Lowgar Province

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Lowgar لوګر
Image:Afghanistan-Lowgar.png
Capital • Coordinates	Pul-i-Ilam • ~° N ~° E
Population (~) • Density	~ • /km²
Area	~ km²
Time zone	UTC+4:30
Main language(s)	~

Lowgar (Pashto: لوګر) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country, south-east of Kabul and the geography of the province centers on the large Logar River which enters the province through the north and leaves to the west. Its capital is Pul-i-Ilam. The majority of the population is Pashtun with a Tajik minority.

1 Logar; The word
2 History and legend
3 Politics
4 Security Situation
5 Districts

[edit] Logar; The word

Some historians say that lowgar is actually "Loy-Ghar" which means "big mountain" in Pashto language, references to this can be found in old history books such as the "Tarikh e Pehsawar" and the "Gazeteer of Kohat, 19th century".

[edit] History and legend

It has been widely held by Pashton Khattak tribes men as well as historians of Pashtons and Afghania that Logar is the birth place of the Khattak, Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen. It is believed that the first record about these tribes going back to the 12th and 13th centuries relates to Logar. Further, is has been in record that the Khattak, Afridi and Orakzai tribes have descended from the same parent tribe. As a proof it can be seen that Logar is close to the Pakistani area of Bannu on the opposite side of The Durand and Bannu is known to be the first area settled by the Khattaks.

[edit] Politics

Logar is a generally religiously conservative province, although not to the extent of its southern neighbours. The province's political history is a microcosm of Afghanistan's recent turbulent past, with portions of the province controlled by both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance previous to the American invasion of 2001. The province also was home to several Al-Qaeda training bases during that time period, although the residents of the province were reportedly unfriendly to the foreign fighters. The province has also long been a stronghold of the Hezb-i-Islami political party, which won seats in the 2005 parliamentary election [1], although the parliamentarians are not officially affiliated with the fugitive leader of Hezb-i-Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Additionally, the Northern Alliance-affiliated Jamiat-i-Islami was in control of the province for several years after the fall of the Taliban government.

The Governor of the province is M. Amam Alime.

[edit] Security Situation

While more stable than some of its neighbouring provinces in the country, Logar sees a constant low level of insurgent violence, primarily in the form of car bombs and rocket attacks on government, military and civil targets. Poppy production and tribal land disputes are also a source of unrest, as is the case across much of the country [2].