Charikar

Charikar چاریکار
Charikar Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 35°0′47″N 69°10′8″E / 35.01306°N 69.16889°E / 35.01306; 69.16889Coordinates: 35°0′47″N 69°10′8″E / 35.01306°N 69.16889°E / 35.01306; 69.16889
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Parwan Province
Elevation	5,249 ft (1,600 m)
Time zone	UTC+4:30

Charikar (Persian: چاریکار, pronounced Chârikâr) is the main town of the Kohdaman Valley and the capital of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan. The city lies on the road 69 km from Kabul to the northern provinces. Travelers would have to pass by the city when going to Mazari Sharif, Kunduz or Puli Khumri. Charikar is at the gateway to the Panjshir Valley, where the Shamali plains meet the foothills of the Hindu Kush. The city's population is estimated to be from 30,000 to around 130,000,^[vague] most of whom are Tajiks. Charikar is known for its pottery and high-quality grapes.

History

Charikar is said to have been founded in ancient times by Jamshid (King Yama) and later further established by the Kushan King Kanishka.

At the beginning of the 19th century became a flourishing commercial town of several thousand inhabitants.^[1]

Charikar was a major battle scene during the First Anglo-Afghan War where in 1841 a British garrison was massacred.^[2] The province was conquered by the Pashtuns during the period of expansion of the Durrani Empire. During the Soviet invasion, the region around Charikar was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting.^[3]

On August 14, 2011, a team of about six suicide bombers launched a coordinated assault on the governor's palace in Charikar. Although Governor Abdul Basir Salangi survived the high-profile assassination, 19 other people were killed in the incident. The Afghan Ministry of the Interior said that 14 of the dead were civilian Afghan government employees and five were policemen. The attack began with a car bomb explosion outside the front gate of his palace followed by suicide bombers storming in and blowing themselves up in the compound. Gen. Abdul Jalil Rahimi of the Afghan National Police said he was at a meeting with Salangi, Afghan Army and police officials, and at least two NATO police advisers, when the assault began. He further said that "two of the bombers were able to get into the building of the governor's house", but were killed before they could reach their main targets. As usual, the Taliban claimed responsibility.^[4]

References

1. ^ Balland, Daniel. "ČĀRĪKĀR". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition ed.). United States: Columbia University. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/carikar. 
2. ^ Weber, George (2001-01-14). "Pioneer Biographies of the British Period to 1947". http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/app-a/a-haughton.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
3. ^ "Charikar". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition ed.). Columbia University Press. 2007. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Charikar.html. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
4. ^ "19 dead in attack on Afghan governor's compound". http://news.yahoo.com/19-dead-attack-afghan-governors-compound-094410521.html.