Helmand Province

"Helmand" redirects here. For the river, see Helmand River.
Helmand
هلمند
Province
.
Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted
Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted
Coordinates (Capital): 31°00′N 64°00′E / 31.0°N 64.0°E / 31.0; 64.0
Country Afghanistan
CapitalLashkargah
Government
 • GovernorMaulvi Abdul Ahad Talib
 • Deputy GovernorMulavi Hizbullah[1]
Area
 • Total
58,584 km2 (22,619 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total
1,472,162
 • Density25/km2 (65/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time)
Postal code
39xx
ISO 3166 codeAF-HEL
Main languagesPashto
[3]

Helmand (Pashto/Dari: هلمند; /ˈhɛlmənd/ HEL-mənd[4]), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand,[5] is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering 58,584 square kilometres (20,000 sq mi) area. The province contains 18 districts, encompassing over 1,000 villages, and roughly 1,446,230 settled people.[6] Lashkargah serves as the provincial capital. Helmand was part of the Greater Kandahar region until made into a separate province by the Afghan government in the 20th century.

The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region of the province, providing water used for irrigation. The Kajaki Dam, which is one of Afghanistan's major reservoirs, is located in the Kajaki district. Helmand is believed to be one of the world's largest opium producing regions, responsible for around 42% of the world's total production.[7][8] This is believed to be more than the whole of Myanmar, which is the second-largest producing nation after Afghanistan. The region also produces tobacco, sugar beets, cotton, sesame, wheat, mung beans, maize, nuts, sunflowers, onions, potato, tomato, cauliflower, peanut, apricot, grape, and melon.[9] The province has a domestic airport (Bost Airport), in the city of Lashkargah that was heavily used by NATO-led forces. The former British Camp Bastion and the U.S. Camp Leatherneck is a short distance southwest of Lashkargah.

Throughout the 2001-2021 war in Afghanistan, Helmand was a hotbed of insurgent activities[10][11][12] and was often considered at the time to be Afghanistan's "most dangerous" province.[13][14] The province also witnessed some of the heaviest fighting during the war, where at its peak hundreds of civilians were being killed monthly.[15] Its suitable climate for the cultivation of limited range of crops also contributed greatly to the Taliban's finances through illicit opium sales. Additionally, Helmand is considered to be one of Afghanistan's most socially conservative areas.[16]

  1. ^ بلال, رضوان الله (23 December 2021). "د هلمند له زندانه ۲۱۸ روږدي له درملنې وروسته کورونو ته ولېږل شول". Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22" (PDF). nsia.gov.af. National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA). April 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Farm Economic Survey of the Helmand Valley, 1975, Page 17
  4. ^ "Helmand". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference mrrd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference nsia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Pat McGeough (2007-03-05). "Where the poppy is king". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. More than 90 percent of the province's arable land is choked with the hardy plant. A 600-strong, US-trained eradication force is hopelessly behind schedule on its target for this growing season in Helmand - to clear about a third of the crop, which is estimated to be a head-spinning 70,000 hectares.
  8. ^ "Afghanistan still the largest producer of opium: UN report". Zee News. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-26. She said opium cultivation is concentrated in the south of the country, with just one province 'Helmand' accounting for 42% of all the illicit production in the world. Many of the provinces with the highest levels of production also have the worst security problems.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference nps was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ MacKenzie, Jean (19 March 2010). "Could Helmand be the Dubai of Afghanistan?". Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  11. ^ "UK's Helmand mission was 'flawed'". Bbc.co.uk. June 12, 2010. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  12. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Afghanistan: Clashes in Helmand leave civilians dead, displaced". Refworld.org. Archived from the original on 2019-09-28. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  13. ^ Anderson, Ben (June 22, 2015). "Notes from Afghanistan's Most Dangerous Province". Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Rowlatt, Justin (April 7, 2016). "Afghan forces face 'decisive' battle". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  15. ^ Tugnoli, Lorenzo. "A year of peace in one of Afghanistan's deadliest provinces". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  16. ^ "Afghanistan" (PDF). Countries of Concern. pp. 79–86. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2021-10-21.