Dawlat Shah District is located approximately 74 km from Mehterlam, the provincial centre of
Laghman Province
Laghman (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It has a population of about 502,148, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. Laghman hosts a large number of historical landmarks, m ...
in
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 ...
. It is a mountainous district and borders
Nuristan Province to the North and North-East,
Alingar District
Alingar District is located approximately 27 km from Mehtarlam, the provincial capital of Laghman Province and borders with Alishing and Dawlat Shah districts to the West, Nuristan Province to the North, Kunar and Nangarhar provinces to t ...
to the East,
Alishing District to the South and
Kapisa and
Parwan
Parwan (Dari: ), also spelled Parvan, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 751,000. The province is multi-ethnic and mostly rural society. The province is divided into ten districts. The town of Imam Abu Hanif ...
provinces to the West. The population is 36,950 (2019) - 50%
Tajik, 40%
Pashai and 10%
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 ...
. It has 60 villages. The district center is the village of Dawlat Shah, located on at 1583 m altitude in the
Hindukush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...
mountains in the valley of the Alishing river. On 20 May 2021 it was captured by Taliban.
Laghman: ANDSF Retreat from Besieged Center of Dawlat Shah
20 May 2021
The main source of potable and irrigation water in the district is a river which runs through the district from the Farashghan mountains. Communications are poor, and there is just one main road which runs to the district center. Good quality potable water is available only from springs. However, not all inhabitants of the district have access to these, and many use river water, which is not hygienic and causes water-borne diseases. For example, it was reported that in late 2001 / early 2002 cholera killed 13 inhabitants of Atto and Chekla villages. Water is carried long distances by women and girls. Spring water is also not a reliable source as the springs are affected by drought.
As this is a mountainous area, there is little arable land. Due to the altitude of the land in many places it is not possible to irrigate it from the river. In the past spring water was used for irrigation but this is seasonal. A key source of income is forestry; however, much of the forest was cut down to provide wood for shelter re-construction. Some dry fruit trees were also burnt down during the war in 1980s.
The community has nevertheless themselves started to construct a road to Farashghan village, and has already completed 20 km. They have now sought assistance from WFP
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
for a food for work programme to help them to complete the project. In general, however, there has been little activity by humanitarian agencies in this district.
The majority of the population suffer from poverty. It was reported that due to lack of work most young men are without occupations and many are armed and become involved in criminal activities. Nevertheless, it was reported that Dawlat Shah has good natural resources, such as forests, fruit and water.
Around half of the returnee families are currently rebuilding their homes. The houses are built in the traditional mountain style - with stones and wood. Some villages were burnt during the war in 1980s and the rest were destroyed during bombardment. Despite this, the district has a good supply of construction materials and many have succeeded in rebuilding their homes.
References
External links
AIMS District Map
2003 AIMS District Profile
{{Authority control
Districts of Laghman Province