Zurmat District

Zurmat
زرمت
District
Afghans in Zurmat district
Afghans in Zurmat district
CountryAfghanistan
ProvincePaktia
PeoplePashtuns
Elevation
2,100 m (6,900 ft)
Population
 • Total86,609
DemonymZurmatai

33°33′N 68°25′E / 33.550°N 68.417°E / 33.550; 68.417

Zurmat[pronunciation?] (Pashto: زرمت ولسوالۍ / Persian: ولسوالی زرمت) is a district in the Paktia Province of Afghanistan.[1] The main town is Zurmat, which is one of the main cities of the region of Loya Paktia.

Geography[edit]

Zurmat borders Logar, Ghazni, and Paktika provinces. Tamir is the main bazaar of the district. Geographical features of Zurmat include the Shah-i-Kot Valley and the Arma Mountains. The district contains 63 or 64 schools.[2] Zurmat does not receive power from the national electricity grid, so solar power and generators are prevalent.[2]

Demographics[edit]

The population of the district is 120,000 (CSO 2004).[1] According to the same sources, Pashtuns make up 99% of the total population followed by 1% Tajiks.[2] Many people of Zurmat work in Arab countries like Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

History[edit]

Operation Anaconda, a major battle of the War in Afghanistan, took place in Zurmat in 2002. For the rest of the war, Zurmat has been a stronghold of the Taliban insurgency and the Haqqani network. In 2019, the Taliban controlled 80% of the district.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Zurmat District Development Plan - MRRD Archived May 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d "One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgent-controlled Zurmat district". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English. 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2020-08-02.