Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad also known as Chaghasray or Chaghan Saray (چغسري يا چغان سرای). The province has an estimated population of 544,839 people. Kunar is a sparsely populated, mountainous, forested border area.

A serious earthquake struck Kunar on 31 August 2025 at 11:47 pm local time, with damage especially bad in Nurgal District.

History

Early history

The region has been part of many empires in the past, from the Seleucid Empire to the latest Afghan Durrani Empire. Many famous historical figures are believed to have visited the area, including Alexander the Great, Mahmud Ghaznavi, Xuanzang, Ibn Battuta, and others. Archaeologists have dated to AD 800–1000 a fortification system overlooking a Muslim cemetery at Chaga Serai (near the Pech-Kunar confluence).

It was the seat of Gabari Sultans (later known as Jahangiri Swati Sultans) from 900 to 1190 AD.

The notable Gabari Sultans of Kunar as recorded by Akhund Darweza are:

1- Sultan Shamoos Gabari

2- Sultan Jarsan Gabari

3- Sultan Jamad Gabari

4- Sultan Hand Gabari

5- Sultan Kehjaman Kunari s/o Sultan Hand

6- Sultan Pakhal Gabari - Founder of Swat Sultanate.

Babur wrote about Kunar in Baburnama. He claimed that there was a shrine in Kunar of a preacher and poet Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, who is said to have died there in 1384 AD (786 AH). He also describes agricultural products: citron, oranges, coriander, orchards, strong yellow wines, and a burial custom wherein a woman whose corpse moved was considered to have done good things in life. He mentions Chaghan-Sarai as a small town, and describes the towns folk as Muslims who mixed with the Kafirs of nearby Kafiristan and followed some of their customs. He also claims to have later captured the town, even as the Pech river Kafirs tried to help the Chaghan Sarai residents repel his attack.

Walter Hamilton's writing in 1828 mentions that the padishah of Cooner was joined in alliance with the neighboring Kafirs (non Muslims) of Nuristan in battles against Muslim invaders. The Kafirs were forcibly converted by Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s.

Some British sources from the Great Game period (1800s) go into more detail about Kunar. For example, one from 1881 describes the various Kunar chiefs and their internecine wars, the conflict with Dost Mohammad Khan and their relations with the British. Names vary greatly, with Kunar sometimes being called Kama, or Kashkote, and the capital being listed as "Pashoot", which is not on modern maps.

600px|thumbnail|center|Panorama of a mountain range near Naray, Kunar province, Afghanistan

thumb|center|Kunar Province 3D, looking NW

An 1891 book described the Kunar region as split between the lower river area, controlled by Afghan chiefs, and the upstream area, where the Kunar river was actually referred to as the Chitral river. The major city of Chitral (in modern Pakistan) was the base of a Mehtar (King), who ruled under the Maharajah of Kashmir

20th century

The modern province of Kunar was established on 30 April 1964, when Afghanistan was reorganised into 29 provinces, replacing the previous system of fewer but larger administrative units. It comprised the former Governorate of Kunarha (), whose territory broadly corresponded to the southern portions of the present-day province of Kunar and the northern portions of present-day Nangarhar. In 1975, with the publication of the official yearbook of the Republic of Afghanistan, it was reported that Kunar was downgraded from a province to a large district () within the province of Nangarhar the past year.

According to a US Army paper, the Pashtuns of Kunar and the Kafirs of Kunar/Nuristan eventually joined in the 20th century. Fundamentalist religion came to the region in the 1950s but the heavy unification happened during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–88). Some of the first anti-government forces (lashkar) rose in the Kunar region.

Kerala, a town near Asadabad, was the site of the 1979 Kerala massacre, where the male population of a village was allegedly murdered by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and its Soviet advisors.

Later, over ten-thousand Soviet and Afghan communist troops invaded the region, resulting in a massive refugee flow of the populace into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The major mujahideen groups had representation in the area, and were successful enough to confine the Communist troops for the most part to their fortifications in the major towns of the Kunar valley.

In 2005, Operation Red Wings set out with the intent to disrupt ACM activity in the region in order to further aid the stabilization efforts of the region for the upcoming September 18, 2005 Afghan National Parliamentary Elections. Anti-Coalition Militia activity in the region was carried out at the time most notably by a small group led by a local man named Ahmad Shah (from Nangarhar Province) who had aspirations of regional Islamic fundamentalist prominence, hence he and his small group would be one of the primary targets of the operation. A team of four Navy SEALs, tasked for surveillance and reconnaissance of a group of structures known to be used by Ahmad Shah and his men, fell into an ambush by Shah and his group just hours after inserting by fastrope from an MH-47 helicopter in the area. Bin Laden was later found and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, contrary to what the Pakistani government had previously stated. He had been living there since 2005.

On 16 April 2022, Pakistani airstrikes and rocket attacks targeted the Chogam village of Shultan District, killing three girls, two boys, and one woman, and wounding one man.

Geography

thumb|left|View of the [[Korangal Valley]]

left|thumb|[[Nari District]]

Kunar province is located in the northeast of Afghanistan. It borders with Nangarhar Province to the south, Nuristan Province to the north, Laghman Province to the west and has a border with Pakistan in the east. The province covers an area of 4,339&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. Nearly nine tenths (86%) of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain while one eighth (12%) of the area is made up of relatively flat land. The primary geographic features of the province are the lower Hindu Kush mountains which are cut by the Kunar River to form the forested Kunar Valley. The river flows south and southwest from its source in the Pamir area and is part of the Indus River watershed via the Kabul River which it meets at Jalalabad. The Kunar is a primary draining conduit for the Hindu Kush basin and several tributaries, including the Pech, which form distinct and significant valleys in the area. The mountains, narrow valleys with steep walls, and rivers present formidable natural obstacles and have historically constrained all movement through the province. Even in the early 21st century, movement on foot, with pack animals, or with motorized vehicles is extremely limited and channeled due to the significant geographic restrictions.

thumb|260x260px|Kunar valley, 3D

The length of the Kunar Valley is almost entirely narrow with steep and rugged mountains on both sides. The center of the valley is occupied by the Kunar River flowing south where it joins the Kabul River. Subsistence farming and goat-herding are the extent of agriculture production on the valley floor and lower elevations. There are limited and small forested areas in some side valleys but more than 95% of the valley has been deforested. In limited areas at higher elevations there are sustained grassy mountain meadows. Overwhelmingly though the Kunar Valley is an arid, rocky, steep landscape with a fast-moving muddy river as its primary geographic feature.

thumb|260x260px|Watapur district, Kunar valley

Administrative divisions

250px|thumb|Map of the districts of Konar as of January 2004, prior to the redrawing of provincial and district boundaries later that year

The districts in Kunar Province as of March 2009 are:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%;"

|+ Districts of Kunar Province

|-

!District

!Capital

!Population

!Pop.<br/>density

!Notes

|-

|Asadabad || Asadabad || 42,396 || 84 || 455 || 100% Pashtun. Is the Capital of Kunar Province, which includes Asadabad and adjacent towns, immediately surrounding the confluence of the Pech and Kunar Rivers

|-

|-

|Bar Kunar || Asmar || 27,077 || 187 || 133 || 100% Pashtun. Formerly known as Asmar District.

|-

|Chapa Dara || Chapa Dara || 38,226 || 417 || 85 || 100% Pashtun.

|-

|Chawkay || || 40,389 || 245 || 167 || 100% Pashtun. Also known as Sawkai District.

|-

|Dangam || || 19,132 || 176 || 109 || 98% Pashtun, 2% Tajik.

|-

|Dara-I-Pech || || 67,330 || 418 || 148 || 100% Pashtun. Commonly known as the Pech District or Manogai District

|-

|Ghaziabad || Ghaziabad || 23,023 || 578 || 37 || 100% Pashtun. Khas Kunar District is the largest district in the Kunar Province.

|-

|Marawara || || 25,195 || 147 || 157 || 100% Pashtun.

|-

|Narang Aw Badil || || 37,213 || 187 || 183 || 100% Pashtun.

|-

|Nari || || 34,027 || 305 || 103 || 60% Pashtun, 40% Nuristani, Gujar and Kohistani (Pashai).

|-

|Nurgal || || 38,950 || 302 || 118 || 100% Pashtun.

|-

|Shaigal || || 14,805 || 336 || 40 || 100% Pashtun.

|-

|Wata Pur || || 33,737 || 215 || 144 || 100% Pashtun. Formed from northwestern Asadabad District

|- bgcolor="#d3d3d3"

|Kunar

|

|544,839

| 4,926

|101

|97.9% Pashtuns, 0.7% Nuristanis, 0.7% Pashayi, 0.7% Gujars, <0.1% Tajiks.

|}

Demographics

thumb|250px|[[Ethnolinguistics|Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan]]

Population

As of 2021, the population of the province is around 508,224 people. 98% are ethnic Pashtun and the remaining are Nuristani.

Around 96% of the population of Kunar lives in rural districts while 4% lives in urban areas.

11.8% of the population lived below the national poverty line, one of the lowest figures in Afghanistan

Kunar has a population of around 401,000 people in 2008. The province has 64,588 households, with an average of eight individuals per home. Rural districts are home to 96 percent of the population.

Ethnicity, languages and religion

Pashtun, Ashkun, Narsati (Kohistanis), Pashayi, Gujaran, Zemiaki and Waigali are the major ethnic groups of Kunar. Gawar-Bati, Nangalami, and Shumashti are some languages spoken in Kunar. The major tribes of Kunar are the Safi, Tarkani, Mahmund, Salarzai, Ghoryakhel, Mashwani, Khogyani, Shinwari, Mohmand and Yousafzai. More than 90% of the population speaks Pashtu, which is spoken in 705 villages out of 771. Dari and Uzbeki are spoken in two villages each, Pashayi in fifteen, and Nooristani in thirty-five. Kuchis (nomads) live in Kunar province, and their numbers fluctuate with the seasons. In the winter, 13,200 people, or 0.5 percent of the Kochi people population, stay in Kunar living in 20 communities. The Kochi people population in the summer is 1,355 individuals.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; table-layout:fixed; width:100%; margin:0"

|+ Estimated ethnolinguistic and -religious composition

! style="width:7.5em; background-color:#d8f3d8;" | <small>Ethnicity</small>

! rowspan="2" style="width:4.6em; background-color:#d8f3d8;" | <small>Pashtun</small>

! rowspan="2" style="width:4.6em; background-color:#d8f3d8;" | <small>Nuristani</small>

! rowspan="2" style="width:4.6em; background-color:#d8f3d8;" | <small>Pashayi</small>

! rowspan="2" style="width:4.6em; background-color:#d8f3d8;" | <small>Others</small>

! rowspan="2" style="width:3em; background-color:#d8f3d8;" | <small>Sources</small>

|-

! style="width:7.5em; background-color:#ddf;" | <small>Period</small>

|}

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:center; table-layout:fixed; width:100%; margin:0"

|- style="background-color:#e6f2ff;"

! style="width:7.5em; background-color:#ddf;" | <small>2004–2021<br>(Islamic Republic)</small>

| style="width:4.6em;" | >90 – 95%

| style="width:4.6em;" | ≤5%

| style="width:4.6em;" | ∅

| style="width:4.6em;" | ∅

| style="width:3em;" |

|-style="background-color:#E6E6E6;"

| 2020 EU

|| 1st || 3rd || 2nd || –

|-style="background-color:#E6E6E6;"

| 2018 UN

|| >90% || ∅ || ∅ || ∅

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2017 CSSF

|| majority || minority || – || –

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2015 NPS

|95%

|colspan="3"| 5%

|-style="background-color:#E6E6E6;"

| 2011 PRT

|| >90% || 2nd || 3rd || ∅

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2011 USA

|| 95% || 5% || – || –

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2009 ISW

|| overwhelming majority || – || – || –

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; table-layout:fixed; margin:0"

| <small>Legend:<br>

<ul style="margin:0; padding-left:1.2em; list-style-position:inside;">

<li>∅: Ethnicity mentioned in source but not quantified</li>

<li>–: Ethnicity not mentioned specifically</li>

<li>Source abbreviations: , , </li>

</ul></small>

|}

Education

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 32% in 2005 to 20% in 2011.

Health

The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 24% in 2005 to 55% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 3% in 2005 to 13% in 2011.

Culture

thumb|Kunari men eating traditional [[Afghan cuisine|Afghan food]]

The opening scenes of Marvel Cinematic Universe 2008 film Iron Man as well as S1E6 of What If...? take place in Kunar Province.

The 2010 documentary Restrepo was filmed in the Korengal Valley of Kunar Province.

The book Siren's Song: The Allure of War was published in 2012. It depicts the story of an American platoon at COP Honaker Miracle, Pesh valley, Kunar Province.

The movie Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg was based around "Operation Red Wings" in 2005 which was near Asadabad.

Documentary author James F. Christ has published numerous titles about the fighting in Kunar and Nuristan provinces, mainly from 2005 to 2007 with the 10th Mountain Division and Afghan National Army ETT advisors.

Journalist Wesley Morgan's 2021 book The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley is a detailed history of American military operations in Kunar, specifically the Pech River Valley, from 2001 through 2020.

Political parties

Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- Hadith, Nazhat-e Hambastagi Milli, Hezb-e Afghanistan Naween and Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin.

Notable people

  • Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani, Politician, Activist, Scholar, explorer.
  • Ghazi Mir Zaman Khan, War Hero of the Anglo-Afghan War of 1919
  • Kabir Stori, Pashtun nationalist, poet and writer who founded the Pashtuns Social Democratic Party, refused offers to join government from President Najibullah and was imprisoned by the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq
  • Mohammad Hashem Zamani, Afghan Poet and Former Representative of Kunar 1977
  • Rasul Amin, Ministry of Education.
  • Ghazi Mohammad Amin Khan, from Watapur.
  • Abdullah Habibi, Afghan Army General
  • Shuja ul-Mulk Jalala, served as Governor of Kunar Province
  • Asmatullah Rohani, Afghan judge, educator and a human rights activist during the PDPA regime and Soviet War
  • Karim Lala, one of the three mafia dons of Mumbai from the 60s to the early 80s

See also

  • Provinces of Afghanistan
  • Arandu
  • List of bridges in Konar Province
  • Kabir Stori

Notes

References