Maidan Wardak Province

Wardak ميدان وردګ
Province
A gathering of people receiving gifts from the Afghan National Army (ANA) during a patrol in the Sayedabad district of wardak province in November 2011
Map of Afghanistan with Wardak highlighted
Coordinates (Capital):
Country	Afghanistan
Capital	Maidan Shar
Government
• Governor	Mohammad Halim Fidai
Area
• Total	9,934 km2 (3,836 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	567,600
• Density	57/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+4:30
ISO 3166 code	AF-WAR
Main languages	Pashto Persian

Maidan Wardak Province (Pashto: ميدان وردګ ولايت‎, Persian: ولایت میدان وردک‎‎), also called Maidan Wardag or simply Wardak Province, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central east region of Afghanistan. It is divided into eight districts and has a population of approximately 567,600. The capital of the province is Maidan Shar. The province is named after the Pashtun tribe of Wardak.

History

Further information: History of Afghanistan

During the communist times, the people of Wardak never gave significant support to the communist government. Wardak Province was significant during the Civil War in Afghanistan, due to its proximity with Kabul and its agricultural lands. Hezb-e Wahdat had significant presence in the area. Most of the area was captured by the Taliban around winter 1995, and after the capture of Kabul, Wardak Taliban were significant in the fight for Parwan Province and Kapisa Province.

The security situation rapidly deteriorated in Maidan Wardak in 2008 and 2009. According to a report by Mohammad Osman Tariq Elias, both Logar and Maidan Wardak, by the end of 2008, were under de facto Taliban control. As of April 2009, the Ministry of the Interior (Afghanistan) had listed the entire province as "High Risk."

Geography

Further information: Geography of Afghanistan

Maidan Wardak province is located in the central and eastern region of Afghanistan; bordering Parwan to the northeast, Kabul and Logar to the east, Ghazni to the south and Bamyan to the west. The capital of Maidan Wardak province is Maidan Shar, which is located about 35 km from Kabul. Maidan Wardak province covers an area of 9,934 km². It is mountainous like the rest of the country with plains and many valleys. The majority of its residents live in rural areas. The most heavily populated areas are along the Kabul–Kandahar Highway. The rest of the province is thinly populated, with villages concentrated in areas with available irrigation and water sources (CSO and UNFPA, 2003).

Politics and governance

Further information: Politics of Afghanistan and List of governors of Wardak

The current governor of the province is Mohammad Halim Fidai. His predecessor was Abdul Jabbar Naeemi. The town of Maidan Shar serves as the capital of the province. All law enforcement activities throughout the province are conducted by the Afghan National Police (ANP) along with the Afghan Local Police (ALP). The provincial police chief represents the Ministry of the Interior in Kabul. The ANP is backed by other Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including the NATO-led forces.

Economics and industry

In terms of industry, one marble factory is working in the province, and there are marble mines in the provincial center and Sayed Abad District although no mining is currently undertaken there due to the government ban. The majority of commercial activity in Maidan Wardak is related to trade in agricultural and livestock products, although stone quarrying is also a growing business in the area. The people from Maidan Wardak are also expert in karez cleaning and repair and go to other parts of the country for this purpose. In Maidan Wardak, there are many natural resources like petroleum, iron, rubies, and many historical artifacts that have been found by the people, but have been kept secret.

Agriculture is a major source of revenue for 43% of households in Maidan Wardak province. Four fifths (79%) of rural households own or manage agricultural land or garden plots in the province. However, nearly a quarter (24%) of households in the province derive income from trade and services, and around half (45%) of households earn some income through non-farm related labor.

Education

Further information: Education in Afghanistan

File:School in Wardak-2009.jpg

A school being renovated in the Jalrez district of Wardak province in 2009

The overall literacy rate in Wardak province is 25%. There are around 251 primary and secondary schools in the province catering for 105,358 students. There are 2909 teachers teaching in these schools.

Demographics

Further information: Demographics of Afghanistan

Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan

Districts of Wardak province

As of 2013, the total population of Wardak province is about 567,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. According to the Institute for the Study of War, "Roughly 70 percent of the population is Pashtun; Hazaras and Tajiks comprise the remainder of the population. The Tajiks live primarily in northern districts of the province, while the Hazaras live in the western part of the province. Maydan Wardak also has a small population of Qizilbash, who are ethnically Persian and practice Shi’a Islam. The major Pashtun tribes are the Ghilzai (of the Hotak and Kharoti clans) and Wardak."

Districts

Districts of Wardak Province

District	Capital	Population	Area	Ethnic groups
Chak		83,376	1,273	~100% Pashtun
Maidan Shar		35,008		~99% Pashtun, 1% Tajik
Nirkh		56,354		~90% Pashtun ~10% Hazara
Saydabad		114,793	1,163	~95% Pashtun ~5% Tajik
Jaghatu		46,667		~100% Pashtun
Day Mirdad		28,865		~30% Hazara 70% Pashtun unknown% Qizilbash
Jalrez		44,873		~80% Pashtun ~20% Hazara
Hisa-I-Awali Bihsud		50,079		~85% Hazara ~2% Pashtun, 3% Qizilbash 10% Tajik
Markazi Bihsud		250,328		100% Hazara

External links

• Maydan Wardak Province by the Institute for the Study of War
• Wardak Province by the Naval Postgraduate School