Badghis Province

Bādghīs (Persian/Pashto: بادغیس) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in northwestern Afghanistan, between the Murghab and Hari rivers. It goes as far northward as the edge of the desert of Sarakhs.

بادغیس
Province of Afghanistan
Location within Afghanistan
Districts prior to 2005 realignment
Coordinates: 35°0′N 63°45′E
Country	Afghanistan
Provincial seat	Qala i Naw
Districts	7 Ab Kamari Ghormach Jawand Muqur Murghab Qadis Qala i Naw
Government
• Governor	Dilbar Jan Arman Shinwari
Area
• Total	20,591 km2 (7,950 sq mi)
• Water	0 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population
• Total	499,393
• Density	20.9/km2 (54/sq mi)
Ethnic groups
•	Tajiks
•	Pashtuns
•	Uzbeks
•	Turkmen
Languages
•	Dari Persian Pashto Turkmen
ISO 3166-2 code	AF-BDG

History

The province was one of the last captured by the Taliban in their military offensive before the American invasion in 2001. TheTajik people of the province never welcomed the Pashtun Taliban. The province was quickly retaken by Northern Alliance forces.

Geography

Badghis Province is in the isolated hills of northwestern Afghanistan. Its borders are Herat, Ghor, and Faryab provinces as well as Turkmenistan.

Politics

The current Governor of the province is Delbar Jan Arman.

Economy

Agriculture is the main source of people's income. The Murghab and Hari rivers makes the land suitable for farming. The province had a bad drought in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This has gotten better. Badghis is the biggest in pistachio production in Afghanistan. It is also one of the carpet-making capitals of the country.

Transportation

Badghis Province has little transportation. Qala i Naw Airport (QAQN) is the only airport.

References

• Afghanistan Information Management Service Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine