Kabul Police Districts

Fabrizio Foschini
Kabul Unpacked
A geographical guide to a metropolis in the making
For the last few years Kabul has grown as fast as the opportunities for foreigners (and some Afghans) to explore
and travel to every corner of the city have dwindled. This situation helps conjure up the simplified idea of Kabul
as a bi-polar city to people new to it: an administrative and diplomatic Green Zone surrounded by undifferen-
tiated clusters of mud houses or poppy palaces. Kabul is a far more complex environment than that and one
worth discovering, or at least trying to understand. Fabrizio Foschini has put together a reasonably comprehen-
sive, yet concise description of Kabul’s 22 urban districts (Ali Mohammad Sabawoon and Rohullah Sorush con-
tributed to the research). This goes together with an interactive map, detailing the principal neighbourhoods
within each district, their history and landmarks, details about the population and major security trends.
It is not easy to describe Kabul, a city of maybe six reinforced by unprecedented demographic and urban
million inhabitants (this figure, as many other things growth and by political trends that contribute all the
about Kabul, is disputed) in a few introductory para- more to making it a unique place in the Afghanistan
graphs.1 Probably wiser is to stick to a reminder of its context. The other side of the coin is that this burgeon-
importance and centrality for Afghanistan and who- ing growth has compounded the problems already af-
ever looks at it. flicting the capital: inadequate housing and sanitation,
land grabs and lack of ownership documents, poverty,
Since it became the capital of Afghanistan in 1775
traffic (read an earlier AAN report about this here),
–1776, Kabul has been its unrivalled political, cultural
pollution and criminality. Urban growth has made
and economic centre (more about this historical pe-
their solution much less likely and has created new
riod in this AAN dispatch). In recent years, its role as a
problems, especially because of the increasing levels
‘primate city’ (that is, a city twice as large and impor-
of political violence to which the city’s population has
tant as the next largest city in the country) has been
been exposed.
1 This report was based on notes on Kabul’s
neighbourhoods taken while researching the micro- A virtual tour of the city – probably the best use to
political economy of the capital for the United States which these few notes on the city neighbourhoods
Institute of Peace (USIP). The USIP research was published
can be put to – should probably start from the original
as a report, “Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling
Foreign Aid” in April 2017. The author’s notes have been core of this metropolis. Kabul’s history goes back at
expanded with on-the-ground research this year.
The author wishes to thank Shirazuddin Siddiqi and Jolyon Leslie for comments on an earlier version of this text and editors
Kate Clark and Thomas Ruttig.
2 Fabrizio Foschini: Kabul Unpacked
least 3,000 years. The ancient settlement nestled on town, curse or boon of the lofty range of hills cutting
the southern bank of the Kabul river, its back shielded the Kabul plateau in two, the alleys of Kart-e Se and
by the impassable Sher Darwaza mountain, combined Kart-e Chahar (Kart-e from the French ‘quartier’) have
the strategic location of a commercial hub and the im- at times sheltered from the raging political madness
pregnability of an administrative centre. It flourished those who were not fit or willing to take part in it. A
for many centuries under people with different creeds new cycle of violence, this time on sectarian pretexts,
and languages. In due time, the Old City forsook its po- is looming ominously over this side of Kabul, like the
litical role but has retained its commercial importance, black clouds of a storm capping the Paghman range.
at least in the hearts of the city’s inhabitants, amid the
Meanwhile, many people opted to leave: only a frac-
ruins of its blown-up bazaars.2
tion of the pre-war Kabulis (sometimes referred to as
Politics moved to the flat areas on the northern bank bumi) remain, and not many came back for good after
of the river. It is here that the main newer seats of 2001. Waves of exile hit this landlocked country, and
power (the Presidential, formerly Royal, Palace and the capital, though with a late start, was among its
the American Embassy among others) are to be found. most-affected parts. Anti-communists disappeared in
All around this New City (Shahr-e Naw), Kabul has ex- 1978–79, and leftists left in 1992, followed by whoever
panded and developed. Pitifully, this centrality nowa- could afford to travel abroad during the catastrophic
days extends to its relevance as a target for political civil war of 1992–96 among the mujahedin factions.3
violence. It also entails that whenever a VIP meeting
The ruined remains of Kabul were taken over by the
happens in this part of the city, where all roads lead
Taleban, who added their share of misery to the lives
and which is now HESCO-walled more than the old
of the inhabitants. Then, with the 2001 interven-
hilltop forts were, communications across Kabul get
tion came a boom and a new real estate market was
shut down and the traffic stops (see this earlier AAN
born, meaning that many tenants residing in the most
dispatch).
sought-after residential areas were evicted simply
During the 1950s and 1960s, Afghan governments at because their property had suddenly acquired value,
peace planned expansions of the city to the north, the and many house owners were pressured to sell. The
east and the west. They had a square block layout cut latest big outward flow of Kabulis is just taking place,
by a regular grid of avenues to form residential areas with thousands of the city’s youth leaving for Europe
meant for the modern comfort of an urban middle- in search of better opportunities and security.
class. The city was growing slowly – more or less at
For everybody who has left, many other people have,
the moderate pace by which the Afghan state was
in the meantime, arrived. Already during the Tale-
attempting to reform and modernise itself – being
ban times, the city had become a forced choice for
shaped by and shaping in turn a population of Kabulis
those fleeing the battle lines between the Taleban
who identified with the city and its lifestyle. More
and Ahmad Shah Massud in the Shomali Plateau to
recently, the more-central among those areas, Taimani
the north. Many more returned to the city after 2001
and Qala-ye Fathullah for example, came to host a sig-
from their temporary shelters in the provinces or from
nificant number of expats and NGO offices in a frenzy
abroad. The massive presence of the international
of refurbishment, relocation and retreat.
community and the boomtown economy that derived
West Kabul, by comparison, has probably experienced from it made Kabul a magnet for labourers, clerks and
some sort of ‘circular history’ that allowed at least students from all over the country.
parts of it to go through cycles of destruction and back
The construction sector became overnight one of
to the (relative) residential quietness for which it was
the major characteristics of the city’s economy and
meant. Always separate from the bustle of Kabul down-
3 For an overview of which faction held which territory in
2 Kabul’s magnificent covered marketplace, Chahar the city, the locations of frontlines and artillery positions
Chatta bazaar, was dynamited by the British ‘Army of and where factions launched their rockets, see Chapter
Retaliation’ in 1842; and the whole bazaar area around 6 of the Afghanistan Justice Project’s “Casting Shadows:
Jada-e Maiwand was among the worst hit by the shower War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001
of rockets that fell on the city during the civil war among documentation and analysis of major patterns of abuse
mujahedin factions in the 1990s. in the war in Afghanistan”.
AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

Fabrizio Foschini: Kabul Unpacked 3
a major investment sector for the new Afghan elites. master plan for urban development since 1978, when
People who could afford to would inhabit one of the the city’s population was meant to be 800,000. When
many new housing projects (shahraks) of various finally, with the support of the Japan International
styles and scale. Dispossessed nomads and rural in- Cooperation Agency (link to their survey of Kabul city
habitants who had fled violence in their home districts districts), one was prepared in 2009, it focused mostly
had to make do with living in dilapidated buildings on an area outside of the city: Deh Sabz district, where
in un-refurbished parts of the city or occupying state a ‘New Kabul’ was projected. This immediately drew
land (basically, all the barren, uncultivated areas are criticism and with some reason: on the one hand
considered such) and develop shabby squatters’ settle- it looked as if, with the impossibility of fixing the
ments. Contemporary urban architecture trends could capital’s many problems, a decision had been made to
be indeed subsumed under this dichotomy: shahraks move out to and plan a brand new city; on the other,
and shantytowns (see also this earlier AAN dispatch). concerns were raised about the enormous economic
interests that such a plan would involve and given the
The impact of this mass of new residents on the city
many instances of land grab schemes carried out by
is hard to evaluate. Kabul has grown more mixed and
members of the Afghan political elite or their allies,
has become a true capital in terms of being more
chances of avoiding any such occurrence looked rather
representative of all the provinces of the country. Yet
bleak.
the melting pot is not as effective as it used to be. The
centre of the city, despite the destruction, or possibly But the issue of the master plan and the non-recogni-
because newcomers have to splinter to occupy the tion by the Kabul Municipality of a majority of the new
empty places left and do mingle with people from all settlements built all over the city since 1978 have also
walks of life in the process, is today more mixed and became highly symbolic of the debate between those
is, in its peculiar way, ‘cosmopolitan.’ This despite expounding a rigidly legal approach and those more
the fact that residents of the central areas of the city inclined towards deregulation and involvement of the
tend to change residence often, to move close to a private sector (like the MoUDA).
new working place or to follow economic and security
Whatever one’s position, the gap between the
trends. The constant movement of residents has a
planned city and the reality on the ground has for
disruptive effect on social networks, exemplified by
some decades now been too wide to bridge. A recur-
the often-heard complaint that “one does not know
rent characteristic of the housing sector in Kabul
one's neighbours anymore.” The peripheries of the
seems to be the insecurity of tenure and ownership,
city on the other hand show a pattern of settlement
and the new developments are often the sketchiest of
shaped by communal networks. New immigrants from
all. Relatively comfortable shahraks and shabby shan-
the provinces tend to settle where they can expect
tytowns may seem to be situated at the far ends of the
some degree of support from their communities (if
social, economic and political divide which is crippling
they have such contacts) or on the side of town more
Afghanistan (and which finds in Kabul its most glamor-
convenient for them when, at least during the first
ous stage), but they share one thing: they are often, in
stages of their rural-urban migration, they continue to
public perception as in legal status, a zorabad,4 a term
commute regularly to their place of origin. Therefore,
that came to describe a place occupied by force (zor)
Panjshiris and Shomalis dwell in the north; Wardaki
without the consent of the authorities and without
Pashtuns and Hazaras regroup in the west; Logaris and
legal ownership. The informality, illegality and instabil-
Paktiawals settle down to the southeast and people
ity – for even the rich developers of many shahraks
from Jalalabad or Mashreqis in general choose the
can fear a sudden reversal of their political fortune
east.
and consequently a danger for their ill-gained posses-
It goes without saying that this process is under
nobody’s control or planning. Some housing projects 4 There is also the term chorabad, from the Pashto
composite verb chor-o-chapawel (to raid and loot), for
indeed apply for and receive approval from the Kabul
areas grabbed and ‘developed’ by political heavyweights,
Municipality (which has a status equal to a ministry) the so-called strongmen. The prime example is Sherpur,
and from the Ministry for Urban Development Affairs the area of the nineteenth-century British army
(MoUDA). However, there has been no such thing as a cantonment, where the Karzai government handed out
plots to members and allies.
January 2019
AFGHANISTAN || Kabul Police Districts

PARWAN
PROVINCE
PARWAN
´
PROVINCE
PD 18
PD 19
Hazara-i-Baghal
Purozha-i-Jadid Panjsad Famili
PD 17 PD 11
PD 14 Hisa-i-Awali Khayr khana
Khishti Hokhtif
Khwaja Bughra Qasaba Tara Khel
Fabrika-i-Khana Sazi
Kotali Khayr Khana Dashti Wazirabad
Qala-i-Najar Ha
Khwaja Bughra
Sarayi Shamali
Wazirabad
Qala-i-Tahir
o PD 15 Family Hayi Pulicharkhi
Chamani Babrak PD 10 Qarya-i-Malik Ismayil PD 9

Badam Bagh Qala-i-Wakil Khwaja RawashPuli Charkhi
PD 4 Taymani
Qala-i-Musa
Gumruk
Pashmina Bafi
Tahiya-i-Maskan Bibi Mahru Yakatoot
Kulola Pushta Qabilbay Hood Khel
Baghi Bala Microrayani Suwum Qala-i-Haji
Afshar Shahrara Dawood Khel
PD 5 Hazar Buz Ha Karta-i-Mamurin Karta-i-Parwan Shahri Naw
Karta-i-Wali Qala-i-Shora
Simint Khana Shina PD 12 PD 21
Baharistan Shash Darak Maslakh
Nawabadi Fazil beg Khushhal Khan Mena Part Khail
Niyaz beg Microrayani Awal
Fazil Beg Sebangi Aliabad
Qoli Abchakan Wilayat
PD 2 Ghazi Stadium
PD 16
Andarabi
Kota-i-Sangi Mandawi Ahmad Shah Baba Mena
Qala-i-Wahid Dihburi Chindawul Sarraji Dashti Shina Wa Bagrami
Ahangari Siyah Sang
Unchi Baghbanan Puli Sokhta PD 3 Baghi Qazi
Shor Bazar
Family Hayi Nasaji Bagrami
Chamani Bagrami
Guzargah
Gul Khana Bangsidar PD 1 Qalacha Dasto Khel
Doghabad Karta-i-Se Jangalak
Koli Hashmat Khan Bagrami
Qala-i-Shada Allawuddin Qala-i-Sher Alam
Chahar Qala Wasilabad Shuhadayi Saliheen Du Sad Family Rahman Mena
Qala-i-Jabbar Khan Aqa Ali Shams Qala-i-Amir Muhammad Bini Hisar
Qala-i-Ali MardanQala-i-Wazir Jayi Rayis Chamani Kamari Wa Bagrami
Qala-i-Khanadar
Qala-i-Bahadur Khan
Qala-i-GhaybiTakhnikum Gul Buta
PD 13 Qala-i-Bakhtyar
Wilayati Kamari
Afshari Darulaman
Dih Qalandar Dih Dana Chihilsutun PD 8 Qala-i-Bagalak Niyazi
Darullaman Qala-i-Hasan Khani Ulya Qala-i-Adam KhanDamana
Nu burja
Farmi Ziraat Doghabad Qala-i-Mir Ahamd
Sar Asyab PD 7 Shewaki Temur Khan
Qala-i-Haji Karim Qala-i-Taj Gul
Chahar Qolba Dashti Kamari
PD 6
Qala-i-Muslim
PD 22
Qala-i-Surkh Qala-i-Fatuh
Rishkhuri Payin
Qala-i-Kuhna
UZBEKISTAN
TAJIKISTAN PD 20
TURKMENISTAN
MAIDAN WARDAK CHINA
PROVINCE
Kabul o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Abc Area names

PAKISTAN
LOGAR Rivers
LOGAR PROVINCE
IRAN Roads
PROVINCE
0 1 2 km
INDIA
Kabul Historical Wall
The data, boundaries and names and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by iMMAP or USAID/OFDA. Date: 31/10/2018. Projection: WGS 1984 UTM Zone 42N
sions – is what links them all to create the landscape The descriptions of the police districts (PDs) aim at
of Kabul nowadays. providing readers with basic information about the
following aspects:
To float some fixed buoys in this sea of uncertainty,
AAN seeks to offer its readers an interactive guide • list of the principal neighbourhoods encompassed
of sorts to Kabul.5 Namely, the links on the map will • history of the area and timeframe of development,
present separate maps of each of Kabul’s 22 municipal plus landmarks
districts and some facts about the neighbourhoods • main architectural and infrastructural characteristics
they encompass. Municipal districts or (as they have • details about the population and population
sometimes been called) city wards will throughout the changes in the area throughout the last decades
texts be referred to as PDs (they coincide with Kabul’s • main security trends in the area
police districts) or nahia (the local Dari/Pashto term
Kabul figures among the fastest-growing cities in the
for city districts). This is consistent with contemporary
world and, for good and for bad, this remains one of
usage and will make it easier to distinguish between
its main characteristics. Therefore, the neighbour-
urban and non-urban districts (woluswalis) in those
hoods’ descriptions – especially details on security
areas where the former have expanded to overlap to
– do not aim at being utterly precise and up-to-date,
some extent with the latter.
but simply introduce the bits and pieces of the capital
of Afghanistan to all those who have not so far been
5 Maps have been kindly provided by iMMAP. The spelling lucky enough to explore it for themselves.
of local place names might sometimes differ between the
text and the maps.

AFGHANISTAN || Kabul, PD 1
´
Qoli Abchakan Wilayat Ministry
of Defense
Afghan Geodesy
Ministry of
Ministry
And Cartography PD 9
Education Head Office (AGCHO)
Municipal of Mines
Building And Power
PD 16
Fire
Dih Afghanan Parki Department Supreme Court
Ministry
Zarnigar Ministry of of Justice
Information
& Culture Ministry Ghazi Stadium
PD 2 of Finance
Joyi Sheer Ministry of Ministry of Murad Khani

Andarabi Public Communications
Afghan Tourist Health
Organization Baghi Ali
Mardan
Mandawi Akhiri Jada Chamani

Huzuri
Kabul Traffic
PD 3 Department Sarraji
Kah Furoshi
Nawabadi Kulali Chindawul Babayi Khudi
Ahangari
Dihmazang Dihmazang Shor Bazar
Sang Tarashi Darwaza-i-Lahuri
Parki Nawroz Puli Artall
Ashiqan Shah Shahid

Baghi Qazi
wa Arifan Hindu Guzar
PD 1
Khwaja Safa
Nawabadi
Guzarga
PD 8
Baghi Babur
PD 7 Kabul_City_POI
o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Abc Area names

Afghan
Kabul river
Tarkanay
secondary; Roads; primary
Shuhadayi Kabul Historical Wall
0 1 Saliheen 2 km Parks
PD 1 SHAHR-E KOHNA (CHINDAWAL, ASHEQAN WA AREFAN, BAGH-E

QAZI, MANDAWI, SANG TARASHI, SHUR BAZAAR, HINDU GOZAR, KHARA-
BAT, BAGH ALI MARDAN)
This PD largely coincides with the old walled city of Kabul, which developed around the citadel of Bala Hisar, for
centuries the main seat of power for the rulers of the city (read about its history here). Besides the citadel and
the ancient wall that climbs up the Sher Darwaza mountain (read about it here), this PD features many of the
city’s foremost historic landmarks and holy sites: Pul-e Kheshti Mosque, Eid Gah Mosque, Shah-e Do Shamshira
Mosque and the Mausoleum of Timur Shah, plus the Pamir Cinema, one of Kabul’s oldest and tallest.
This part of the city is a commercial and residential area made of typical narrow lanes and traditional mud hous-
es, cut by only a few major asphalted roads built throughout the twentieth century to improve access. Many
neighbourhoods in this area were heavily damaged during the civil war in the 1990s (especially in its eastern
part). The area managed largely to survive developers after 2001 and instead witnessed extensive conservation
of historical buildings and an upgrading of infrastructure. Some areas are still not refurbished, however.
Most of the old Kabuli families who traditionally inhabited the area left before and during the 1980s and 1990s,
especially if well to do. There are still some traditional communities attached to particular neighbourhoods (Hin-
dus and Sikhs in Hindu Gozar, musicians in Kharabat, Qizilbash Shias in Chindawal). However, they nowadays live
with many migrants of mixed origins and aspirations for middle-to long-term settlement there (many had arrived
in the 1990s). Newly arrived migrants from Panjshir and Hazarajat have settled on the higher slopes of Koh-e
Sher Darwaza in informal settlements.
Mandawi area (aka Chowk) still represents a main urban bazaar, although by now it is located in the midst of
poor residential areas. Problems include widespread theft and illicit trade; the level of police presence is good
but focused on the protection of high-profile government sites and is not effective in preventing common crime.
RETURN TO MAIN MAP
January 2019
PD 17
Tahiya-i-Maskan
Hisa-i-Dumumi
Parwan Kulola Pushta
Wazir
Bibi Mahru
´
Ministry of
PD 4 Qala-i-Fathullah Ministry
Akbar
Border And
Baraki of Haj Tribal Affairs
(pilgrimage) Kandaki
Shahrara Khan
Baghi Bala Ministry of Hajj and
PD 10 Tajamau Supreme Court
Religious Affairs
Administration
Shahrara Youth Affairs
Ministry of Ministry of Urban
Public Health Development (MoUD)
Baghi Wazir
Karta-i-Parwan Akbar Khan
Shahri Naw
Baghi Zanana Kabul City Ministry of Karta-i-Wali
National
PD 5 Parki Planning Women's Radio Press
Affairs
Shahri Naw Television Ministry of
Transport & Microraryani Duwum
Ministry of Economy Civil Aviation
Karta-i-Mamurin Training Centre
State Film
National Studio
PD 9
Directorate of
Security (NDS) Central
Ministry of
Baharistan Passport The Interior Prime Statistics
Office Minister's
Vice Office (CSO) Maslakh
OfficePresedent
Karta-i-Aryana Office
Shash Darak
Ministry of
Islahate Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Edari
PD 2 National
Archives
Planning Civil Service Management
Department (CSMD)
Governer's
Office Ministry of Ministry
Wilayat Economy Afghan Geodesy And of Defense
Ministry of
MOEW Internal Qoli Abchakan Education
Cartography Head
Audit Dept Office (AGCHO)
Ministry of
Municipal Building
Parki
Agriculture
Zarnigar Fire PD 16
Dih Afghanan Department Supreme Court
Aliabad Ministry of Ministry
Karta-i-Sakhi Information
Ministry of Finance Ghazi Stadium
& Culture
of Justice
Joyi Sheer Andarabi Murad Khani
Tapa-i-Salam Ministry of
Baghi Ali
Afghan Tourist Communications
Jamal Mena Organization Ministry of Mardan
Public Health
Kabul
Dih Nawi Akhiri Jada
University PD 3 Mandawi
Dihburi PD 1
Saraki Sangi Kabul Traffic Chamani
Ministry Nawabadi Department Sarraji Huzuri
of Higher
Dihburi Dihmazang Kah Furoshi
Dept of
Education Parki Chindawul Babayi Khudi PD 8
Infrastructure
Traffic
Shor Bazar Sang Tarashi Ahangari
Department Nawroz Darwaza-i-Lahuri
Kulali Puli Artall Kabul_City_POI
Vocational
Department Baghi Dihmazang Ashiqan
Wahsh Baghi Qazi wa Arifan oHindu Guzar
Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Karta-i-Char (Zoo) Khwaja Safa Abc Area names

US Army Corps of Kabul river
Engineers Afghanistan
Puli Sokhta Engineer District (AED) Nawabadi
Guzarga PD 7
PD 6 0 1 2 km Parks
PD 2 ARG-E SHAHI, DEH AFGHANAN, MURAD KHANI AND PART OF KART-

E PARWAN (BAHARISTAN)
This PD consists of two separate areas: part of Shahr-e Naw, the new city of Kabul developed in the early twen-
tieth century and some older settlements that were originally villages outside the walled city (Deh Afghanan)
or residential and administrative quarters developed at the end of the nineteenth century, when the royal
palace was moved from Bala Hisar to the current Arg (Murad Khani).
The area is very diverse: It includes the main seats of political power (Presidential Palace, major ministries and
embassies), popular commercial areas near the riverbanks, sought-after residential and shopping areas (espe-
cially Baharistan) and historic neighbourhoods, some refurbished (Murad Khani) and some not (Deh Afghanan).
Some old Kabuli families still dwell in Baharistan, together with mostly Tajiks from Panjshir and the Shomali pla-
teau. The ethnic balance is tilted towards the Pashtuns in Deh Afghanan, while the Shia Qizilbash community
still lives in Murad Khani. All these are old-settlement groups that come very close to the original definition of
Kabulis. Some more recent migrants of rural origin dwell in the higher areas of Deh Afghanan.
The area represents both the centre of the city and the political life of the country. Major seats of power con-
stitute a primary target for political violence and consequently display a very heavy security set-up. Common
criminality has long had hot spots on the northeastern slopes of Koh-e Asmai (TV Mountain) and Aliabad Hill.
Otherwise, the residential areas are relatively safe.
RETURN TO MAIN MAP

´
Shahrara Administration
Afshar Youth Affairs
PD 10
Karta-i-Parwan Shahri Naw Kabul City
Baghi Zanana Planning Ministry of
Women's
PD 4 Parki Affairs
Shahri Naw
Ministry of Economy
Karta-i-Mamurin Training Centre
PD 5 National
Directorate of
Security (NDS)
Ministry of
Baharistan Passport The Interior
Office
Khushhal Vice Presedent Islahate
Karta-i-Aryana Office Edari
Khan Mena
Ministry of
Planning
National
Archives Civil Service Management
Department (CSMD)
PD 2
Governer's Ministry of
Qoli Abchakan Wilayat Office Economy
MOEW Internal Ministry of
Audit Dept Ministry of Education Municipal
Agriculture Building
Parki Zarnigar
Dih Afghanan
Aliabad Ministry of
Karta-i-Sakhi Information
& Culture
Joyi Sheer Andarabi
Tapa-i-Salam Afghan Tourist
Organization
Ministry of
Jamal Mena Public Health
Kota-i-Sangi
Dih Nawi PD 3
Dihburi Kabul
Saraki Sangi Kabul Traffic
University Ministry Nawabadi Department
of Higher
Qala-i-Wahid Dihburi Education
Dihmazang
Dept of
Traffic
Parki Chindawul
Infrastructure
Department
Kulali Nawroz
Puli Artall
PD 13 Vocational Baghi Wahsh Dihmazang
Department
(Zoo)
Unchi Karta-i-Char Khwaja Safa

Baghbanan US Army Corps of PD 1
Puli Sokhta Engineer District (AED) Nawabadi
Guzarga Kabul_City_POI
PD 6
Abc Area names

Afgan Independent
Human Rights Guzargah PD 7 Kabul river
Puli Surkh Commission Baghi Babur
Bangsidar
0 1 2 km PD 8
Gul Khana Parks
PD 3 DEH MAZANG, KART-E SAKHI, KART-E CHAHAR, DEH BURI

This PD, together with PD 6, constitutes the core area of West Kabul as developed, in particular from the 1940s
onwards, by the government. It includes the campus of Kabul University and other landmarks such as the Ali-
abad Hospital, the Kabul Zoo and the Sakhi shrine. Along the southwestern slopes of TV Mountain and Aliabad
Hill crawl the settlements of Deh Mazang and Kart-e Sakhi.
A large part of PD 3 consists of a flat-lying area with a regular street grid (Kart-e Chahar and Deh Buri) that
– coupled with the many educational facilities, green areas and comparatively low prices – makes it a sought-
after residential location for middle-class Afghans and (until recently) foreigners. Hill-settlements are less
serviced. Both areas were flattened during the 1990s war but have largely been rebuilt.
Kart-e Chahar and Deh Buri have for a long time now been inhabited mostly by Hazaras, while hill settlements
like Deh Mazang and Kart-e Sakhi are more mixed, although the latter is also inhabited mostly by Shi’as and
features a major Shi’a shrine (repeatedly targeted by radical militants). Among the residents of Deh Mazang in
particular many old Kabulis were to be found until recently, although generally from low-income households
(it seems many left the country in the last few years). In recent years migrants from Wardak and Logar have
joined the neighbourhood as well.
Criminal gangs are present on the higher reaches of TV hill and Aliabad hill; otherwise, this has for long been
one of Kabul’s quietest and safest areas, despite the presence of some foreign organisations and guesthouses,
which started to attract the attention of militant groups after 2010.
RETURN TO MAIN MAP
January 2019
´
Qala-i-Najar Ha
Khwaja Bughra PD 15
PD 11
Sarayi
Shamali
Veterinary Qala-i-Tahir
Department
Bilak Hayi
Sarandoy Wazirabad
Chahar
Qala-i-Wazirabad
PD 17 Chamani
Babrak
Hisa-i-Duwumi
Taymani
Badam Bagh
Hisa-i-Awali Taymani Qala-i-Musa
PD 4 Qala-i-Khayat
Taymani PD 10
Hisa-i-Sumumi
Parwan
Tahiya-i-Maskan
Hisa-i-Dumumi Bibi Mahru
Parwan Kulola Pushta
Baraki Qala-i-Fathullah Ministry of Haj Wazir

(pilgrimage) Kandaki
Shahrara Akbar Khan Supreme
Baghi Bala Ministry of Hajj
Tajamau Court
Administration
Shahrara Youth Affairs
and Religious
Affairs
Ministry of
Public Health
Afshar Baghi Wazir
Karta-i-Parwan Shahri Naw Kabul City Akbar Khan
Baghi Zanana Planning Ministry of Karta-i-Wali
Women's Radio
Parki Affairs
Television Ministry of
Ministry Shahri Naw Transport &
of Economy Civil Aviation
PD 5 Karta-i-Mamurin Training Centre
State Film
Studio PD 9
National Directorate Kabul_City_POI
Central
Ministry of of Security (NDS)
Baharistan Passport The Interior Statistics
Khushhal Office o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Office (CSO)
Khan Mena
PD 2 Vice Presedent Ministry of
Abc Area names
Office Foreign Shash Darak
PD 3 Karta-i-Aryana Ministry of
Islahate Affairs
National Edari Kabul river
Archives Planning
Civil Service Management
Governer's Department (CSMD) secondary; Roads; primary
Office Ministry
Ministry
Qoli Abchakan of Defense
MOEW Internal Wilayat Ministry of
of Economy
Audit Dept 0 1 Ministry of 2 km Education Parks
Agriculture
Municipal
Building
Ministry of
Mines And Power
PD 16
PD 4 SHAHR-E NAW, KART-E PARWAN, KOLOLA POSHTA, SHAHRARA,

TAHIYA-YE MASKAN
This PD comprises the main portion of the new city (Shahr-e Naw) developed for administrative and residen-
tial purposes since the 1930s, other residential areas developed from the 1950s onwards (Kart-e Parwan) and
historical hamlets once situated at the edge of Kabul (Shahrara). It also includes some conspicuous landmarks
like the Shahr-e Naw Park and the Kolola Poshta hilltop fort.
This area was relatively preserved during the 1990s war, and it has always been a central shopping area with
many modern commercial malls and upmarket residential areas much sought-after for its central location. It
features some high-profile VIP mansions (especially in Kart-e Parwan), many government facilities and local and
foreign organisations’ offices. Shahrara (a hamlet of oven-makers built in traditional mud-houses) and the less
central Parwan-e Dowom, Parwan-e Sewom and Tahiya-ye Maskan host less well-off residents.
The Kabuli middle class traditionally inhabited its central areas, although many now rent their property to
foreign or Afghan organizations or have been forced out (market eviction). The area is very mixed in terms of
ethnic background, with the partial exception of Kart-e Parwan, which is Tajik-dominated.
Shahrara is a known venue for drug dealers. Security forces are heavily present in the whole area as it is a ma-
jor target for political violence.
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Sarayi
Shamali PD 11
Veterinary
Department
Bilak Hayi
Sarandoy
PD 17 Chamani
Babrak
Hisa-i-Duwumi
Taymani
Badam Bagh
Hisa-i-Sumumi
Parwan
Tahiya-i-Maskan
Hisa-i-Dumumi
PD 14 Parwan
PD 4
Baghi Bala
Afshar
Karta-i-Parwan
Hazar Buz Ha PD 5 Karta-i-Mamurin

PD 2
Nawabadi
Fazil beg Baharistan
Khushhal
Khan Mena
Niyaz beg
Qala-i-Wazir
MOEW Internal
Audit Dept Ministry of
Agriculture
Fazil Beg Sebangi Aliabad Karta-i-Sakhi

PD 3
Kota-i-Sangi Kabul Jamal Mena
Dih Nawi University
Dihburi Ministry
of Higher
Qala-i-Wahid Dihburi Dept of Education
Infrastructure
Vocational Kabul_City_POI
Department
Unchi o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Baghbanan Karta-i-Char
PD 13 Puli Sokhta Abc Area names
US Army Corps of
Kabul river District (AED)
Engineer
PD 6 secondary;
Afgan Roads; primary
Independent
Puli Surkh Human Rights
Kabul Commission
Historical Wall
0 1 2 km Dashti Barchi Bangsidar
Parks
Gul Khana
PD 7
PD 5 KHUSHHAL KHAN MENA, KAMPANI, KART-E MAMURIN, AFSHAR,

KOT-E SANGI
This nahia of West Kabul comprises old (Khushhal Khan Mena) and more recent (Kampani) westward expan-
sions on the road to Maidan Wardak and Paghman, plus some hillside settlements (Afshar, Kart-e Mamurin –
the ‘officials’ quartier’). There are some landmarks such as the Polytechnic Institute and the Police Academy.
These are relatively low-profile residential areas, while the main commercial and transportation hub is Kot-e
Sangi. Fair grounds for the cattle market can be found in Kampani (Company). Afshar was the site of a massa-
cre of its Hazara residents in 1993, the worst instance of ethnic violence during the civil war of the 1990s. The
area is a major transit point as it is crossed by road networks connecting West and Central Kabul (Bagh-e Bala)
and Kampani Road to Darulaman (Silo), besides being the starting point of the highway to Maidan Wardak
province. Silo Road used to feature a trolley bus line that was destroyed during the 1990s wars. Road infra-
structure was recently improved by the broadening of Kampani Road and the construction of the Kot-e Sangi
viaduct. Hillside settlements are less serviced; Kart-e Mamurin fares better than Afshar.
Flat areas are inhabited mostly by Pashtuns (Khushhal Khan Mena, Kampani), many from Wardak and Ghazni,
but also increasingly from the south (Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan); hillside settlements are inhabited markedly
by Hazaras and Tajiks (Afshar, Kart-e Mamurin); the Kot-e Sangi area is mixed. The area hosts one of the big-
gest IDP camps in Kabul, in Chaharrahi-ye Qambar, between Khushhal Khan Mena and Company; it is inhabited
mostly by displaced people from the south, many still living in tents and relying on humanitarian assistance.
The area displays trends of political violence, with insurgents from neighbouring Maidan Wardak bringing
pressure on fellow Pashtuns from their areas who are working for the government or NGOs or are simply eco-
nomically well off. Kot-e Sangi area has experienced common criminality mixed up with insurgents’ infiltration
networks into the capital and has often been targeted by police operations.
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January 2019
´
Niyaz beg Qala-i-Wazir MOEW Internal PD 3 Governer's Office Fire PD 9 PD 16
PD 14 Fazil Beg Audit Dept PD 2 Department Ministry Ministry
Dih Afghanan Supreme Court of Defense And ofTheMartys
Sebangi Dih Nawi Aliabad Tapa-i-Salam Ministry
Disabled
Ghazi Stadium
PD 5 Kota-i-Sangi Jamal Mena
Ministry of
Information of Finance
Dihburi Shor Baghi Ali Chamani
Qala-i-Wahid Dept of Saraki Sangi Kabul&Traffic
Dihburi Infrastructure Traffic Department
Culture
Department
Bazar Mardan Huzuri
Unchi Vocational Ministry of
US Army Corps of Ahangari Darwaza-i-Lahuri
Department Higher Education Engineers Afghanistan Puli Baghi Qazi PD 1
Baghbanan Engineer District (AED) Hindu Guzar Siyah Sang
Afgan
Puli Sokhta Independent Artall Khwaja Safa
Human
Rights Commission Nawabadi Guzarga
Dashti Barchi Bangsidar Puli Surkh Baghi Babur Koli Qalacha
National Shuhadayi
Doghabad Gul Khana Karta-i-Se Parliament Afghan Ministry of Refugee Hashmat
Saliheen
Qala-i-Shada Allawuddin Ministry Repatriation Khan
of Commerce & Tarkanay Jangalak
Industry
Baghi Rayis Qala-i-Hashmat
Qala-i-Khalifa Birishna Kot Khan
Qala-i-Jabbar Chahar Qala
Sahib Karta-i-Ghawsuddin PD 8
Khan Qala-i-Wazir Wasilabad
Qala-i-Muyin Se Rahi Aqa Ali Shams Qala-i-Amir
Mujtaba Allawudin Jayi Rayis Dih Murad Khan Muhammad
Qala-i-Ali Qala-i-Khanadar
PD 13 Qala-i-Bahadur Mardan
Ministry of Nawabadi Takhnikum
Water Power
Khan Ministry of Rural And Irrigation Dih Qala-i-Ghaybi Wilayati
Puli
Qala-i-Bakhtyar Rehabilitation Dana
& Development Dih Hasan
Geologic And Qalandar Khan Qala-i-Bagalak Niyazi
Afshari Cartographic Chihilsutun
Dih Dana
Darulaman Department
Qala-i-Najar Ha Qala-i-Hasan
Darullaman Khani Ulya
Farmi Nu burja
Farmi Ziraat Pilawari Qala-i-Mir
Doghabad Ahamd
PD 7
PD 6 Qala-i-Haji
Sar Asyab
Karim
Chahar Qolba
Qala-i-Muslim
Qala-i-Surkh Qala-i-Logari PD 22
Rishkhuri Qala-i-Fatuh
Payin
Qala-i-Kuhna
Kabul_City_POI
PD 20
Abc Area names
Kabul river

0 1 2 km Parks
PD 6 KART-E SE, DARULAMAN, ALAUDDIN, QALA-YE SHAHADA, QALA-YE

WAZIR, QALA-YE ALI MARDAN
This PD represents (together with PD 3) a core area of West Kabul that was built mostly from the 1950s on-
wards, although the first development plans date back to the 1920s, when King Amanullah sought to partially
shift the centre of gravity of the city towards West Kabul and had the Darulaman palace built. Towards the
southwest of the nahia some former farmland has been turned into informal settlements. Other landmarks
are the Kabul National Museum, Tajbeg Palace and the mosque Khatam al-Nabiyin, a newly built major Shi’a
religious and educational complex.
Mostly a residential area, it has a regular road grid (especially Kart-e Se) and is sought after by the middle class
and (until recently) foreigners. It was extensively damaged during the war (especially the buildings along Da-
rulaman Road) but has been rebuilt since.
This part of the city is traditionally inhabited by Hazaras (especially Kart-e Se), but is more mixed around Da-
rulaman and in other areas. Also, some IDPs from the Hazara-inhabited districts of Ghazni or Wardak moved
into informal settlements at the southwestern edge of the ward, bordering PD 13.
Heroin addicts around Pul-e Sukhta are causing an increase in micro-criminality, and security concerns exist
around high-profile installations like the Military Academy and the American University, also found in this PD.
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Fazil Beg Sebangi Aliabad Ministry of Municipal Building Supreme Court
PD 9 PD 16
Agriculture PD 2 Joyi Sheer Ahmad Shah
Kabul Ministry of Ghazi Stadium
PD 5 Kota-i-Sangi Dih Nawi Ministry of
Tapa-i-Salam Afghan Tourist Information Finance Sayid Noor Baba Mena
University MinistryDihburi Organization Baghi Ali Chamani
of Higher Jamal Mena & Culture
Shor Muhammad Nawabadi Karta-i-Naw
Dihburi Qala-i-Wahid
Education Saraki Traffic
Chindawul Bazar Mardan Huzuri Shah Mena
Department
Vocational Puli Artall Ahangari Darwaza-i-Lahuri Family Hayi
Unchi Dept of Sangi Kulali Dihmazang Siyah Sang
Department Baghi Qazi Nasaji Bagrami
Baghbanan Infrastructure
Baghi Wahsh Hindu Guzar Shah Shahid
Puli Sokhta Khwaja Safa Ashiqan Rahman Mena
Karta-i-Char
PD 3 Afgan Independent (Zoo) wa Arifan Fabrika-i-Nasaji
Ayub Nawabadi Guzarga
Puli Surkh Human Rights PD 1 wa Bagrami
Dashti Barchi Commission Khan Guzargah Qalacha
Gul Khana Bangsidar National Mena Shuhadayi Koli
PD 13 Karta-i-Se Parliament
Dasto Khel
Ministry
Saliheen Hashmat
Qala-i-Shada Allawuddin Ministry of Jangalak of Refugee
Doghabad Commerce & Industry Repatriation Khan Du Sad Family
Qala-i-Afghan Ha Rahman Mena
Birishna Kot Qala-i-Hashmat
Qala-i-Khalifa Baghi Rayis Khan
Qala-i-Jabbar Chahar Qala Wasilabad
Qala-i-Wazir Sahib Se Rahi Qala-i-Amir
Khan Qala-i-Muyin Aqa Ali Shams
Allawudin Muhammad PD 8
Mujtaba Qala-i-Ali Bini Hisar
Mardan Dih Murad
Qala-i-Bahadur Jayi Rayis Khan
Qala-i-Khanadar
Khan Ministry of PD 7 Takhnikum
Water Power Nawabadi Gul Buta
And Irrigation Dih Qala-i-Ghaybi Wilayati
Ministry of Rural
Qala-i-Bakhtyar Geologic And Rehabilitation Dana Puli Hasan
Cartographic & Development
Department
Khan
Dih Qalandar Chihilsutun Qala-i-Bagalak Niyazi
Qala-i-Hasan
Afshari Farmi Dih Dana Qala-i-Hasan Khani Sufla
Baghi Chihilsutun
Darulaman Pilawari Qala-i-Najar Ha Khani Ulya
Darullaman Nu burja Qala-i-Mir Qala-i-Muhammad
Farmi Ziraat Ahamd
Doghabad Qala-i-Haji Ibrahim
Shewaki
Karim Qala-i-Taj
Sar Asyab
Gul
Chahar Qolba
PD 6
Qala-i-Muslim
PD 22
Qala-i-Surkh Qala-i-Logari
Qala-i-Fatuh
Rishkhuri
Payin
Kabul_City_POI
Qala-i-Kuhna
PD 20 o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Abc Area names
Kabul river

0 1 2 km Parks
PD 7 CHEHEL SOTUN, GOZARGAH, AYYUB KHAN MENA, WASILABAD, DEH

DANA, RISHKHOR
The northernmost areas of this PD are the natural expansion of the city along Darulaman Road while towards
the south of the district the city has by now absorbed many previously existing rural villages. The area features
conspicuous historical landmarks such as Bagh-e Babur (read more here and here), Chehel Sotun Palace built in
the 1920s as a royal guesthouse and the ruined residence of the exiled last Amir of Bukhara in Qalah-ye Fatuh
(read more here and here). Rishkhor’s pre-war military training facility became an al-Qaida training camp in
the late 1990s and later US and Afghan army facilities. The area also hosts the New Parliament building.
The more central areas along Darulaman Road are commercially relevant, while going southward and away
from the road the residential areas are poorer, as the area offered shelter to many economic migrants from ru-
ral areas and returnees after 2001. Some Kabulis may have opted for it too because of cheap prices. In the past
the area hosted some of the few industrial complexes created by the government – Jangalak and Takhnikum
(technical college) – but these were destroyed and looted in the 1990s. Services and roads are not satisfactory.
The area is very much mixed, hosting mainly Hazaras and Pashtuns but with some residual rural Tajiks in the
villages and groups from other communities who have recently migrated from a wide range of the country’s
provinces. Jangalak had also until recently, hosted the shelter for returnee migrants run by Minister of Refugees
and Repatriation and the International Organization for Migration.
The central areas are sometimes targeted by political violence or are the site for demonstrations, while the ham-
lets located at the edge of town are relatively unsafe in terms of common criminality and insurgents’ infiltration.
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January 2019
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Karta-i-Aryana Ministry of PD 4
Ministry of PD 10
Central Statistics Maslakh
The Interior
Islahate Edari Foreign Affairs Office (CSO) Ministry of
PD 9
Martys And Ministry of
Qarya-i-Dih Part Khail
National Governer's Ministry
Archives Office of Planning Ministry
of Defense
PD 2 The Disabled Labor & Social
Affairs (MoLSA)
khuday Dad
Qoli Abchakan Ministry of
Wilayat Economy Afghan Geodesy And
Fire Cartography Head
Ministry of Department Office (AGCHO)
Dih Afghanan Education Supreme Court Ghazi Stadium
Ministry of
Joyi Sheer Ministry of Finance Baghi Ali Ahmad Shah
Information
Saraki PD 3 Afghan Tourist
& Culture
Ministry of
Mardan Nawabadi Baba Mena Dashti Shina
Organization Communications Sayid Noor
Sangi Nawabadi Kabul Traffic Akhiri Jada Karta-i-Naw PD 16 Wa Bagrami
Department Mandawi Sarraji Chamani Huzuri Muhammad
Traffic Dihmazang Shah Mena Family Hayi
Parki Nawroz Shor Bazar Ahangari Darwaza-i-Lahuri
Department
Kulali Puli Artall Baghi Qazi Nasaji PD 12
Sang Hindu Guzar Shah Shahid Siyah Sang Bagrami
Baghi Dihmazang Khwaja Safa Ashiqan
Tarashi Rahman Mena
wa Arifan Fabrika-i-Nasaji
Wahsh Nawabadi
wa Bagrami Chamani
(Zoo) Guzarga
PD 6 Bagrami
Baghi Babur PD 1
Guzargah Qalacha
Ayub Dasto Khel
Afghan Koli
Khan Tarkanay Ministry Shuhadayi
Mena of Refugee Saliheen Hashmat
Repatriation
Jangalak Khan Qala-i-Sher Bagrami
Du Sad Family
Qala-i-Afghan Ha Birishna Kot Alam
Rahman Mena
Baghi Rayis Qala-i-Hashmat
Karta-i-Ghawsuddin Wasilabad Khan
Qala-i-Amir Chamani
Aqa Ali Shams Muhammad Kamari Wa
Dih Murad PD 8 Bini Hisar Bagrami
Khan
Qala-i-Khanadar
Takhnikum Gul Buta
Qala-i-Ghaybi
Wilayati
Kamari
PD 7
Qala-i-Bagalak Niyazi
Chihilsutun Qala-i-Hasan
Baghi Qala-i-Hasan Khani Sufla Qala-i-Adam Damana
Chihilsutun Khani Ulya Khan
Nu burja
Qala-i-Mir Qala-i-Muhammad Kabul_City_POI
Ahamd Ibrahim PD 22
Qala-i-Haji Shewaki Temur Khan o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Karim Baghi Haji
Qala-i-Taj Abc Area names
Afghan
Gul Kabul river

PD 20
Dashti Kamari
0 1 2 km Parks
PD 8 KART-E NAW, RAHMAN MENA, SHAH-E SHAHID, QALACHA, BENI

HESAR
These neighbourhoods are residential expansions dating from different eras (Kart-e Naw from the 1950s, a time
when the Shah-e Shahid area was already dotted with suburban hamlets) and of different types, expanding
from the old city to the south (along the road to Logar) and east. The main landmarks are the Mausoleum of
Nadir Khan on a hill popular with kite-fliers, the cemetery of Shohada-ye Salehin and Hashmat Khan’s reservoir
(now partially dried up) (see AAN reporting on the water fowl and Afghan ornithologists here and here).
Kart-e Naw and Rahman Mena are relatively standardised residential areas inhabited by middle-class residents.
Adjacent areas change gradually in terms of layout and economy, becoming poorer and more informal towards
Qalacha and Bini Hesar. The quality of the water supply is inadequate in the latter areas. Despite that, Kabul is
further expanding along the Logar highway to the south.
The area has been consistently inhabited by a majority of Pashtuns and in recent years the trend has only been
reinforced by the influx of many residents mainly from Logar, Paktia and Khost.
The area lies on one of the insurgents’ infiltration routes to the capital and the security forces’ presence is
commensurate. Moreover, some mosques in Qalacha and Bini Hesar are noted for having displayed a politi-
cal stance in favour of the insurgency in the past and therefore are kept under control. Common criminals are
often targeting even central areas like Kart-e Naw with house raids and robberies, despite the police’s attempts
at securing the area.
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Qala-i-Dawlat
Qasaba Tara Khel
Fabrika-i-Khana
Dashti Sazi
Wazirabad
PD 18
PD 15
PD 19
o Family Hayi
Qala-i-Tahir Pulicharkhi
Chahar
Qarya-i-Malik
Qala-i-Wazirabad
Ismayil
Khwaja Rawash
Qala-i-Wakil PD 9
PD 10 Nawabadi Qala-i-Ali Puli Charkhi
Qala-i-Khayat Qabulbay Mardan Pashmina Bafi
Gumruk
Microrayani Qala-i-Haji Customs House
Bibi Mahru Chaharum Yakatoot
Wazir Qabilbay Hood Khel
Ministry of
Akbar Kandaki Border And Microrayani
Ministry of Hajj
and Religious Khan Tajamau
Tribal Affairs
Suwum Dawood Khel
Affairs Supreme Court
Ministry Ministry of Urban
of Public Health Development (MoUD)
Ministry of
Women's Karta-i-Wali Qala-i-Shora
National Ministry of
Affairs
Radio Ministry of Transport Press Counternarcotics
Television & Civil Aviation
PD Microraryani Simint Khana Shina
State Film Ministry of
4 ofNational Directorate Studio Duwum Public Works Qala-i-Zaman
Security (NDS) Central Afghanistan
Ministry of Statistics Maslakh Geological Khan
Ministry of Foreign
Planning Affairs
Office (CSO)
Shash Darak
Survey Microrayani Awal PD 16
Ministry of Qarya-i-Dih Part Khail
Governer's Argi Jumhuri Ministry of Labor & Social
khuday Dad
Office Ministry
Ministry of Martys And Affairs (MoLSA)
of Economy PD 2 Defense The Disabled PDKabul_City_POI
12
Fire Supreme Court
Municipal Department
Building Ghazi Stadium o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Ministry of
Ministry of Finance Ahmad Shah
Information Baghi Ali Nawabadi Abc Area names
Afghan & Culture
PD 1 Baba Mena Dashti Shina
Mardan Chamani Huzuri Sayid Noor Karta-i-Naw
Tourist
Mandawi Wa Bagrami Kabul river
Organization Akhiri Jada Muhammad
Kah Furoshi Sarraji PD 8 Shah Mena
Family Hayi
Shor Bazar Ahangari Darwaza-i-Lahuri Kabul Historical Wall
Khwaja Nasaji
Ashiqan Sang Hindu Guzar 0
Shah Shahid 1
Siyah Sang 2 km
Bagrami Parks
Safa wa Arifan Tarashi
PD 9 SHASHDARAK; MICRORAYONS TWO, THREE AND FOUR; YAKA TUT;

KHWAJA RAWASH HUDKHEL; PUL-E CHARKHI
This is a very diverse PD, which features parts of what is sometimes termed the Kabul Green Zone (the high-
profile diplomatic and institutional enclave in Shashdarak that is almost secluded from the rest of the city), sev-
eral Soviet-style blocks (Microrayons, often locally pronounced “Makruyon”) built from the 1960s onwards and
newer and sprawling commercial and residential areas along Jalalabad Road that absorbed some pre-existing
rural hamlets. Pul-e Charkhi also features some of the biggest industrial parks of Kabul.
The Microrayons’ flats, suitable for small families, were inhabited until recently by people originally from Kabul;
now a majority of the residents are newcomers, but they are arguably people who adapt to an environment
that is much more ‘urban’ than the suburban settlements and who often reproduce the living conditions of
a rural village. Accommodation in the Microrayons is relatively cheap and sought after. In addition, they offer
some basic comforts, like centralised heating systems. In contrast, the areas along Jalalabad Road, though
mixed in the first tract, increasingly feature large households of immigrants from the east, mainly Pashtun
Kuchis and including IDPs. The Khwaja Rawash area is mixed, with Tajiks and Pashtuns, and has been the focus
of a public-private high-profile housing initiative between 2013 and 2016 that made it more attractive to the
middle class.
The areas along Jalalabad Road, the main gateway to Kabul and therefore a main transit and commercial route,
witness a lot of common criminality and occasional targeting by insurgents of government and foreign assets.
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January 2019
Qala-i-Najar Ha
PD 11
Khwaja Bughra
PD 15
o
´
Qala-i-Tahir
Wazirabad
Chahar
Qala-i-Wazirabad Qarya-i-Malik
Chamani Ismayil
Babrak
Hisa-i-Duwumi PD 10
Taymani
Qala-i-Wakil
Hisa-i-Awali Taymani Qala-i-Musa

Qala-i-Khayat
Taymani
Hisa-i-Sumumi
PD 4
Parwan
Qala-i-Haji
Microrayani
Hisa-i-Dumumi Bibi Mahru Chaharum
Parwan Kulola Pushta Yakatoot
PD 9
Ministry of Microrayani
Baraki Qala-i-Fathullah Ministry of Haj Wazir Border And
Suwum
(pilgrimage) Kandaki Tribal Affairs
Shahrara Akbar Khan
Ministry of Hajj
Tajamau Supreme Court
Administration Ministry of Urban
Shahrara and Religious Ministry of Development (MoUD)
Youth Affairs Affairs Public Health
Baghi Wazir Ministry of
Karta-i-Parwan Shahri Naw Akbar Khan Counternarcotics
Baghi Zanana
Kabul City
Ministry of Karta-i-Wali Qala-i-Shora
Planning
Women's Radio National
Press
Parki Television Ministry of Microraryani
Affairs
Ministry Shahri Naw Transport & Duwum
of Economy Civil Aviation
Training Centre Afghanistan Ministry of
State Film
Geological Public Works Simint Khana
Kabul_City_POI
National
Studio
Survey Qala-i-Zaman
Ministry of
Directorate of Central o Hamid Karzai
KhanIntl Airport
Baharistan Passport The Interior Security (NDS) Statistics Microrayani
Office Office (CSO) Maslakh PD 16Abc Area names
PD 2 Islahate Awal
Karta-i-Aryana Vice Presedent Edari Ministry of
Kabul river
Office Ministry Foreign Shash Darak
of Planning Affairs Ministry of
National Labor & Social secondary; Roads; primary
Civil Service Ministry of
Archives Management Affairs (MoLSA)
Argi Jumhuri Martys And Kabul Historical Wall
PD 3 Department (CSMD)
Ministry of
Ministry The Disabled
0 Qoli Abchakan 1
Governer's Economy
2 km of Defense Parks
Wilayat Office
PD 10 WAZIR AKBAR KHAN, TAIMANI, QALA-YE FATHULLAH, QALA-YE

MUSA, WAZIRABAD, SHAHRAK-E ARYA
Half of this PD is made up of residential areas built according to master plans at different times from the 1940s
onwards (Wazir Akbar Khan, Taimani, Qala-ye Fathullah). These areas are nowadays considered an extension of
Shahr-e Naw and are at the core of Kabul city centre. The rest of the area (Wazirabad, Qala-ye Musa) included
in the past agricultural lands and traditional settlements, but it has witnessed massive infilling in the past de-
cades and is now totally built up. The area called Sherpur at the foot of Bibi Mahru hill was the site of a major
forced eviction of residents in 2003, with the land redistributed by the Ministry of Defence to cabinet members
in the newly established government, commanders and other clients (read about it here). There are also newly-
built modern housing projects (Shahrak-e Arya) along the Airport Road.
Already ‘uptown’ before the war, since 2001, Wazir Akbar Khan has become an enclave of embassies and the
offices of government branches, NGOs and private companies. There are several VIP houses (especially in Sher-
pur). Taimani and Qala-ye Fathullah are residential areas much sought-after by foreigners and middle-class
residents for their central location, high-quality accommodation and lower security profile than Wazir Akbar
Khan. During the last decade, many of the twentieth-century garden houses have been pulled down to make
room for high-rise buildings. Water, electricity and other services are usually good, although not all side alleys
are paved. Wazirabad remains much less serviced and low-key. Distinctive-looking Shahrak-e Arya has been
developed in the last decade as a model modern housing project; it hosts well-to-do people in a gated environ-
ment.
Some residents of Wazir Akbar Khan area were forcefully removed in 2003 (Sherpur); others left for economic
reasons (market eviction). The area is now mainly the preserve of the elite and of foreigners. Taimani and Qala-
ye Fathullah until recently closely conformed to the original pre-war Kabuli neighbourhoods, with a very mixed
population (although with a strong presence of Hazaras). The influx of foreign guesthouses and offices has

significantly altered that, at least in the most central areas. Wazirabad used to be sparsely populated until new
settlers came in from various parts and the areas became mixed.
Wazir Akbar Khan presents high-profile targets for political violence and therefore has high security (although
the area is not completely walled in – see analysis of efforts in 2017 to secure the ‘Green Zone’ here); Taimani
and Qala-ye Fathullah have for a while benefited from a lower-profile presence of foreigners, but in recent
years criminals have started to target the area due to its rich economic performance, and foreigners and
Afghans alike have been kidnapped. Wazirabad features higher insecurity because of common criminality,
especially at night-time, with instances of robberies and house raids.
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January 2019
Hazara-i-Baghal
Panjsad
PD 15
Purozha-i-Sesadupanzda Purozha-i-Jadid Famili
PD 17 PD 11 Qala-i-Dawlat
Khwaja Bughra
Khishti
Hisa-i-Awali
Hokhtif
Khayr khana
Hisa-i-Duwumi Hisa-i-Suwumi
Kotali Khayr Khana Khayr Khana
Khayr Golayi
Khana Hisa-i-Awal
Qala-i-Najar Ha
Khwaja Bughra
Kabul_City_POI
Sarayi o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport

Shamali
Abc Area names
Veterinary
Department Kabul river
PD 10 Roads; primary
PD 4 secondary;
Bilak Hayi Kabul Historical Wall
0 1 2 km Sarandoy Wazirabad
Parks
PD 5
PD 11 KHAIRKHANA ONE (HISA-YE AWAL)

Khairkhana is a residential area north of the city on the road leading to the namesake pass that separates Kabul
from the Shomali Plateau. It was mostly built during the 1960s according to the master plan, but with some
unplanned additions, like the vast commercial area called Bazar-e Lycee Maryam.
Khairkhana has regular blocks and a paved road grid and is relatively well serviced, although it lacks an ade-
quate water supply. It is a sought-after residential area. VIPs, especially those belonging to Jamiat-e Islami, have
built their villas in this neighbourhood.
Already inhabited mainly by people hailing from the districts north of Kabul because of its location, but with
a substantial Pashtun element that has mostly now moved away, it has taken on an even more distinctive
Shomali/Panjshiri character since 2001. However, at least some residents identify with a more ‘urbanised’
Kabuli identity, and the commercial area is very much mixed.
The presence of VIPs with an anti-Taleban background and the ethnic connotation has a double-edged im-
pact on security. Although Khairkhana is not a permissive environment for insurgents to operate in, organised
criminality can be a serious challenge for common residents, with frequent raids and robberies (though not
many kidnappings). Episodes of violence are often the product of a sort of ‘gang sub-culture’ among some local
youth, who feel they have enough political cover to indulge in bullying and petty crimes.
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Pashmina Bafi
PD 19
´
PD 9
Dawood Khel
Shina
PD 21
Part Khail
PD 16 PD 12
Dashti Shina
Wa Bagrami
Kabul_City_POI
Abc Area names

Bagrami Kabul river
PD 22 secondary; Roads; primary

PD 8 Kabul Historical Wall
0 1 2 km Parks
PD 12 AHMAD SHAH BABA MENA (AKA ARZAN QEMAT)

The main built-up area of this PD represents an eastern peripheral expansion of the city planned in the 1970s
but mostly completed during the last decade. It is located close to the old road once leading to Jalalabad from
Kabul. The massive Pul-e Charkhi prison just to the east of Ahmad Shah Baba Mena was built in the 1970s.
The neighbourhood is planned and laid out in a regular way, with relatively good infrastructure. It is especially
sought-after as a residential area by middle-income immigrant households from the east of the country be-
cause of its cheap prices and location.
The area is inhabited chiefly by Pashtuns from the east of Afghanistan (Nangarhar, Laghman and Kunar).
The area is relatively safe in terms of criminality, although somehow secluded and apart from central Kabul. Its
location and the origin of many of its inhabitants from contested areas of eastern Afghanistan may allow for
the presence of insurgent networks trying to infiltrate the city.
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January 2019
´
Nawabadi Baharistan
PD 5 Fazil beg Khushhal PD 2
PD 14
Qala-i-Wazir Khan Mena
MOEW
Niyaz beg Internal
Ministry of
Audit Dept Agriculture
Fazil Beg Aliabad Karta-i-Sakhi
Sebangi Tapa-i-Salam
Kota-i-Sangi Dih Nawi Kabul Jamal Mena
Dihburi University Saraki Sangi
Qala-i-Wahid Dihburi Dept of Ministry Traffic
Infrastructure of Higher
Department
Unchi Education
Vocational US Army Corps of
Baghbanan Department Engineers Afghanistan
Engineer District (AED)
Puli Sokhta Afgan Independent
Human Rights
PD 3
Puli Surkh Commission Guzargah
Dashti Barchi Bangsidar
Gul Khana Ayub Khan Mena
Doghabad Karta-i-Se National Parliament
Qala-i-Shada Allawuddin
Qala-i-Afghan Ha
Karta-i-Ghawsuddin
Qala-i-Jabbar Chahar Qala Qala-i-Wazir Qala-i-Khalifa
Khan Qala-i-Muyin Sahib
Dih Murad
Mujtaba Qala-i-Ali Se Rahi
Khan
Mardan Allawudin
Qala-i-Bahadur Jayi Rayis
Khan Ministry of
Water Power Nawabadi
PD 13 And Irrigation Dih
Ministry of Rural
Qala-i-Bakhtyar Geologic And Rehabilitation Dana
Cartographic & Development Puli Hasan
Department
Dih Qalandar Khan
Afshari Farmi Dih Dana Baghi
Darulaman Pilawari Chihilsutun
Darullaman Qala-i-Najar Ha
PD 6 Nu burja
Farmi Ziraat
Doghabad
Sar Asyab
Chahar Qolba
Qala-i-Muslim
PD 7
Kabul_City_POI
Qala-i-Surkh Qala-i-Logari
Rishkhuri
Abc Area namesQala-i-Fatuh
Payin
Kabul river
Qala-i-Kuhna

0 1 2 km Parks
PD 20
PD 13 DASHT-E BARCHI, PUL-E KHUSHK, SHAHRAK-E HAJI NOWRUZ,

SHAHRAK-E OMID-E SABZ
This flat expanse to the west of the city is an area of new settlement, carved out of PD 6 in 2003 when resi-
dents started to pour in. Previously it was partly agricultural and partly barren, with only a few hamlets.
The area is now densely populated; most of the settlements are informal and the municipality provides limited
infrastructure. Residents are mainly newcomers from the provinces or low-income Kabulis lured here by the
cheaper cost of property. However, affluent investors have developed some high-profile shahraks.
The area is inhabited mostly by Hazaras who migrated to Kabul from Wardak or Ghazni after 2001. The area
has been subject to the periodic influx of IDPs during the worst phases of the Kuchi-Hazara conflict in Wardak
and Ghazni provinces since 2007; the IDPs who did not return to their home districts settled with relatives. A
smaller number of Pashtun Kuchi nomads had started to settle in the area too, but during the Kuchi-Hazara
conflict in 2010, clashes erupted between the two communities in Dasht-e Barchi and the Kuchis were later
relocated to Darulaman. Residents of the shahraks are more mixed.
Widespread poverty in the area results in some criminality. Shahraks are considered to have better security.
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PARWAN
´
PROVINCE
PD 11
Hazara-i-Baghal
Purozha-i-Sesadupanzda
PD 14 Hisa-i-Awali
Khayr khana
Kotali
MAIDAN WARDAK
PD 17
Khayr Khana
PROVINCE
Qala-i-Najar Ha
Sarayi Veterinary
Shamali Department
Bilak Hayi
Sarandoy
Badam Bagh
Hisa-i-Sumumi Parwan
Tahiya-i-Maskan PD 4
Baghi Bala
Karta-i-Parwan
PD 5 Hazar Buz Ha Afshar PD
Khushhal
Kabul_City_POI
Nawabadi Khan Mena 2
Fazil beg o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Qala-i-Wazir MOEW Internal
Audit Dept
Fazil Beg Niyaz beg
Abc Area names
Aliabad
Sebangi Kota-i-Sangi
Kabul river PD 3
Dih Nawi
secondary; Roads;Dihburi
primary
Qala-i-Wahid Dihburi
Vocational
0 1 2 km
Unchi Department
Parks PD 6
Baghbanan Bangsidar
PD 14 PAGHMAN, BAGH-E DAUD, ARGHANDI, QALA-YE HAIDAR, QARGHA

LAKE
This nahia was established in 2003 over much of what is the Paghman woluswali. Paghman valley to the west
of Kabul was the focus of King Amanullah’s project for a summer resort for the elite of Kabul in the 1920s,
when it became also the venue for national celebrations and a Loya Jirga. During the 1980s the area was
severely affected by fighting between the mujahedin and the communist government. The damaged gardens
and triumphal arch (Taq-e Zafar) have been refurbished and a new palace built to host a grand regional Nawruz
celebration in 2014 (celebrations had to be moved to Kabul for security reasons). Most of the residential areas
in PD 14 have been built since 2001. Other landmarks in this PD include the Qargha reservoir and Bagh-e Daud.
Most of the new settlements are informal. Paghman and Qargha are two favourite spots for Kabul people for
outings and picnics, especially in spring and summer.
The only original residents of Paghman are those living up in the valley. Newly arrived residents hail mainly
from Maidan Wardak, but also Kandahar, Ghazni and Helmand. In Qala-ye Haidar a majority of the residents
are Hazaras from Bamiyan, Daikundi and Ghazni. Altogether this is an ethnically mixed area with Pashtuns,
Tajiks and Hazaras and other communities as well.
The higher part of Paghman valley is rugged and has been sometimes used as a hiding place by insurgents
or politically connected criminal networks involved in kidnappings. Also, in Arghandi, on the road leading to
Maidan Wardak, there have been instances of insurgent activity.
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January 2019
Panjsad
Purozha-i-Jadid Famili
Qala-i-Dawlat PD 18
PD 11 PD 15
Fabrika-i-Khana
Hisa-i-Duwumi Hisa-i-Suwumi Sazi
Dashti
Khayr Khana Khayr Khana Wazirabad
Qala-i-Najar Ha
Khwaja Bughra
o
Qala-i-Tahir
Bilak Hayi PD 4
Sarandoy Wazirabad Chahar
Qarya-i-Malik
Chamani Qala-i-Wazirabad Kabul_City_POI
Ismayil
Babrak
PD 10 o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Hisa-i-Duwumi Khwaja Rawash Abc Area names
Taymani Qala-i-Wakil Qala-i-Ali PD 9 Kabul river
Hisa-i-Awali Taymani Qala-i-Musa Mardan Puli Charkhi
Hisa-i-Sumumi Taymani Qala-i-Khayat secondary; Roads; primary
Nawabadi Qabulbay
Parwan Kabul Historical Wall
0 1 2 km Qala-i-Haji Gumruk Customs House
Parks
PD 15 KHAIRKHANA TWO AND THREE, KHWAJA BUGHRA, QASABA

The residential areas making up this PD (until 2003 part of PD 10) date from the last few decades. Only Hesa-e
Dowom and Hisa-e Sewom of Khairkhana have been built according to the municipality master plan. Khwaja
Bughra existed already as a suburban village (endowed with the namesake shrine) surrounded by agricultural
land during the time of Zahir Khan and Daud Khan. Some politically connected people started developing shah-
raks already in the 1990s (Shahrak-e Massud), but the pace of construction increased after 2001. The PD area
encompasses Kabul’s civilian and military airports and it hosts the recently built Ministry of Interior and several
other government facilities.
Khairkhana Two and Three have a regular road grid and layout. Khwaja Bughra area has been developed into
shahraks without planning, and construction extended over what used to be a wetland area, contributing to
drainage problems in all of northwestern Kabul. Qasaba area used to be mostly inhabited by low-income resi-
dents, but some recently built shahraks (bordering on Khwaja Rawash area of PD 9) have raised its status as a
residential area.
The original residents of Khwaja Bughra were Shias. Nowadays, the majority of the residents in the area are
from the provinces just north of Kabul – Parwan, Kapisa and Panjshir, with some also from Logar. This is the
case also for Khairkhana Two and Three.
Security in Khairkhana follows the patterns described for PD 11. The same can be said for Khwaja Bughra, with
poverty and remoteness from main roads compounding instances of criminality. Qasaba featured the presence
of notorious criminal networks in the past; the recent construction projects in the area will likely change the
security environment.
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´
Khwaja Rawash
Qala-i-Wakil
Nawabadi Qala-i-Ali Puli Charkhi
Qala-i-Khayat Qabulbay Mardan Pashmina Bafi
Gumruk PD 19
Customs House
Microrayani Qala-i-Haji
Bibi Mahru Chaharum
Yakatoot
Wazir PD 10 Qabilbay PD 9 Hood Khel
Ministry of
Akbar Border And Microrayani
Kandaki Tribal Affairs Dawood Khel
Khan Suwum
Tajamau Supreme Court
Ministry of Urban
Baghi Wazir Ministry of
Development (MoUD)
Public Health
Akbar Khan Ministry of Qala-i-Shora
Karta-i-Wali National Counternarcotics
Radio Ministry of Press
Television Transport &
Microraryani Duwum
Civil Aviation
State Film Afghanistan Ministry of Simint Khana Shina
Studio Geological Public Works
Central
Statistics
Survey Qala-i-Zaman
Office (CSO)
Shash Darak Microrayani Khan
Maslakh
Awal
Ministry of
Argi Jumhuri Martys And Ministry of Qarya-i-Dih Part Khail
Ministry Labor & Social
PD 2 of Defense
The Disabled
Affairs (MoLSA) khuday Dad
Fire
Department
Supreme Court
Ghazi Stadium PD 16
Murad Khani
Baghi Ali Ahmad Shah
Ministry Nawabadi
Mardan
of Communications Baba Mena Dashti Shina
Chamani Huzuri Sayid Noor Karta-i-Naw
Akhiri Jada Wa Bagrami PD 12
Sarraji Muhammad
Babayi Khudi Ahangari Shah Mena
Family Hayi
Ashiqan Darwaza-i-Lahuri Nasaji
wa Arifan Sang Hindu Guzar Shah Shahid Siyah Sang
Baghi Qazi Tarashi Bagrami
Rahman Mena
PD 1 Fabrika-i-Nasaji
wa Bagrami
Chamani
Bagrami
PD 8
Qalacha
Dasto Khel
Shuhadayi Koli
Saliheen Hashmat Kabul_City_POI
Khan Qala-i-Sher Bagrami
Du Sad Family Alam o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Rahman Mena
Abc Area names
Qala-i-Hashmat
Kabul river
Khan PD 22
Qala-i-Amir Chamani Kabul Historical Wall
Muhammad 0 1 2 km Kamari Wa
Bini Hisar Bagrami
Parks
PD 7
PD 16 MICRORAYON ONE (AKA OLD MICRORAYON), QALA-YE ZAMAN

KHAN, DEH KHODAIDAD, ALUKHEL, BAGRAMI, SHAHRAK-E KHORASAN,
SHAHRAK-E CEMENT KHANA
This PD was carved out of the southern half of PD 9 in 2003. According to officials in PD 16, only Old Microray-
on and Qala-ye Zaman Khan have been built according to the City Master Plan. Indeed, Qala-ye Zaman Khan
existed as a settlement long before the city expanded in this direction, while Microrayon One was the first such
project developed with Soviet aid in the 1960s. Other parts of the PD, save for the pre-existing rural villages
(Alukhel and Bagrami – this PD overlaps to some extent with the woluswali named after the latter locality),
have indeed been occupied and developed privately since 2001, Semet (Cement) Khana in particular.
Microrayon One has long been considered relatively comfortable with cheap urban accommodation, but it
does not compete with the better-quality newly built shahraks. Qala-ye Zaman Khan road has been recently
paved, but the area remains relatively underdeveloped. Towards the east this nahia still includes agricultural
areas, more and more encroached on by construction sites.
The original inhabitants of the villages are Tajiks and Pashtuns. Newly arrived residents are mostly from Par-
wan, Panjshir or Hazara-inhabited provinces or they are Pashtun Kuchis (nomads). It seems that a majority of
the original inhabitants of Microrayon have eventually left for other parts of Kabul or relocated abroad. The
newcomers are mixed, originating quite evenly from all parts of the country.
Microrayon used to offer a sort of ‘sheltered’ environment, although population change may have disrupted its
social fabric. Remoteness and the comparative poverty of other areas may harm their security.
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January 2019
Hazara-i-Baghal Panjsad
Purozha-i-Jadid Famili
PD 17 Purozha-i-Sesadupanzda Qala-i-Dawlat
PD 15
PD 11 Khwaja Bughra
Kotali Khishti Hokhtif

PD 14 Hisa-i-Suwumi Dashti
Khayr Golayi Hisa-i-Awali
Khayr Khana Wazirabad
Khana Hisa-i-Awal Khayr khana Hisa-i-Duwumi
Qala-i-Najar Ha Khayr Khana
Sarayi Khwaja Bughra
Shamali Veterinary
Department
Qala-i-Tahir
Bilak Hayi
Sarandoy Wazirabad Chahar
Qala-i-Wazirabad
Chamani Hisa-i-Duwumi
Babrak Taymani
Badam Bagh
Hisa-i-Awali Qala-i-Musa Qala-i-Khayat
Kabul_City_POI
Hisa-i-Sumumi Parwan PD 4 Taymani Taymani
o PD 10
Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Tahiya-i-Maskan Bibi Mahru
Kulola Pushta Ministry Ministry of
Hisa-i-Dumumi Baraki Abc Area names
Wazir Akbar Border And
PD 5 Qala-i-Fathullah of Haj
Baghi Bala Parwan Shahrara (pilgrimage) Khan Tribal Affairs
Kabul river
Administration Kabul Supreme Court
Afshar Karta-i-Parwan Shahrara Youth Affairs City Ministry of
secondary; Roads;
Women's Ministry of primary
Baghi Zanana Shahri Naw Planning Affairs Transport & Ministry of
Hazar Buz Ha Nawabadi Ministry of Economy Kabul Historical WallPublic
Civil Aviation
Karta-i-Mamurin PD 2 Training Centre
Health
0 1 2 km Fazil beg PD 3 National Directorate Parks State Film PD 9
Baharistan of Security (NDS) Studio Maslakh
PD 17 BUSTAN-E KABUL, CHAMTALA, BAGH-E AREF KHAN

This new PD (established in 2003) covers an area of recent urban expansion at the northern edge of Kabul
along the road leading to the Salang tunnel and the north of the country. It is physically located beyond the
Khairkhana Pass and thus out of the Kabul Plateau, belonging rather to the Shomali Plateau. The northern
boundary of Kabul reaches now the village of Karez-e Mir, started as a model village under the last king, well
inside the woluswali of Shakardara.
It is a rapidly growing residential area, experiencing a construction boom but still has space to fill in; moreover,
the area along the highway represents a major transport and commercial hub both for agricultural products
entering the city and people from the countryside accessing goods available only in the city. The development
of these areas has been informal or managed by private developers, and they are not well serviced. A peculiar
example is Chamtala: Once the site of landfilling for the solid waste of the city, it was occupied and developed
as a residential area as soon as the government built some basic infrastructure meant for the waste collection
project – which consequently stalled.
The area is inhabited by people from the Shomali (overwhelmingly Tajiks plus some Pashtuns), as powerful
commanders from this region control the land development business and facilitate the settlement of their
natural constituencies, lobbying with the government for at least a minimum of infrastructure.
Criminal gangs are active due to the presence of people and goods in transit and are often linked to the local
commanders’ networks.
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PD 18
PD 19
Qala-i-Dawlat
PD 15 Fabrika-i-Khana
Dashti Sazi
Wazirabad
Kabul_City_POI
o Family Hayi
PD 4 Qala-i-Tahir Pulicharkhi o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Abc Area names

Qarya-i-Malik
PD 10 Kabul river
Ismayil
Chahar PD 9 secondary; Roads; primary
Qala-i-Wazirabad Khwaja Rawash
Qala-i-Wakil Kabul Historical Wall
Taymani Qala-i-Musa 0 Nawabadi
1 Qala-i-Ali
2 km Puli Charkhi
Qala-i-Khayat Pashmina Bafi Parks
Qabulbay Mardan PD 12
PD 18 DEH SABZ: TARAKHEL, ZARINA, BAKHTIYARAN, ERFAN, SHAHRAK-E

MUHAMMADIA
This PD was established in 2004 based on a presidential decree and is located northeast of Kabul Airport, in
the woluswali of Deh Sabz, encompassing the northern slope of the Khwaja Rawash hills and the flat area west
of the so-called New Road leading north to Bagram Airport (which is only relatively new, having been built by
the Russians in the 1980s to provide an alternative route to Bagram airbase in the face of increased mujahedin
ambushes on the main Salang highway). Settlements consist of four pre-existing villages (Tarakhel, Mir Alam,
Zarina and Bakhtiyaran) and two newly built housing projects (Shahrak-e Muhammadia and Erfan).
Most of this area is still agricultural, with residents working on farmland and gardens and selling the products
in the city. There are also several brick kilns. The villages are unserviced, with most roads unpaved, and in the
absence of the electricity grid, many houses have to rely on generators.
Pashtuns inhabit Tarakhel, Mir Alam and Zarina villages while Tajiks live in Bakhtiyaran. Apart from these origi-
nal inhabitants, many Hazaras from the central provinces of the country have moved in since 2001 and reside
in Shahrak-e Muhammadia and Erfan.
The area is strongly influenced in terms of security by the networks of some commanders-turned-politicians
and it can be sometimes volatile.
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January 2019
´
PARWAN
PROVINCE
PD 18
PD 19
Tara Khel
Family Hayi
PD 15 Pulicharkhi
PD 9
Puli Charkhi Pashmina Bafi
Kabul_City_POI
Gumruk PD 21
Customs House o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport
Qabilbay Hood Khel Abc Area names
Dawood Khel
Kabul river
PD 12
Shina
0 1 2 km Parks
Part Khail
PD 19 DEH SABZ-BARIKAB
The establishment of this nahia in 2004 soon became the source of a controversy between Kabul Municipality
and the minister for urban development affairs. In fact, this remote and barren area to the northeast of the city
was to host the ‘New Kabul’ project, a whole new city built according to modern and eco-friendly standards
(see AAN reporting here). The project seems now to have stalled and this PD, lying to the east of the New Road
to Bagram, still includes only around 30 rural villages at the foot of the Koh-e Safi range and some manufactur-
ing areas along the main road.
Residents of PD 19 are a mix of old residents and a few newly arrived. Pashtuns are the majority.
Security is relatively good, as the rural areas do not offer major targets for crimes or political violence. How-
ever, the nearby Kuh-e Safi range has often served as a transit route for insurgents and is not firmly under
government control.
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´
Qala-i-Bahadur Khan Ministry of Water
Puli Takhnikum Wilayati Gul Buta Kamari
Power And Irrigation Qala-i-Ghaybi
Qala-i-Bakhtyar Hasan Khan Qala-i-Bagalak Niyazi Qala-i-Hasan
Chihilsutun
Afshari Darulaman Dih Dana Baghi Chihilsutun
Geologic And Khani Sufla Qala-i-Adam
Cartographic
Department Qala-i-Najar Ha Qala-i-Mir PD 8 Qala-i-Muhammad Khan Damana
PD 13 Farmi Ziraat Doghabad Nu burja Ahamd Shewaki Ibrahim Temur Khan
Sar Asyab PD 7 Qala-i-Haji
Chahar Qolba Qala-i-Taj Baghi
Karim
PD 6 Qala-i-Muslim Gul Haji Dashti Kamari
Qala-i-Logari Afghan
Qala-i-Surkh PD 22
Qala-i-Fatuh
Rishkhuri
Payin Qala-i-Kuhna
PD 20
MAIDAN
WARDAK
PROVINCE
Kabul_City_POI
LOGAR Abc Area names

PROVINCE
Kabul river

0 1 2 km Parks
PD 20 CHARASIAB
This PD, the largest in terms of area, was created by adding to the city boundaries a large chunk of southern Ka-
bul province down to the border with Logar, including around half of Charasiab and parts of Musayi woluswalis.
Existing settlements include Nawabad, Khairabad, Charasiab, Chehel Dokhtaran, Nawniaz, Yazkhel, Miakhel,
Shahrak-e Marjani and phase three of Shahrak Dasht-e Batola.
Historically, this has been an agricultural area, and it is still the least urbanised among Kabul PDs, with a large
percentage of its area still put to cultivation. Most of the new construction has happened since 2001.
The area features the original inhabitants, mostly Pashtuns and some Tajiks, as well as newly arrived residents,
many of whom hail from Khost and Paktia.
The PD’s position along the highway leading to Logar and Paktia makes it strategic for both the government and
insurgents, and it affects the security of areas along the highway.
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January 2019
PD 19
´
PD 21
PD 12
Kabul_City_POI
Abc Area names
Kabul river

PD 22
0 1 2 km Parks
PD 21 HUDKHEL, DEH KHODADAD

This PD is located east of Kabul city right before the beginning of the Kabul river gorge leading to the Mahipar
pass and marking the geographical end of the Kabul plateau.
Settlements have not been built based on the municipality’s master plan. Even the government’s basic services,
like schools and clinics, are not to be found in this PD, and the only education available for boys and girls are in
the local mosques. The area hosts the ada (bus station) for Jalalabad and the east of the country.
Apart from some Pashtun tribes, like the Babakarkhel and Katakhel, residents moved in after 2001. They are
mostly Pashtuns with a few Tajiks.
Security in this PD is far from good, as the area is notorious in Kabul for being a haunt of thieves and robbers.
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Kah Furoshi Chamani Huzuri Family Hayi Dashti Shina
Ahangari Darwaza-i-Lahuri
Shah Shahid Sayid Noor Nasaji Wa Bagrami
Baghi Siyah Muhammad Bagrami Fabrika-i-Nasaji PD 16
Hindu Guzar PD 21
Qazi Sang Shah Mena wa Bagrami PD 12
PD 1 Chamani
Qalacha Bagrami
Shuhadayi Koli Dasto Khel
Saliheen Hashmat
Khan Du Sad Family Qala-i-Sher Bagrami
Rahman Mena Alam
Qala-i-Hashmat
Khan Chamani
Qala-i-Amir
Muhammad Kamari Wa
PD 8 Bini Hisar Bagrami
Qala-i-Khanadar
Gul Buta
Wilayati Kamari
Qala-i-Bagalak Niyazi Qala-i-Hasan

Qala-i-Hasan Khani Sufla Qala-i-Adam
Damana
Khani Ulya Khan
Qala-i-Mir Qala-i-Muhammad
Ahamd Qala-i-Haji Ibrahim
Shewaki
Karim Temur Khan
Qala-i-Taj
PD 7 Gul Baghi Haji
Afghan PD 22
Dashti Kamari
PD 20
Kabul_City_POI
Abc Area names
Kabul river

0 1 2 km Parks
PD 22 BAGRAMI, SHIWAKI, KAMARI, BUTKHAK

This PD was carved out of the eastern part of PD 8, fully inside Bagrami woluswali. Originally part of the agricul-
tural hinterland of Kabul, it still contains vast tracts of agricultural land and, towards its eastern end, a barren
and semi-arid expanse. It contains around 20 villages; among the most important are Shiwaki, Nawabad-e
Bagrami, Kamari, Qala-ye Rabaz, Hussainkhel, Kart-e Ghulam Jan, Butkhak, Qala-ye Mohsin and Gosfand Dara.
Some new housing projects are Shahrak-e Dawlatzai, Shahrak-e Sayed Jamaluddin and Shahrak-e Haji Daud. A
conspicuous landmark was the Chakari Minaret, one of the ancient stone towers for guiding Buddhist pilgrims
that fell after an earthquake in March 1998.
The agricultural areas are interspersed with villages and are well-irrigated thanks to the Logar river that marks
the western border of the district; newly-built shahraks have been built mostly on the barren areas beyond the
belt of agricultural areas and thus far removed from the city. The same is true for two industrial parks, Bagrami
and Kamari, developed with international assistance. Development of the Kamari industrial park has long been
blocked by a land dispute involving a commander-turned-politician.
The original residents are mainly Pashtuns, with Tajiks in Kamari and Shiwaki villages. There are many newcom-
ers from Pashtun areas, many of them IDPs and with a sizable number of Kuchis among them. Residents have
started to claim some of the barren ‘state’ land in the eastern part of the PD to prevent Kuchis from doing so.
Security is relatively good, but there have been clashes between local residents and Kuchi settlers and other
land disputes.
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January 2019
ABOUT THE AFGHANISTAN ANALYSTS NETWORK (AAN)
The Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) is a non-profit, independent policy research organisation. It aims to
bring together the knowledge and experience of a large number of experts to inform policy and increase the
understanding of Afghan realities.
The institutional structure of AAN includes a team of analysts and a network of regular contributors with
expertise in the fields of Afghan politics, governance, rule of law and security. AAN will publish regular in-depth
thematic reports, policy briefings and comments.
The main channel for dissemination of the reports is the AAN web site. For further information, please visit
www.aan-afghanistan.org.
QUALITY CONTROL OF AAN’S PUBLICATIONS

The opinions expressed in publications by the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) do not necessarily reflect
those of AAN. Publications by AAN are, however, subjected to academic style review and peer review to ensure
the quality of the research and the reliability of the analysis. AAN thematic reports and briefing papers are
read by at least two internal and two external reviewers, discussion papers by at least two internal reviewers
and blogs by at least one internal reviewer. For further information about the quality control and the review
process of AAN’s publications, please contact AAN at info@afghanistananalysts.net.
AUTHOR BIO
Fabrizio Foschini traveled and done research in Afghanistan extensively since 2003. He studied the history
of Asia at the University of Bologna in Italy and achieved his Ph.D. on the modern and contemporary history
of Afghanistan with a specific focus on oral history. Between 2010 and 2014, he was based in Kabul with the
Afghanistan Analysts Network as a political analyst, and he contributes regularly to the organisation’s research.
Despite not being based in the country currently, he still visits Afghanistan often and continues researching
the country’s history and society. Besides this, he works with Afghan refugees in Italy, coordinating translation
services for the Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS). Fabrizio has published extensively on Afghanistan and is
fluent in Dari.
© Afghanistan Analysts Network 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without full attribution.

Kabul Police Districts

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Kabul Police Districts

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AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

AFGHANISTAN || Kabul Police Districts

Chamani Babrak PD 10 Qarya-i-Malik Ismayil PD 9

Kabul o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport

Abc Area names

AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

Joyi Sheer Ministry of Ministry of Murad Khani

Mandawi Akhiri Jada Chamani

Ashiqan Shah Shahid

o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport

Abc Area names

PD 1 SHAHR-E KOHNA (CHINDAWAL, ASHEQAN WA AREFAN, BAGH-E

Karta-i-Char (Zoo) Khwaja Safa Abc Area names

Kabul Historical Wall

PD 2 ARG-E SHAHI, DEH AFGHANAN, MURAD KHANI AND PART OF KART-

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AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

Unchi Karta-i-Char Khwaja Safa

Abc Area names

PD 3 DEH MAZANG, KART-E SAKHI, KART-E CHAHAR, DEH BURI

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Baraki Qala-i-Fathullah Ministry of Haj Wazir

PD 4 SHAHR-E NAW, KART-E PARWAN, KOLOLA POSHTA, SHAHRARA,

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AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

Hazar Buz Ha PD 5 Karta-i-Mamurin

Fazil Beg Sebangi Aliabad Karta-i-Sakhi

PD 5 KHUSHHAL KHAN MENA, KAMPANI, KART-E MAMURIN, AFSHAR,

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Abc Area names

secondary; Roads; primary

Kabul Historical Wall

PD 6 KART-E SE, DARULAMAN, ALAUDDIN, QALA-YE SHAHADA, QALA-YE

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AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

Abc Area names

secondary; Roads; primary

Kabul Historical Wall

PD 7 CHEHEL SOTUN, GOZARGAH, AYYUB KHAN MENA, WASILABAD, DEH

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secondary; Roads; primary

PD 8 KART-E NAW, RAHMAN MENA, SHAH-E SHAHID, QALACHA, BENI

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AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

Qasaba Tara Khel

PD 9 SHASHDARAK; MICRORAYONS TWO, THREE AND FOUR; YAKA TUT;

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Hisa-i-Awali Taymani Qala-i-Musa

PD 10 WAZIR AKBAR KHAN, TAIMANI, QALA-YE FATHULLAH, QALA-YE

AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

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Sarayi o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport

PD 11 KHAIRKHANA ONE (HISA-YE AWAL)

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AAN Thematic Report 01/2019

o Hamid Karzai Intl Airport

Abc Area names

PD 22 secondary; Roads; primary

PD 12 AHMAD SHAH BABA MENA (AKA ARZAN QEMAT)

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Kabul Historical Wall

PD 13 DASHT-E BARCHI, PUL-E KHUSHK, SHAHRAK-E HAJI NOWRUZ,

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