Baghlan
Encyclopedia
Baghlan is a city in northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, in the eponymous province, Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River
Kunduz River
The Kunduz River is a tributary of the Amu Darya in northern Afghanistan. It rises in the Hindu Kush, and in its upper reaches is known as the Surkhab River.-Course:...

, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 1,700 metres above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

 in the northern Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...

. Baghlan has a population of approximately 120,000, of which around 50% are Pashtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

, 40% Tajik, and 10% Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

.

History

Baghlan grew as an urban centre in the 1930s as a result of a new road from Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

 across the Kunduz River.

Baghlan was the capital of the defunct Qataghan Province
Qataghan Province
Qataghan Province, also spelled Kataghan Province, was a province of Afghanistan which became defunct in 1964, when it was divided into the current Baghlan Province, Kunduz Province, and Takhar Province....

, prior to its 1964 dissolution.

Economy

Baghlan is the center of sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...

 production in the Afghanistan. Cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 production and cotton manufacturing are also important in the region.

Demographics

The population was estimated at about 20,000 in 1960 and about 24,410 in 1963, an increase of 22.05% over three years. In 1965 the estimate was 92,432, an increase of 278.66% in two years. Its population was estimated to be 119,607 in 2008, of which 50% were Pashtuns, 40% were Tajiks
Tajiks
Tajik is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking people of Iranic origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...

 and the remaining 10% were Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

.

2007 Bombing

On 6 November 2007, a suicide bombing targeted a sugar factory in Baghlan during a visit by members of the National Assembly of Afghanistan
National Assembly of Afghanistan
The National Assembly is Afghanistan's national legislature. It is a bicameral body, comprising two chambers:*Wolesi Jirga or the House of the People: the 250-member lower house.*Meshrano Jirga ) or the House of Elders: an upper house with 102 seats....

. Up to 100 people have been reported killed, including six legislators.
One of the victims that was killed was Hajji Muhmmad Arif Zarif an MP from the Kabul province.

External links

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