The Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge is a
road–rail bridge across the
Oxus River in
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, connecting the town of
Hairatan in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
with the town of
Termez in
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
. It was built by the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(connected with the erstwhile
Uzbek SSR) and opened in 1982 as a military supply route during the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
. Today, it is used for trade and travel purposes between the two independent countries.
Overview
The Friendship Bridge is the only fixed link across the
Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, which follows the Amu River for its entire length. The bridge is located some north of the city of
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...
. The nearest other bridge across the Amu Darya is some to the west, a
pipeline
A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...
bridge crossing the
Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border from/to the
Lebap Region
Lebap Region () is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its administrative centre is Türkmenabat (formerly named Çärjew). It has an area of 93,727 sq ...
.
Before the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
there was no fixed road or rail link between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, which at the time was part of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. In 1982, several years after falling under Soviet occupation in
Operation Storm-333, Afghanistan agreed to allow the Soviet Union to build a permanent replacement for the temporary
pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...
to resupply the
Soviet 40th Army and
Afghan National Army
The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...
. It formally opened on May 12, 1982, at a ceremony attended by Afghan General Secretary
Babrak Karmal and Soviet Uzbek First Secretary
Sharof Rashidov.
It was planned to link the
Soviet railway network to
Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
by building a rail line across the bridge and through
Puli Khumri and
Bagram Air Base.

During the war it was repeatedly attacked by the
Afghan mujahedeen using magnetic
depth charges supplied by 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.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...
, who also crossed the bridge to commit sabotage operations in
Soviet Uzbekistan. The U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
and the Pakistani
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the premier Pakistani Intelligence community, intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant t ...
also planned to train militants to destroy the bridge through underwater demolition, but Pakistani President
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...
rejected the idea to avoid Soviet reprisals on Pakistani communities near the
border with Afghanistan.
At the end of the war it was the site of the final
withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan on February 15, 1989.
The bridge was closed in May 1997 when
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
forces
attacked the city of
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...
, and Uzbekistan feared the disorder could spread across the border. In particular it feared that it could be used by Islamist militants to assist the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in overthrowing Uzbek President
Islam Karimov. After the
fall of Mazar-i-Sharif during the
U.S. invasion the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
began pressuring Uzbekistan to reopen the bridge to provide international aid.
It reopened on December 9, 2001, with an
Uzbek Railways shipment of 1,000 tons of grain and wheat, although it remained guarded by the
Uzbek Armed Forces.
The reopening was attended by
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...
and
Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...
officials, including
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; ; Uzbek language, Uzbek Uzbek alphabet, Latin: , Uzbek Uzbek alphabet, Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan former Officer (armed forces), military officer, warlord and exiled politician. He is the founder and ...
.
Uzbekistan would close the bridge again in 2005 in response to deteriorating conditions in northern Afghanistan. Although it was reopened in 2009, it was found to be in too poor condition to transport large amounts of aid over.
Work began in January 2010 to extend the railway to Mazar-i-Sharif as part of the
Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, which was completed in November of the same year with funding from the
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world.
The bank was establishe ...
, the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, and the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
.
In 2011, as the bridge became an increasingly important supply route for
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
's
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...
, the first train traveled the new route.
In 2012 the
U.S. Army began scaling back its presence at the bridge as it began its
withdrawal from Afghanistan and turning it over to the
Afghan National Police
The Afghan National Police (ANP; ; ), also known as the Afghan Police, is the national police force of the Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The first police officer i ...
.
In 2019 during the
Afghan peace negotiations, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and the Taliban agreed to allow Uzbekistan to maintain a rail-link between the bridge and Mazar-i-Sharif. After the
2021 withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan and the
2021 Taliban offensive
The 2021 Taliban offensive was a Offensive (military), military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan (200 ...
, the bridge began carrying more Afghan trade to Tajikistan but the Uzbek government refused to allow Afghan government officials to cross the bridge to seek asylum.
See also
*
Rail transport in Afghanistan
*
Rail transport in Uzbekistan
*
Tajik–Afghan Friendship Bridge
*
Tajik–Afghan bridge at Tem-Demogan
*
Tajik–Afghan bridge at Panji Poyon
*
List of international bridges
References
External links
Afghan railway: First train runs on new line in north(BBC, Dec. 21, 2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge
Bridges built in the Soviet Union
International bridges
Bridges completed in 1982
Road bridges in Afghanistan
Railway bridges in Afghanistan
Railway bridges in Uzbekistan
Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border crossings
Afghanistan–Soviet Union relations
Soviet foreign aid
1982 establishments in the Soviet Union
Soviet–Afghan War
1980s establishments in Afghanistan
Bridges over the Amu Darya