Darqad District ( ps, درقد ولسوالۍ) is a district of

Takhar Province Takhar (Dari , Farsi/Pashto: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeast of the country next to Tajikistan. It is surrounded by Badakhshan in the east, Panjshir in the south, and Baghlan and Kunduz in the w ...

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 bordere ...

. The district has 34 villages. Darqad did not change between the 325 and 398 district sets. Near the end of 2018, the district was considered to be

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

-influenced, as opposed to the

Afghan government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...

. The district was Taliban-controlled by August 2021.

Geography

Darqad has an area of 393 square kilometers, comparatively equivalent to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. The district lies within the watershed of the Ab-i Rustaq River, a tributary of the

Panj River The Panj (russian: Пяндж; fa, رودخانه پنج) (; tg, Панҷ, پنج), traditionally known as the Ochus River and also known as ''Pyandzh'' (derived from its Russian name "Пяндж"), is a tributary of the Amu Darya. The river ...

. Darqad has 34 villages. The district is bordered by Yangi Qala to the east, Khwaja Bahauddin to the southeast, Dashti Qala to the south, and

Khatlon Khatlon Region ( tg, Вилояти Хатлон, ''Viloyati Xatlon''), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan ( tg, вилоят, ''Viloyat''), is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwes ...

to the west and to the north. Khatlon is a Tajik province, with all other entities being districts in Takhar province. The Panj river separates Darqad from Tajikistan.

Demographics

Darqad has a population of 25152, with a sex ratio of 26 males to 25 females. The median age is 14.9. 45.8% of the district's population is working, and of those that don't work, half of them are seeking work. The average household size is 6.7 people, meaning there are about 3,754 households in Darqad.

Economy

There are some basic roads in the district, but there is a lack of a coordinated transportation system. Darqad has some natural mines and forests. There is some agricultural activity in the district, however the land sometimes is flooded by the Panj. There is a lack of improved seeds, fertilizer, and trained farmers. There are valuable smuggling routes between Darqad and Tajikistan.

Education and Healthcare

Darqad has some schools, with a few of them being religious schools. However, there is administrative corruption, a lack of funds, lack of equipment, lack of land, and lack of drinking water. Half of the population ages 15–24 can read. The district has some basic health centers, with doctors and vaccination. Darqad lacks professional doctors, equipment, technology, and a hospital.

References

{{Authority control Districts of Takhar Province