Kunduz, Kondoz Province, Afghanistan

🇦🇫 Kunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Kunduz Province. Kunduz is located in the historical Tokharistan region of Bactria. Kunduz is linked by highways with Kabul to the south, Mazar-i-Sharif to the west, and Badakhshan to the east. Kunduz is also linked with Dushanbe in Tajikistan to the north, via the Afghan dry port of Sherkhan Bandar. This city is famous for its watermelon in Afghanistan

As of 2015, the land use of the city (within the municipal boundary) is largely agricultural (65.8% of total area). Residential land comprises nearly half of the 'built-up' land area (48.3%) with 29,877 dwellings. Institutional land comprises 17.9% of built-up land use, given that the airport is within the municipal boundary.

Etymology Kunduz is also sometimes spelled (romanized) as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz. The name of the city is derived from the Persian compound, kohan dež, "old/ancient fort".

History Kunduz is the site of the ancient city of Drapsaka. It was a great centre of Buddhist learning and very prosperous during the 3rd century AD.

The city used to be called Walwalij (or Varvarliz) and the name Kuhandiz began to be used from the Timurid time.

In the 18th and 19th centuries it was the capital of an Uzbek-Tajik khanate which reached its largest extent, from Balkh to the Pamir Mountains, during the reign of Murad Beg (1815-1842). After Murad's death, the khanate declined and was eventually subjugated by Afghanistan in 1859. It was part of The Great Game between the British and Russians.

In the early 20th century, between one-hundred and two-hundred thousand Tajiks and Uzbeks fled the conquest of their homeland by Russian Red Army and settled in northern Afghanistan.

In the early 20th century, under the governance of Sher Khan Nashir, Kunduz became one of the wealthiest Afghan provinces. This was mainly due to Nasher's founding of the Spinzar Cotton Company, which continues to exist in post-war Afghanistan. At its peak, the Spinzar Cotton Company employed 5,000 people full time. Kunduz is the most important agricultural province which produces wheat, rice, millet, and other products and obtained the nickname of "the hive of the country".

History: 21st century Kunduz is the centre for the north-east provinces and was captured by the Taliban in 1997. It was the last major city held by the Taliban before its fall to US-backed Afghan Northern Alliance forces on 26 November 2001.

During the summer of 2015, the Taliban advanced and attacked the city, which resulted in a battle for control of the city against Afghan forces. Tens of thousands of inhabitants were displaced internally by the fighting. On 28 September 2015 the Taliban flag was again raised in the city centre and the Taliban managed to capture the city prison and free many prisoners. On 3 October 2015, a United States Air Force AC-130U gunship attacked the Kunduz Trauma Centre operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders). The Afghan Armed Forces counter-attacked and managed to re-capture the city in 15 days. The Taliban announced that, after achieving their objectives, they have withdrawn from the city's center. Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, said that their main object in leaving the city is to avoid civilian casualties from air raids. In April 2018 the Afghan Air Force conducted an airstrike that killed and injured dozens of civilians at a religious school in Kunduz. On 31 August 2019, the Taliban forces launched another attack on the city, setting off a major battle with local security forces.

On 19 May 2020, the Taliban killed one policeman and one civilian and injured 18 others in a motorbike bomb blast in Kunduz. On the same day, the Taliban attempted again to capture Kunduz, attacking several government posts but were repelled by the Afghan security forces. The Taliban were forced to flee the city, leaving ten dead bodies behind. Eight Afghan soldiers and three civilians were killed and 55 others were wounded during the Taliban attack.

On 8 August 2021, the Taliban as part of their nationwide military offensive captured Kunduz, along with Sar-e-Pul and Taloqan after heavy clashes with ANA forces.

On 8 October 2021, a militant of ISKP detonated a suicide vest targeting shia worshippers at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque, killing 50+ people and wounding over 100.

Geography Kunduz is strategically situated on the main north–south highway linking Kabul to Tajikistan, and east–west Mazar-i-Sharif to Taloqan and Fayzabad.

Demographics The city of Kunduz has an estimated population of about 268,893 as of 2015. Ethnic Pashtuns comprise the largest segment, followed by Uzbeks, Tajiks, Arabs and a few others. Kunduz is the capital of a highly diverse province that includes significant populations of Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Arabs, Balochis and Turkmens.

Historically, during the late 19th century the city was predominantly Tajik with a significant Uzbek minority. However, as part of the Pashtunization initiative in Northern Afghanistan, successive Afghan governments sent Pashtuns north into Kunduz, taking both land reclaimed from the wetlands of Kunduz and from other non-Pashtun groups.

Kunduz Arabs speak Persian and Pashto, Afghanistan's two official languages, rather than Arabic. However, they claim a strong Arab identity, based on their tribal origins in Arabia. This may in fact point to the seventh-century and eighth-century migration to this and other Central Asian locales of many Arab tribes from Arabia in the wake of the Islamic conquests of the region.

Administration Kunduz city is divided into 8 Districts ('Nahias') with a total land area of 11,206 hectares.

Stadiums ◦ Kunduz Cricket Ground ◦ Kunduz Ground.

Economy Agriculture and livestock husbandry are the primary occupations of the provinces residents. Fruit and vegetable are the most commonly farms items but there is also some cotton and sesame production. Farmers faced water shortages.

Men and women in Kunduz were employed in clothing production, metal working, carpentry and hide business.

The port of Sherkhan Bandar provides an international outlet for Kunduz's goods and has allowed for importing commercial goods from Asia, Middle East, and the Persian Gulf.

Cotton production is the province's most important industry. Agriculture is a significant source of income for 66 percent of households in the province, including 34 percent of urban households. However, commerce and services provide income to 28% of households, and non-farm work provides income to 15% of households. To some extent, Kunduz produces industrial crops. Sesame is another important product, in addition to cotton. The province's small-business sector is essentially non-existent, and karakul skin is the main product. Handicrafts aren't made in significant quantities, but rugs and jewelry are made to some extent. In the province, 85 percent of households have access to irrigated land, while 12 percent have access to irrigated land. Wheat, rice, watermelons, melons, and maize are among the province's most important field crops. Sheep, cattle, poultry, donkeys, and goats are the most frequent livestock.

Healthcare The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 25% in 2005 to 16% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 6% in 2005 to 22% in 2011.