Badaber (, ur, ), alternatively spelt Badhber is a village in
Peshawar District
Peshawar District ( ps, پېښور ولسوالۍ, hnd, , ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is located about 160 km west of the Pakistan's capital Islamabad. The district headquarter is ...
,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It is located approximately south of the city of
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
.
Overview
Badaber currently hosts a
refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
and formerly was the location of a
military prison
A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of ...
, established in February 1980.
The prison was the site of the
Badaber Uprising during the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
in 1985, in which captured
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
staged an unsuccessful armed revolt against
American CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
- and
Pakistani ISI-backed
Afghan mujahideen forces in an attempt to escape. Neighbouring villages include: Sheikh Mohammadi, Darra, Bazi Khel, and Kaga Wala. The village is inhabited by various
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
tribes, most notably the
Momand, Hoorizai and
Khalil.
Significance
Badaber is most famously known for hosting a former
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
–
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
facility, which was established in 1958 and administered by the American
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. It was from here that the
1960 Gary Powers U-2 mission was coordinated and launched with the purpose of spying on the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. During the peak of its
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...
operations, there were over 1000
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
personnel stationed here. Today, the facility (
PAF Camp Badaber
PAF Camp Badaber, formerly known as Peshawar Air Station, is a non-flying air force base of the Pakistan Air Force and a former United States Air Force–Central Intelligence Agency listening post, used by the 6937th Communications Group from July ...
) serves as a non-flying base for the
Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = ...
.
Administrative Area
Badaber is part of
Pakistan National Assembly
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...
seat
NA-4 (Peshawar-4); some parts of Badaber come under PF-10 (
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
-10) and PF-11 (Peshawar-11) within the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly.
Educational Facilities
The village is home to the
Government Degree College Badaber Peshawar
Government Degree College Badaber (Badhber) Peshawar is a public sector degree college located in Badaber, Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
Overview & History
Government Degree College Badaber (Badhber) Peshawar was established in 1987 ...
.
See also
*
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
*
Peshawar District
Peshawar District ( ps, پېښور ولسوالۍ, hnd, , ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is located about 160 km west of the Pakistan's capital Islamabad. The district headquarter is ...
*
Pakistan–United States relations
On 15 August 1947, one day after the independence of Pakistan through the partition of British India, the United States became one of the first nations to establish relations with Pakistan. The relations are a very important factor in the United ...
**
Pakistan–United States military relations
Military relations between Pakistan and the United States have been present since the two established diplomatic relations in 1947. The United States' military relations with Pakistan used to be close and it once occupied as "America's most allie ...
References
Populated places in Peshawar District
Peshawar District
{{Peshawar-stub