Badakhshan (Persian:
بدخشان Badakhshān) is one of the
provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 29
districts. It is located in the north-east of the
country, between the
Hindu Kush and the
Amu Darya. It is part of the
Badakhshan region.
Geography
Badakshan is primarily bordered by
Tajikistan to the north and east. A slim sliver of
the province, called the Wakhan Corridor, also extends above northern
Pakistan's
Chitral to a border with
China. The province has a total area of 44,059 km˛,
most of which is occupied by the
Hindu Kush and
Pamir mountain ranges.
Badakhshan was a stopover on the ancient
Silk Road trading path, and China has shown great
interest in the province after the fall of the
Taliban, helping to reconstruct roads and
infrastructure in the province, probably with an
interest in the province's mineral wealth.
Population
Ethnically, the population is mainly
Tajiks with an
Uzbek and small
Kyrgyz minority. According to the 1382 Afghanistan
Statistical Yearbook (referring to the year 1381, i.e.
March 21, 2002 - March 20, 2003), the province has an
estimated population of 715,000 inhabitants.
Unlike most of
Afghanistan, the residents of the province are
largely
Ismaili
Shia, rather than
Sunni muslims. The ethnic and religious differences
with the majority of Afghans were a main reason why the
province was so resistant to
Taliban control.
Recent History and Security
Badakhshan was the only province not occupied by the
Taliban during their drive to control the country.
Burhanuddin Rabbani, a Badakhshan native, and
Ahmed Shah Massoud were the last remnants of the
anti-Taliban
Northern Alliance during the peak of Taliban control in
2000 and 2001, and they used the province as their base
of operations.
Economics
Despite massive mineral reserves Badakhshan is one of
the most destitute areas in the world.
Opium poppy growing is the only real source of
income in the province, and Badakhshan has once of the highest rates of
maternal mortality in the world, due to the complete
lack of health infrastructure, inaccessible locations
and bitter winters of the province. Most recent mining activity has focused on
lapis lazuli, with the proceeds from the lapis mines
being used to fund Northern Alliance troops, and before
that, anti-Soviet
Mujahadeen fighters. Recent geological surveys have
indicated the location of gemstone deposits, in
particular
rubies and
emeralds Exploitation of this mineral wealth could be
key to the country's future prosperity.
Provincial Capital
Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan sits on the
Kokcha River and has an
approximate population of 15,000. The chief commercial
and administrative center of NE Afghanistan and the
Pamir region, Fayzabad also has rice and flour
mills. In winter the city is sometimes isolated by deep
snow. In 1979 it was a focus of
Afghan
guerrillas attempting to repel the
Soviet invasion. Fayzabad was taken by Soviet forces
in 1980 and became a major Soviet garrison town.
