Parwan Province

Parwan Province, in Afghanistan, is on the northwest of Kabul Province, in the Shomali Plain. The main military Bagram Airfield, and it has returned to being agriculturally productive. Its Salang Tunnel provides the only year-round route from Kabul to the northern provinces and thence to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Government

The provincial capital is Charikar. The province is in ISAF Regional Command East.

• Governor: Jafar Takwa
• Chief of police: Abdul Rrahman Siadkhel Mowlana

Terrain

It is mountainous, with the Kott-i-Baba Range in the southwest, the Panjshir Range in the north, and the Paghman Range in the southeast. Two main rivers cross the province: the Ghowr Band River and the Panjshir River. Crops are grown along the fertile river valleys including the Shomali Plain, and livestock are raised throughout the province. Mountains in the high-altitude Ghorband and Shinwari Districts are covered with snow year-round.

Demographics

Divided into ten districts, it has a population of almost 600,000.65 The main ethnic groups are Pashtuns and Tajiks, but there are small numbers of Uzbeks, Qizilbash and Hazaras.

Security

It is one of the safest provinces in Afghanistan. Incidents in Parwan usually involve grenade attacks on the residences of government officials or roadside bombs. Casualties are generally low.

Drugs

Opium poppy cultivation has been eradicated in Parwan, although narcotics trafficking continues.