Lōya Paktiā ( Pashto : لويه پکتيا ; lit. Greater Paktia ) is a historical and cultural region of Afghanistan , comprising the modern Afghan provinces of Khost , Paktia , and Paktika , as well as parts of Logar and compromises Kurram , Bannu and Waziristan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . Loya Paktia is vaguely defined by a common culture and history that is connected to the local indigenous tribes that reside in the region. Particular styles of clothing, articles of clothing, turban styles, turban cloth colors, dialects of Pashto language , etc. may sometimes be associated with specific tribes indigenous to Loya Paktia and thus integrate themselves into regional culture. For instance, a Pashtun tribesman from Loy Kandahar may quickly recognize a Pashtun from Loya Paktia based upon his turban (or lungee) style and color. Likewise, a Pashtun from Loya Paktia may recognize someone from Loy Kandahar based upon his unique style of collarless kameez (shirt) with specific embroidered patterns on the front. There are many subtle and intricate cultural indicators of this type that are not recorded in any known written history but simply known and observed by the tribesmen of the various Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan .
41-628: The largest city of the region is Khost , while other cities of Loya Paktia include Gardez (capital of Paktia Province), Zurmat (largest city of Paktia Province), Urgun (largest city of Paktika), and Sharana (capital of Paktika). Other main towns of Loya Paktia are Sardeh Band (Ghazni), Charkh (Logar), Tari Mangal (Kurram), Angur Ada (partly in South Waziristan ), Yakubi , Tani , Dadwal , Aryob , Khandkhel , Tsamkani , Zarghun Shar , Wazakhwa , and Zerok . The population mostly consists of Pashtuns from various tribes under
82-476: A budget of 2.5 million Deutsch Marks for the development of Paktiā ("Paktiā Development Authority", see above). This led to an economic boom in the 1970s. The number of shops in the bazar increased from 117 in 1965 to more than 600 in 1977. The project was unsuccessful as the communist regime came to power in 1979. The communists lost control of most of Paktiā during the 1980s as the country plunged into war with only Gardez remaining in government control. In 2002,
123-539: A consequence, the city saw a surge in job opportunities, improved living standards, and a thriving business environment, marking a pivotal period in its history. "Paktiā Development Authority" , established in 1965, and of the asphalting of the road to Kabul. Social services included three schools for boys, one school for girls, a hospital, one teacher training institute, the Madrasaye Roshānī , two hotels, and forty mosques . Most of these buildings were destroyed during
164-679: A court in Gardez. The Taliban claimed this as a revenge attack against the Afghan government, after President Ashraf Ghani blamed the group for the attack at a maternity hospital in Kabul two days earlier; the Taliban denied responsibility for the hospital attack. Gardez is located at 2,308 m above sea level, making it the third-highest provincial capital in Afghanistan, and is not far from
205-568: A heavy 6-hour battle with US and Afghan National Army forces. Reportedly the attack involved 10 suicide bombers , of whom seven were able to detonate and three were shot by security forces. Coalition Forces, aided by the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, took the lead in repelling the attack. On 20 November 2009 a bomb killed 3 civilians and wounded 3 others as a car hit a roadside bomb in Khost City. According to
246-461: A major CIA base in Khost, and killed seven CIA officers, including the chief of the base. On 18 February 2011, a suicide car bomber targeted a police checkpoint and killed 11 people. On 14 July 2011, according to a spokesman for the provincial government, NATO ground troops killed six civilians in a night raid of the village of Toora Worai, in an area known as Matoon, about seven kilometres from
287-476: A strategic location for armies throughout the country's long history of conflict. Observation posts built by Alexander the Great are still crumbling on the hilltops just outside the city limits. The city of Gardez has a population of 70,641 (in 2015). It has 13 districts and a total land area of 6,174 hectares (23.84 sq mi). The total number of dwellings in this city is 7,849. On 14 August 2021, Gardez
328-540: A valley with lower elevation than the surrounding highlands. The geography afforded more moderate weather conditions. With a January average of 4.8 °C (40.6 °F), Khost has noticeably milder winters, compared to the much harsher and snowy winters of the surrounding higher towns to the north, west, and south (listed anticlockwise): Parachinar , Tari Mangal , Aryob , Tsamkani , Khandkhel , Gardez , Zurmat , Sharana , Zerok , Urgun , Angur Ada , Kaniguram , and Razmak . Nonetheless, frosts are still frequent in
369-903: A visible presence in population centers, and help mentor Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police units operating across Khost. The FPFs brought a broader sense of security and prosperity to surrounding areas. Bazaars, shops, and gas stations have improved the quality of life for local residents. The Mandozai Force Protection Facilities in Khost include a medical clinic attached to further assist Afghans in need of basic medical assistance. The offices of Khost's various sub-governors had experienced an increased activity as Afghans went there to settle disputes and voice concerns instead of going through traditional tribal channels and bribes, cutting down on sectarian suspicion and strife. Throughout 2007 and 2008, roads had been improved, businesses were springing up and schools were being built, at least 50 in 2007 alone with another 25 planned for 2008. A new airport
410-416: Is 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Khost and 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Kabul . Gardez has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ) with dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is low, and mostly falls in winter and spring. Gardez is located in eastern Afghanistan close to Ghazni and Khost. Gardez is predominately non-built up area with agriculture as
451-462: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Paktika Province , Afghanistan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Khost Province , Afghanistan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Khost Khōst ( Pashto : خوست ) is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan . It is the largest city in
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#1732771886026492-429: Is also a major fuel wood market for Kabul. Many of its natural forests are being cut down to provide fuel wood especially during winter. During the 1970s, Gardez experienced a significant economic boom, primarily attributable to substantial financial support from Germany. This infusion of funds catalyzed rapid growth in various sectors, such as infrastructure development, industrial expansion, and education initiatives. As
533-662: The Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police in operations, while the PRT handles the reconstruction aspects. In early 2007, Lieutenant Colonel Scottie Custer of the 82nd Airborne Division saw that the best way to limit insurgent activity in Khost was to forward-deploy some 187 paratroopers under his command to Force Protection Facilities in Khost's various district centers around sub-governors' mansions, to directly protect these, maintain
574-673: The Second Anglo-Afghan War , British forces led by Lord Roberts entered Khost during the second British invasion of Afghanistan during the conflict. Approximately 8,000 raiders from the Mangal tribe , which had a long tradition of resisting outside control, launched several attacks on weakly protected British supply convoys in Khost. In reprisal , Lord Roberts ordered his forces to attack eleven Mangal villages which had launched raids that murdered several camp followers , resulting in them being sacked and burnt. Once news of
615-687: The Tora Bora region of caves and tunnels. The "old town", located at the foot of the Bālā Hesār fortress . The city is watered by the upper course of the Gardez River, which flows into the Ab-i Istada lake. Gardez is located at a junction between two important roads, one connecting Kabul with Khost , the other linking Ghazni with Parachinar in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . Gardez
656-457: The Khost provincial capital of Khost city. On 15 August 2021, Khost was seized by Taliban fighters, becoming the twenty-eighth provincial capital to be captured by the Taliban as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive . At least 29 people died in Khost during the June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake . The urban population of the city of Khost is 106,083 (in 2015), mostly Pashtun (mainly from
697-462: The border, bringing Khost's Kuchi population to 179,144, making it the country's second-largest Kuchi province (after Nangarhar). The three most popular sports in Khost, Afghanistan are cricket (86%), basketball (19%) and football (11%). Cricket is growing in popularity in Khost, with the sport being introduced by newly returned refugees from Pakistan . Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman , and batsman Noor Ali , as well as Nawroz Mangal ,
738-575: The chief of criminal investigation the act was perpetrated by the Taliban. On 24 November 2009, according to the Afghan Ministry of Interior, 6 people, including 5 children were killed when a remote control bomb attacked a water station in Khost which had been built by the Rural Rehabilitation Ministry to distribute water to the locals. On 30 December 2009, a suicide bomber attacked Forward Operating Base Chapman ,
779-484: The city and surroundings was attacked by local warlord Pacha Khan Zadran , who was chosen as Paktia governor by Hamid Karzai 's administration only to be refused by tribal elders. On January 4, 2002, the first American soldier to die in the War in Afghanistan , Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman , was killed in Gardez. On 14 May 2020 , a suicide truck bomber killed five civilians and injured at least 29 others near
820-590: The civil war in the 1980s. After the fall of the Taliban , the first Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan was established in Paktiā near Gardez in early March 2003, headed by the US Army along with a U.S. Agency for International Development representative, Randolph Hampton. There are now over 30 PRTs in Afghanistan. The continuing challenge to bring electricity, medical clinics, schools and water to
861-483: The early mornings. Most unusually for Afghanistan, Khost receives a substantial proportion of its annual rainfall of 475 millimetres (19 in) from the South Asian monsoon . The valley being open to the southeast (towards the lower elevation Miranshah ), the moisture-laden winds bring much welcomed rain during the summer. The remaining portion of the year Khost remains hot and dry. Sporadic droughts occur when
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#1732771886026902-403: The east for about 40 kilometres (25 mi) until the Pakistan border. Thirty kilometres, to the north the peaks rise up to 2,500 to 3,000 metres (8,200 to 9,800 ft) while farther south 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from the border, the average is around 1,800 m. Khost has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk though very close to qualifying as BSh ). Khost is located in the "Khost Bowl",
943-661: The former captain of Afghanistan Cricket Team hail from Khost. Dawlat Zadran , the Afghan Cricket paceman who grabbed two crucial wickets against Pakistan (in 1st International One Day against Full Member), is also from Khost. In football , Khost and the surrounding region is represented by De Abasin Sape F.C , in the Afghan Premier League . Khost serves as one of Afghanistan's trading centers with neighboring Pakistan. The Ghulam Khan border crossing between
984-653: The invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet troops , Afghan guerillas took control of the only land route between Khost and Gardez, effectively putting a stop to the Soviet advance. During the assault on the Zhawar Kili Cave complex, the Soviets used the Khost Airfield as an initial staging ground to insert troops into the combat zone, using Mil Mi-8 armed helicopter transport ships. As of April 1995, Khost
1025-421: The larger Karlani and Ghilji confederacies. Predominant tribes with notable large populations native to Loya Paktia include Zadran , Zazai , Mangal , Ahmadzai , Totakhil, Tani , Sabari, Sulaimankhel , Dawar , Kharoti , Wazir , Banuchi and Gurbaz. Kochian are common in the region throughout the year who still live a nomadic lifestyle. This Paktia Province , Afghanistan location article
1066-547: The largest land use at 39%. Residential area accounts for almost half of built-up area and Districts 1-4 consist of the densest housing. As of 2008, the population of Gardez was estimated to be around 73,131. Pashtuns make up ca. 70% of the population while the Tajik community accounts for ca. 30%. Majority of the people living in Gardez are pashtuns primarly of the Ahmadzai tribe. The Encyclopaedia Iranica states that
1107-701: The more remote villages in Paktia are a result of ongoing security issues. Gardez was the former home of the 3rd Corps of the Afghan Army . By the Afghan Militia Forces period (c.2002), the corps 'theoretically incorporated 14th Division, 30th Division, 822nd Brigade, Border Brigades, and approximately 800... in the Governor's Force in Paktya , Ghazni , Paktika , and Khost Provinces . The corps
1148-461: The population of the city was 9,550 in 1979 and that "They were mainly Fārsīwān Tājīks, Gardīz belonging to a network of old isolated Tājīk settlements sparsely distributed in southeastern Afghanistan that are remnants of a time when Pashto had not yet reached the area. There was also a significant community of Hindu and Sikh shopkeepers who altogether ran 9% of the shops in the bāzār, mostly specializing in jewellery and cloth" The city of Gardez
1189-414: The prominent tribes. There is a small population of Pamiris as well. Kuchis (nomads) live in Khost province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season. 75 percent of the 104,965 Kuchis living in Khost are long-distance migratory, while 25% are settled. Over half of the colony of long-distance migratory Kuchis migrates from a winter to a summer location. In the winter, an estimated 74,179 people cross
1230-615: The reprisals became known in Britain, his political opponents in the British Parliament criticized Lord Roberts' actions. At the end of the conflict, British forces withdrew from Khost. Between 1856 and 1925, Khost was the site of three rebellions, lasting from 1856 to 1857, 1912, and 1924–1925 respectively. During the Soviet–Afghan War , Khost was the object of a siege that lasted for more than eight years. Soon after
1271-750: The rich history of Gardez. During 8th century, the Lawik rulers of the region adopted Islam. They formerly practiced either Hinduism or Buddhism , since they were associated with the Buddhist Kabul Shahis, and later with the Hindu Shahis (based in Gandhara , in present-day north-west Pakistan ). Gardez later became a center of Kharijism and suffered several attacks by anti-Kharijite military chiefs. According to Zayn al-Akhbar , written by historian Abu Sa'id Gardezi , Abu Mansur Aflah Lawik
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1312-485: The southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia . To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram in Pakistan . Khost is the home of Shaikh Zayed University . The Khost Airport is located in the eastern area of the city. Khost is located about 150 kilometres south of Kabul . Khost lies on a plateau not below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in elevation that extends to
1353-435: The summer monsoon fails to bring the needed precipitation. Khost is the provincial administrative seat in eastern Afghanistan. Being close to the border with Pakistan, Khost straddles an important transport corridor. The eastern districts (1–3) are dotted with forests and residential settlements while the western districts (4–5) are more barren and lightly populated. Water courses account for 5% of total land surface. During
1394-544: The tribes of Zadran , Mangal , Zazi , Tani, Gurbuz, Muqbal, Sabari, Banusi and Wazir ), living in 11,787 dwellings, arranged in six municipal districts. Khost has a population of 511,600 people in 2008. In the province, there are 87,199 households, with an average of eight individuals per home. Rural districts are home to 98 percent of the population. Pashtuns are the province's most populous ethnic group. Zadran, Mangal, Mandozi, Ismaiel Khil, Tani, Gubuz, Matoon, Lakan, Jaji, Sabari, Alishir Terizi, and Babakker Khil are among
1435-541: The two countries is located about 20 mi (32 km) to the south. Pine nuts are among the noteworthy export products of the province. Gardez Gardez ( Pashto : ګردېز / Persian : گردیز ; Gardēz , meaning "mountain fortress" in Middle Persian ) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan . The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and
1476-471: Was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. The majority of the city's native population is Pashtun. The city of Gardez is located at the junction between two important roads that cut, through a huge alpine valley. Surrounded by the mountains and deserts of the Hindu Kush , which boil up from the valley floor to the north, east and west, it is the axis of commerce for a huge area of eastern Afghanistan and has been
1517-501: Was reduced to a tributary status in Gardez by Emir Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar in 877. However, the city remained under Lawik rule for about a century more. Around 975, Samanid-appointed governor Bilgetegin besieged Gardez but was killed by Lawiks during the attack. In 1162, the city fell to the Ghurid dynasty . During the 16th-century, Gardez was renowned for its multi-storied houses—as mentioned by Baburs in his Baburnama —and
1558-479: Was seized by Taliban fighters, becoming the nineteenth provincial capital to be captured by the Taliban as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive . Gardez is an ancient settlement, located within a large intramountainous depression in the Sulaiman Mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Archaeological discoveries, including Greek , Sassanid , Hephthalite , and Hindu Shahi coins give an insight into
1599-517: Was the headquarter of the Mughal tūmān of " Zurmut ", whose people were "Afghān-Shāl". Today, Gardez is the administrative center of a district of the Paktiā province, which covers 650 km and had a total population of 44,000 inhabitants in 1979, but was almost totally depopulated during the Soviet–Afghan War . In 1960, the German government had their biggest rural development project with
1640-710: Was under construction as the Khost Airfield was used by the US Military , creating new opportunities and jobs. The Provincial Reconstruction Team , led by CDR David Adams was instrumental in connecting the people to the government in Khost City, by ensuring the PRT was able to execute over $ 2.5 million under the Commanders Emergency Response Program (CERP). On 12 May 2009, several teams of armed militants stormed Khost, prompting
1681-576: Was under the control of the Taliban . During the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021) , the United States built Forward Operating Base Chapman near Khost. Due to its location in southeastern Afghanistan, it was a hotbed for insurgent activity attempting to dislodge the American forces there. Like most other provinces, Khost is home to maneuver forces and a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). Maneuver forces wage war against insurgents and assist