Spin Boldak ( ps, سپین بولدک) is a
border town
A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different cou ...
and the headquarters of
Spin Boldak District Spin Boldak is a district in the eastern part of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Daman District to the west, Arghistan District to the north, Qila Abdullah District of Pakistan to the east and Shorabak District to the south. The popula ...
in the southern
Kandahar province
Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzga ...
of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
, next to the
border with Pakistan. It is linked by a highway with the city of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
to the north, and with
Chaman
Chaman ( Balochi, Pashto and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district Qila Abdullah District located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital o ...
and
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
in
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 ...
to the south. Spin Boldak has the second major
port of entry
In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internat ...
between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the
Wesh-Chaman border crossing. It is also a major transporting, shipping and receiving site between the two neighboring countries.
The district is populated mostly by
Noorzai and
Achakzai
The Achakzai or Achekzai ( ps, اڅکزی; fa, اچکزایی) is a Pashtun tribe that resides on both sides of the Durand Line, centered on Killa Abdullah District in Pakistan with some clans as far away as Afghanistan's Kandahar Province.
...
Pashtuns
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 r ...
.
Kandahar and Quetta are about 40 and respectively distant by air, and have the closest medium-sized airports;
Pishin, Pakistan has a small airport to the east.
Climate
With an influence from the local steppe climate, Spin Boldak features a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
(
Köppen ''BSh''), characterised by little precipitation throughout the year. The average temperature in Spin Boldak is 19.7 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 217 mm. July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 31.8 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 6.9 °C.
Insurgent Activity
In January 2006, "a suicide bomber on a motorbike killed at least 20 people and wounded 20 more," according to one report. "The attacker drove the vehicle into a crowd watching a wrestling match and detonated a bomb," said Kandahar provincial Gov.
Asadullah Khalid
Asadullah Khalid is a politician in Afghanistan. He served as head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), which is the domestic intelligence agency of Afghanistan. Before his appointment as the head of the NDS in September 2012, Khalid s ...
. The
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
claimed responsibility for the attack.
The town was the
site of a suicide bombing in February 2008 that killed 38 Afghans and injured several Canadian soldiers.
In April 2010, three nephews of the former governor of Spin Boldak district,
Hajji
Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since i ...
(or Haji) Fazluddin Agha, aged 15, 13 and 12, were killed in a bomb attack. The bomb was attached to a donkey which was led to the checkpoint in front of the former governor's home and detonated by remote control. Hajji Fazluddin Agha, according to the report, is of one of President
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
’s most important political allies in Kandahar, and had also served as Mr. Karzai's top campaign official in Kandahar Province. He was unhurt in the bombing, but two bystanders and two policemen were wounded.
On 14 July 2021, Taliban forces as part of the
2021 Taliban offensive
A military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan, that had begun following the ...
captured Spin Boldak along with the border post with Pakistan. The Taliban immediately took over border duties by regulating movement of people and goods between Spin Boldak and the
Wesh–Chaman border crossing
The Wesh–Chaman border crossing is one of the major international border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Located on the Pak-Afghan border, it leads north from the town of Chaman, Chaman District, Balochistan into Wesh in Spin Bolda ...
. It was at this border crossing on 15 July 2021, the Indian photo-journalist
Danish Siddiqui
Danish Siddiqui (19 May 1983 – 16 July 2021) was an Indian photojournalist based in Delhi, who used to lead the national Reuters multimedia team and was Chief Photographer India. He received his first 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photogra ...
was killed by the Taliban and his body mutilated
Railway
In 1891 the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
extended the
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
system (now
Pakistan Railways
Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...
) to the border town of
Chaman
Chaman ( Balochi, Pashto and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district Qila Abdullah District located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital o ...
via the
Khojak Tunnel
The Khojak Tunnel ( ur, , ''Khojak Sarang''), is a railway tunnel in the Toba Achakzai range in the Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan province, Pakistan.''1998 District Census Report of Killa Abdullah'', Population Census Organisation, G ...
from
Qilla Abdullah Qilla Abdullah or Killa Abdullah or Abdullah Qilla is the name of a historic fort (''qilla'') built by Sardar Abdullah Khan Ahmedzai (1716–1731), a Khan of Kalat.
It is located in the Killa Abdullah District of Balochistan Province, in southwest ...
, from the east and thence south. The rails were not extended into Afghanistan to the north and west for political reasons. Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, is less than 10 km from Chaman, Pakistan.
Over much of the last century, there have been proposals to extend the Chaman line to Afghanistan and possibly beyond, passing through Spin Boldak. These proposals have the support of the current Afghan government. In July 2010, Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a
Memorandum of understanding for going ahead with the laying of
rail tracks
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
between the two countries.
See also
*
Torkham
Torkham (; ps, , translit=tūrxam) is a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan, located along the Grand Trunk Road on the international border between the two countries. It connects Nangarhar province of A ...
*
Zaranj
Zaranj or Zarang ( Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkarga ...
*
Islam Qala
Islām Qala ( Persian/Pashto: اسلام قلعه, also ''Eslām Qalʿeh''), known historically as Kafir Qala, is a border town in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, near the Afghanistan–Iran border. It is the official entry by land fro ...
*
Torghundi
Torghundi, also spelled Turghundi or Towrgondi ( ps, تورغونډۍ, translit=Tōrghūnḍəi, tk, Torghundi), is a border town in northern Herat Province of Afghanistan. The town's main attraction is the Torghundi custom house and border che ...
*
Hairatan
Hairatan ( prs, حیرتان; ps, حیراتان; Uzbek Cyrillic: Ҳайратон, Uzbek Latin: Hayraton) is a border town in northern Balkh Province of Afghanistan. The Hairatan dry port and border checkpoint is located in the eastern section ...
*
Sher Khan Bandar
Sher Khan or Shir Khan ( ps, شیر خان بندر; prs, شیرخان بندر) is a border town in the northern Kunduz Province of Afghanistan, next to the Panj River. The town's main attraction is the Sher Khan Bandar, which is a dry port and ...
*
Demogan
*
Kandahar Province
Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzgan ...
Notes
References
{{Kandahar Province
Populated places in Kandahar Province