 20 health centers and 8 hospitals with a total of 375
beds. There were also 140 doctors and 288 nurses employed by the Ministry of Health working in the
province, which represented nearly twice as many doctors (up from 77) and 50% more nurses (up from
188) since 2003.

The province also has 94 pharmacies of which 92 are owned privately and 2 are run by the government.
Drugstores are present only in 46 villages and 45% of the population has to travel more than ten
kilometers to reach to the nearest drugstore.
The majority of communities do not have a health worker permanently present in their community.
Thirty nine percent of men’s shura and 59% of women’s shura reported that there was no community
health worker present, and both groups most commonly said that a basic health center or clinic without
beds is their nearest health facility. Only 3.5% of the population has a health center and 4.2% has a
dispensary within their village. Around half the population seeking medical attention must travel more
than ten kilometers (55% for health centers and 51% for dispensaries).

Education in Kandahar

Education in Kandahar

Ensuring good quality education and equitable access to education and skills are some of the important
ways to raise human capital, reduce poverty and facilitate economic growth. The overall literacy rate in
Kandahar province is 16%, however, while more than a quarter of men are literate (26%), this is true
for just one twentieth of women (5%). In the population aged between 15 and 24 the situation for men
is slightly lower with 22.5% literacy, whereas for women the figure if halved to just 2.7%. The Kuchi
population in the province has particularly low levels of literacy with just 3% of men and no women
(0%) able to read and write.
On average 23% of children between 6 and 13 are enrolled in school, however, the figure is around one
third of boys (33%) and just over one tenth of girls (12%). Amongst the Kuchi population, none of the
boys or girls attend school in either the winter or the summer months in Kandahar province.

Overall there are 271 primary and secondary schools in the province catering for 150342 students. Boys
account for 82% of students and 97% of schools are boys’ schools. There are nearly 2478 teachers
working in schools in the Kandahar province, less than one tenth of whom are women (7.4%).

Primary schools are the most easily accessible for students followed by secondary schools and high
schools. Around forty percent of students have a primary school located less than five kilometers away,
but 28% of students have to travel more than 10 kilometers to reach their closest primary schools. Over
a quarter of students have to travel up to five kilometers to reach their nearest secondary schools and for
forty percent this distance is more than ten kilometers. Accessiblilty to high schools is even more
limited with only 12% of students having their closest high schools less than 5 kms away. Two-thirds of
students, on the other hand, have to travel more than ten kilometers to reach their closest high schools.
Kandahar province also has a number of higher education facilities. The University of Kandahar has
four faculties including medicine, engineering, agriculture and training and education. In 2005 there
were 808 students enrolled at the university 795 men (98.4%) and 13 women (1.6%). Of those, 151
students were in their first year. These included 150 men (99.4%) and 1 woman (0.6%). Six hundred
and forty male students live in dormitories provided by the University.
There is also a teacher training institute which had 72 students in 2005, 70% of whom were men and
30% women. Nineteen new teachers graduated from Kandahar teacher training institute in 2005, of
which 58% were women and 42% were men.

Agriculture and Rural Development

Agriculture and Rural Development

Enhancing licit agricultural productivity, creating incentives for non-farm investment, developing rural
infrastructure, and supporting access to skills development and financial services will allow individuals,
households and communities to participate licitly and productively in the economy. As agriculture
represents the major source of income for more than a quarter of the households in the province, rural
development will be a key element of progress in Kandahar. The most important field crops grown in
Kandahar province include wheat, potatoes, melon and watermelon and maize as well as opium. The
most common crops grown in garden plots include grapes (54%) and fruit and nut trees (34%). Wheat
(4%) and vegetables (3%) are also sometimes grown in garden plots in the province.
More than one third of households with access to fertilizer use this on field crops (38%) and to a higher
degree, nearly half of households use fertilizer on garden plots (48%). One in six (15%) households
uses fertilizer on both field and garden.

Economic Governance and Private Sector Development

Economic Governance and Private Sector Development

Creating the conditions in which a dynamic and competitive private sector can flourish, is key to
promoting economic growth, employment creation and poverty reduction. Kandahar is both an
agricultural and an industrial province. The majority of commercial activity in Kandahar is related to
trade and services, and agricultural and livestock products.
Agriculture is a major source of revenue for 28% of households in Kandahar province, including 38%
of rural households and 8% of households in the urban area. Thirty two percent of rural households and
1% of urban households own or manage agricultural land or garden plots in the province. However, just
Kandahar
7
under half of households in the urban area (43%) and a little more than one quarter of households in
rural areas (29%) derive some income from trade and services. More than a third of households in rural
areas (37%) and more than one quarter of households in urban areas (27%) earn income through nonfarm
related labour. Livestock also accounts for income for less than one tenth of rural households (8%).


In 2005 there were 109 Agricultural cooperatives active in Kandahar involving 4700 members. This
was five times more people than in 2003 when the figure was only 942 members. In 2005 agricultural
cooperatives controlled a total of 37015 Ha of land and achieved a surplus of products for sale of
45,000 tons. As a result of this, each member held a share in the capital of the cooperative to the value
of 2,640,700Afs.
The major industrial crops grown in Kandahar are tobacco produced in 82 villages, cotton in 59
villages, and sugar extracts in 24 villages. Maiwand District is the major producer of all these products
particularly cotton and tobacco. Spin Boldak, Kandahar, and Panjwayee produce Tobacco. Sugar
extracts are concentrated in Zherai and Maiwand.
The sector of small industries is almost absent in the province. Three villages in Zherai District produce
honey and karakul and sugar candy is produced in Panjwayee. Handicrafts is not a well-developed
sector either. Jewellery and rugs are mentioned in this regard. Out of 61 villages producing jewellery,
forty one are in Zherai District and out of 10 villages producing rugs, three are in Zherai and three
others are in Maiwand Districts.
In 2005, 33% of households in Kandahar reported taking out loans. Of these households, a small
percentage used these loans to invest in economic activity such as business investment (6%),
agricultural inputs (5%) and buying land (1%).

Current State of Development in the Province

Current State of Development in the Province

A. Infrastructure and Natural Resources
The provision of basic infrastructure such as water and sanitation, energy, transport and
communications is one of the key elements necessary to provide the building blocks for private sector
expansion, equitable economic growth, increased employment and accelerated agricultural productivity.
In Kandahar province, on average only 64% of households use safe drinking water. This rises to 99% in
the urban area, and falls to 50% in rural areas. More than four fifths (87%) of households have direct
access to their main source of drinking water within their community, however one in ten households
has to travel for up to an hour to access drinking water (10%) .


On average only 22% of households have access to safe toilet facilities. The situation is better in the
urban area where 57% of households have safe toilets, but this is true for only 7% of rural households.


On average 27% of households in Kandahar province have access to electricity with the majority of
these relying on public electricity. Access to electricity is much greater in the urban area where 85% of
households have access to electricity, however this figure falls to just 2% in rural areas, and only half of
these (1%) have access to public electricity.
The transport infrastructure in Kandahar is well developed, with 76.8% of roads in the province able to
take car traffic in all seasons, and 19.1% able to take car traffic in some seasons. However, in a very
small area of the province (3.3%) there are no roads at all.

Donor Activity - Kandahar

 Donor Activity - Kandahar

In addition to the activities of government agencies, a number of national and international
organizations play an active role in promoting development in the province. For example 14 UN
agencies are currently involved in reconstruction and development projects in different parts of the
province.

UN Operations in Kandahar Province
Agency Activities
UNAMA Coordinating over all Program activities of UN-Agencies
UNICEF Education, Water & Sanitation, Health, Child Protection
WFP Free food and Food for Work distribution
UNHCR Refugees and Returnees issues, Shelter, Capacity Building and Health activities
WHO Health activities
FAO Agricultural activities
UNDP/AIMS Capacity building and Statistical activities
UNDP/ANBP Education and security Issues
UNDP/UDG Urban Development
UNDP/NABDP Construction, Agriculture, Rehabilitation and Education
UNODC Counter Narcotic and Alternative Livelihood
UNMACA Mine Action
UN-Habitat Rural and Urban Development
UNOPS Road Construction activities
Source: UNAMA


There are also at least 9 national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
supporting development projects across a range of sectors in the province, as the following table shows:
International and National NGO Operations in Kandahar Province
Organization Activities
ICRC Medical, Water and Sanitation activities
JICA Education and road construction activities
Kandahar
5
CADG
HI
IR Agriculture, sustainable Economy and food distribution activities
MC
Tear Fund Education, Health and shelter activities
BRAC Micro Finance activities
SC UK Educational Activities
Source: UNAMA

In addition the following Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operate as facilitating partners
(FPs) for the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) in different districts in the province, as shown in the

table below:
NGOs Facilitating NSP by District
District FP
Arghandab UN Habitat
Daman UN Habitat
Kandahar UN Habitat
Khakrez UN Habitat
Maywand UN Habitat
Panjwayi UN Habitat
Spin Boldak UN Habitat
Zhira UN Habitat

Source: MRRD, National Solidarity Programme (NSP)

General Information

A. Geography

Kandahar province is located in the southern region of the country and has borders with Zabul in the

East, Uruzgan in the North, Helmand in the West and an international border with the Balochistan

Province of Pakistan in the South. The province covers an area of 47676 km2. More than four-fifths of

the area is made up of flat land (84.5%) while nearly a tenth of the province is mountainous or semi

mountainous terrain (7.6%) as the following table shows:

Topography type

Flat Mountainous Semi Mountainous Semi Flat Not Reported TOTAL

% 84.5% 2.6% 5.0% 6.8% 1.1% 100.0%

Source: CSO/UNFPA Socio Economic and Demographic Profile

The province is divided into 16 official and 2 unofficial districts. The provincial capital is Kandahar

which has a population of 468200.

B. Demography and Population

Kandahar has a total population of 990100. There are approximately 14445 households in the province,

and households on average have 7 members. The following table shows the population by district.

Population by District

District Male Female Total

Kandahar City 243600 224600 468200

Daman 12700 12100 24800

Arghistan 14800 14100 28900

Arghandab 26400 25200 51600

Panjwai 42400 40400 82800

Maywand 20900 19800 40700

Kandahar

2

Khakrez 9900 9300 19200

Ghorak 4100 3900 8000

Spin Boldak 21000 20000 41000

Shorabak 4900 4700 9600

Registan 800 800 1600

Maruf 14200 13500 27700

Shah Wali Kot 18700 17700 36400

Zherai 25500 2400 49500

Niesh 5800 5500 11300

Miyanasheen 6500 6100 12600

Dand

TakhtaPul

(Source UNAMA / CSO data)

Around 68% of the population of Kandahar lives in rural districts while 32% lives in urban areas.

Around 51% of the population is male and 49% is female. The major ethnic group living in Khandahar

province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as Barakzai, Popalzai, Alkozai, Noorzai and

Alezai. Pashtu is spoken by more than 98% of population and in more than 98% of villages. Dari is

spoken in six villages by 4000 people and Balochi is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000

people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language.

Kandahar province also has a population of Kuchis or nomads whose numbers vary in different seasons.

In winter 79,949individuals, or 3.3% of the overall Kuchi population, stay in Kandahar. Only one

percent of them are short-range partially migratory, and 51% are long-range partially migratory and the

remaining 48% are settled. In the winter, migratory Kuchi households stay in one place and don’t move

around during the season. In the summer season, long range migratory Kuchi households go to Ghazni,

Uruzgan and Zabul provinces. The Kuchi population in the summer is 39,082 individuals.

C. Institutional framework

The following government agencies have Line Department offices in the province:

Major Provincial Directorates in Kandahar Province

S.No. Directories S.No. Directories S.No. Directories

1 Economy 12 Transport 23 Radio & Television

2 Rural Rehabilitation &

Development

13 Urban Development 24 Administrative Reform

3 Agriculture 14 Red Crescent 25 Customs

4 Health 15 Social Services 26 Counter Narcotics

5 Information & Culture 16 Environment Protection 27 Religious Affairs

6 Education 17 Electricity 28 Finance

7 Public Works 18 Irrigation 29 Cadastral

8 Women Affairs 19 Communication 30 Tribes

9 Refugees & Returnees 20 Mines & Industries 31 Disaster Preparedness

-10 Municipality 21 Foreign Affairs 32 Fruit Industries

11 Statistics 22 Sports 33 University

Source: UNAMA Profile

In total the government employs 6738 people in Kandahar province. As the table below shows, 68% of

these are employees and 32% are contract workers. 93% of government workers are men and 7% are

women.

Kandahar

3

Number of people employed by government

Male Female Total

Contract workers 2065 72 2137

Employees 4184 417 4601

Total Workers 6249 489 6738

Source: CSO Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2006

In addition, each province has a Provincial Development Committee (PDC) which is responsible for

overseeing the progress made on implementation of the Provincial Development Plan, and which will

lead the provincial development planning process in the future. The PDC involves all government line

departments and other key stakeholder groups involved in development activities in the province. It also

has a number of working groups devoted to different sectors, each of which should be chaired by the

director of the core responsible line department. The structure of the PDC and its associated working

groups approved by the Ministry of Economy for use in all provinces is shown in the diagram below: